International community calls for 'urgent end' to Taliban offensive

The international community calls an urgent need to end the Taliban's ruthless military offensive. Officials say that it was at the odds with the claims who wanted to secure a political deal to end the conflict.

The statement which was signed by Kabul and Taliban mission heads reads that the Taliban's offensive is in direct contradiction to their claim to support a negotiated settlement. It has resulted in the loss of innocent Afghan lives, including through continued targeted killings, displacement of the civilian population, looting and burning of buildings, destruction of vital infrastructure, and damage to communication networks.

For the last few months, people from both two sides have been meeting on and off in the Qatari capital, to discuss the battlefield and how it changed the course of lives for many people. Abdullah Abdullah, who oversees the Afghan government's delegation, noted that neither side was currently pursuing a joint ceasefire during the talks, despite urgent calls from Afghan civil society and the international community to end the surge in fighting.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that his administration was also hoping to start talks with the Taliban over the group's refusal to let Ankara run the Kabul airport after US troops withdraw from Afghanistan. He says that they will see what kind of talks we will have with the Taliban and see where these talks take us. Since Turkey has been negotiating with the US defense, the issue to secure Kabul airport, escalated quickly. The need to do so is because it is the key to allowing countries to retain a diplomatic presence in the war-torn country after the troop withdrawal.

In spite of all the efforts going on from both ends, the latest round of talks between the embassies, the fighting continued to flare in Afghanistan with both the Taliban and government making claims of taking and re-taking territory in various areas across the country.