Afghan Taliban Announces Three-Day Ceasefire for Eid Holidays

Ceasefire won't apply to foreign forces, only Afghan govt

Following last week’s unilateral ceasefire announcement by the Afghan government, meant to stay in place for the duration of Ramadan, the Taliban has announced its own ceasefire overing the last three days of the month-longĀ  holiday.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid

Taliban officials say the ceasefire will be in place for the Eid al-Fitr holiday, a three-day period of festivities at the end of Ramadan. They say the ceasefire doesn’t apply to foreign forces, and warned they would defend themselves if attacked.

The ceasefire is a first of its kind from the Taliban, and Afghan officials praised the move, saying it was an important step, and could greatly improve the chances of peace talks making progress. An honest ceasefire would be a big change.

That’s doubly true for young Afghans, many of whom were born during the US occupation, and have never known a period of time where Afghanistan wasn’t in a state of open warfare. Even a brief ceasefire will be something very new for them.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.