Taliban abducts 27 peace activists in Afghanistan
The Taliban has kidnapped 27 Afghan activists of the People's Peace Movement who were on a trip to call for peace and ceasefire between the militant group and the government in Kabul.
The Taliban militants stopped a convoy of six cars carrying the activists on a highway in the western province of Farah on Tuesday evening while they were traveling from Herat to the neighboring Farah, and took them to an unknown location, Massoud Bakhtawar, the deputy governor of Farah, said on Wednesday.
The People's Peace Movement was founded to protest violent attacks after a car bomb explosion killed 17 civilians and injured 50 others at a sport stadium in the southern province of Helmand last year.
Bismillah Watandost, a member of the movement, said the activists had planned to travel to several areas in Farah to call for peace and a ceasefire between the warring parties in Afghanistan.
Since the establishment of the group, the activists have traveled to various parts of the country, often marching through areas held by Taliban to demand peace and a truce between the militants and the government.
The militant group has previously accused the activists of being financed by the government among others, an allegation the movement denied.
The incident comes as the US and the Taliban are engaged in on-off talks aimed to end America’s longest war.
The administration of President Ashraf Ghani had been left out of those talks. The Taliban have been saying they do not recognize the Kabul government.
The United States invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 and overthrew a Taliban regime in power at the time. But US forces have remained bogged down there through the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and now Donald Trump.
Some 18 years on, Washington is seeking a truce with the militants, who still control large swathes of territory.
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