Kabul
American forces have started pulling out of two bases in Afghanistan, a US official said Tuesday, the day peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban were due to start despite widespread violence and a political crisis.
The United States is keen to end its longest-ever conflict, and under the terms of a deal signed in Doha last month has said all foreign forces will quit Afghanistan within 14 months — provided the Taliban stick to their security commitments.
Under the accord, the US is initially supposed to cut its troop presence from about 12,000 currently to 8,600 by mid-July, and close five of its roughly 20 bases across the country.
Troops have started leaving one base in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province in the south, and another base in Herat in the east, a US official told AFP on the condition of anonymity. Even with the drawdown, US forces retain “all the military means and authorities to accomplish our objectives”, Colonel Sonny Leggett, spokesperson for US Forces-Afghanistan, said Monday, referring to American counterterrorism operations and support for Afghan forces.
Helmand, which along with neighbouring Kandahar province is considered a Taliban stronghold, is where US and British forces fought some of the bloodiest campaigns of the 18-year war. Omar Zwak, spokesperson for Helmand’s governor, told AFP that “20 to 30” foreigners had left Lashkar Gah since the weekend.
The initial drawdown comes as the Taliban, which see themselves as having achieved “victory” over America, test the Pentagon’s resolve to protect local partners by conducting dozens of low-level attacks against Afghan forces. The US has only responded to a few of these attacks.
Peace talks were supposed to start Tuesday but have been delayed by a dispute over the release of Taliban prisoners — something the insurgents have demanded as a prerequisite ahead of negotiations, but which Ghani has so far refused to do. Under the terms of the withdrawal deal, the Taliban are supposed to tackle militants such as the Daesh group and Al-Qaeda, as well as hold talks with the Afghan government that were due to start Tuesday.
