KABUL: Afghan security forces killed 10 Taliban militants as a ceasefire announced by the president took effect, an official said on Friday, and security forces said they would respond if attacked.
The 10 included five Pakistanis killed in the clash in the eastern province of Nangarhar, the official said, adding, “We finished the operation and will now follow the ceasefire plan.”
Four people were killed and five wounded by unidentified gunmen in a separate attack on a lawmaker’s Nangarhar home on Friday. The lawmaker was not at home at the time.
The ceasefire was welcomed by the United Nations, the United States and NATO, but some independent analysts expressed skepticism, with one diplomat calling it a “one-sided love story” as the Taliban, who have yet to respond, are deemed unlikely to reciprocate.
Some diplomats said it came as a bit of a surprise, showing that at one level the government wanted intensified air strikes, but on another it was offering an olive branch.
Security officials said they would suspend operations against the Taliban in line with the ceasefire but would respond firmly if attacked.
President Ashraf Ghani announced for the first time an unconditional ceasefire with the Taliban coinciding with Eid, the end of the Muslim fasting month, but excluding other militant groups, such as Daesh.
“It is not a laying-down of arms,” a senior official told Reuters.
The ceasefire followed a meeting of Islamic clerics this week that declared a fatwa, or ruling, against suicide bombings, one of which, claimed by Daesh, killed 14 people at the entrance to the clerics’ peace tent in Kabul.
The clerics also recommended a ceasefire with the Taliban, who are fighting to reimpose strict Islamic law after their ouster in 2001, and Ghani endorsed the recommendation, saying it would last until June 20.
The United States wants to step up military operations against Daesh militants in Nangarhar during the ceasefire, the top US general in Afghanistan said on Friday.
“(Operations against Daesh) will continue, in fact, will be even intensified, during this period of ceasefire, as we focus on ISIS,” General John Nicholson, commander of US and international forces in Afghanistan, told reporters in Brussels.
Afghan forces kill 10 Taliban as ceasefire is announced
Afghan forces kill 10 Taliban as ceasefire is announced
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UK starts visa requirements for St. Lucians
- Saint Lucia’s government said it was actively engaging with British government
- It said it would continue talks to “explore pathways for maintaining strong mobility arrangements“
CASTRIES: Britain has introduced a visa requirement for Saint Lucians effective from Thursday citing a “notable increase” in nationals from the small Caribbean nation claiming asylum, Saint Lucia’s government said in a statement.
Immigration is one of Britain’s most politically sensitive issues, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government has sought to show it is tightening the system as the populist Reform UK party gains ground in opinion polls.
Saint Lucia, a former British colony, has a population of about 180,000. Last year, the World Bank estimated a net emigration of just 23 people.
Its government said it was actively engaging with British government and would continue talks to “explore pathways for maintaining strong mobility arrangements.”
It said it was informed in a letter dated Wednesday.
Saint Lucia is a member of the Commonwealth, an association of mostly former British colonies. Before the 1970s, nationals of many of these had the right to live and work in the UK. Saint Lucians previously needed a 16 pound Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) to travel to the UK. \
There will be a six-week transition for ETA holders, its government said.
On Tuesday, Britain said it would block study visas for Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan and halt work visas for Afghans.
