Afghanistan: US envoy to press Taliban to end offensive

The US envoy for peace in Afghanistan "will press the Taliban to stop their military offensive" at talks in Doha this week, the State Department said on Monday.

Zalmay Khalilzad will formulate a joint international response to the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan.

The US said it was deeply concerned about the strategic gains of the Taliban, but maintained that a "negotiated peace is the only path to ending the war."

"The increased tempo of Taliban military engagement, resulting in civilian casualties in armed conflict between the sides, and alleged human rights atrocities, are of grave concern," the US statement said.

Up to Afghans to 'defend their country' 

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby maintained that the situation would come down to Afghan leadership at a news conference on Monday.

"It's their country to defend now. It's their struggle," Kirby said. "When we look back, its going to come down to leadership and what leadership has demonstrated, or not" by Afghans, Kirby said.

When asked what the US military could do if the Afghan security forces don't put up a fight, Kirby responded: "Not much."

Defense and military leaders have not provided any instructions to beef up US operations despite the Taliban's strategic gains there, officials told news agency the Associated Press.

Afghan special operations forces have been able to fend off Taliban offensive in key centers like Kandahar and Laskhar Gah. But the militant group has overrun Afghan forces in other centers where special commandos aren't present.

Biden committed to August 31 departure

President Joe Biden has said that he would end the US military mission in Afghanistan by August 31, arguing that it was up to Afghans to decide the future of their country. 

Biden said last month that "just one more year of fighting'"in Afghanistan was not a "solution, but a recipe for being there indefinitely."

For Biden, the US had achieved its state goal of defeating al-Qaida in response to the attacks of September 11, 2001, though the Taliban is yet to cut their ties with the group.

So far, the Taliban has taken five of the country's 34 provincial capitals, which includes the strategically important city of Kunduz.

It is one of the country's larger cities with a population of more than 340,000 and was a key area defended by Western troops over the years.

rm/jsi (Reuters, AP, AFP)