UN chief calls on Taliban militants to halt offensive against Afghan govt. forces

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on Taliban militants to “immediately halt” their military campaign against government troops and return to the negotiating table in good faith “in the interest of Afghanistan, and its people.”

The Taliban militant group significantly increased their attacks to seize more territories from government forces after the withdrawal of US-led foreign forces from Afghanistan.

Violence has been surging across the war-torn country as provincial capitals fall to militants one after another quickly as the Taliban press ahead with their offensive across Afghanistan.

The militants seized Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand Province, on Friday morning. They also captured Herat, a cultural hub in the west, and Kandahar, the country’s second-largest city.

Feroz Koh, the capital of the central province of Ghor, and the capitals of Zabul and Uruzgan provinces in the south are also among more than a dozen provincial capitals that fell to the militant group, which reached some 50 kilometers of capital Kabul on Friday.

Speaking at a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday, Guterres said that humanitarian needs were “growing by the hour” as Afghanistan is largely spinning out of control.

“The message from the international community to those on the warpath must be clear: taking power through military force is a lost proposition. That can only lead to a protracted civil war or the complete isolation of Afghanistan,” he said.

Intl. community won’t recognize Taliban government taken by force in Afghanistan: NATO

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says the military alliance would support the Afghan government "as much as possible."

The UN chief noted that more than 1,000 people have been killed or wounded from indiscriminate attacks by Taliban against civilians, notably in Helmand, Kandahar and Herat provinces, in just the past month.

“I call on all parties to take heed of the conflict's heavy toll and its devastating impact on civilians. They all must do more to protect civilians,” Guterres added.

He stressed that only an Afghan-led negotiated political settlement could ensure peace, saying that the world body was determined to contribute to a peace deal.

The development came as the US embassy in Kabul, according to CNN and other media outlets, has directed its staff to destroy sensitive documents as well as other material that could be used as propaganda.

Earlier on Friday, NATO allies held an emergency meeting in the North Atlantic Council to consult on the situation in Afghanistan.

In a statement, they vowed support to the Afghan government and lambasting Taliban attacks “on Afghan civilians.”

“We continue to assess the developments on the ground, and we are in constant contact with the Afghan authorities and the rest of the international community,” it further read.

Taliban militants seize three more Afghan cities

Three more cities in Afghanistan fall to the Taliban, which is waging lightning offensive across the country.

On Thursday, the Pentagon said that it was sending 3,000 American troops to Afghanistan to evacuate some US embassy personnel from Kabul, leaving just “a core diplomatic presence” in the ill-fated country.

Separately on Thursday, Afghan government negotiators in Qatar offered the Taliban a power-sharing deal in return for an end to fighting amid the militants' rapid advances across the war-torn country.

The Taliban, however, have reiterated that they would not participate in any government shared with the Afghan government. 

The US has been withdrawing forces from Afghanistan in a hasty plan devised after two decades of war and occupation.

Former US president Donald Trump agreed to pull out forces from Afghanistan under a deal with the Taliban last year. The militants pledged not to attack the withdrawing foreign forces, but they made no promise not to attack Afghan government forces or people.

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