The Afghan Taliban’s co-founder is in talks with the United States in an attempt to bring an end to more than 17 years of war.
It’s the United States’ longest war and last year there was a record death toll in Afghanistan. Almost 4,000 civilians were killed and 7,000 wounded.
The UN is blaming the Taliban and ISIL for deliberately targeting civilians with suicide attacks. But Afghan and US forces have also stepped up their assaults on armed groups.
Now attempts to end the bloodshed are gathering pace.
The Taliban and the US are in talks in Qatar. Co-founder of the Afghan Taliban, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, has met the US special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad for the first time.
So could there be a breakthrough?
Presenter: Laura Kyle
Guests:
Mushtaq Rahim – analyst at Conflict, Peace and Security
Michael Semple – researcher and former deputy EU special representative to Afghanistan
Anthony Neal – advocacy manager at the Norwegian Refugee Council in Afghanistan
Source: Al Jazeera News
