Taliban Stage a Major Attack, as Violence Intensifies in Northern Afghanistan

Afghanistan’s president, Ashraf Ghani, called on the Taliban to stop what he described as “criminal and inhumane” attacks that could derail the peace efforts.

“Turning to violence and killing people for leverage in negotiations is the worst approach that, unfortunately, the Taliban have taken up,” Mr. Ghani said in a statement.

The violence continues unabated as the poor nation grapples with the spread of Covid-19 and its economic ramifications. Although official numbers are dubious, with testing capacity extremely low, the country’s health ministry has recorded nearly 35,000 cases and more than 1,000 deaths.

The February deal was expected to open the way within 10 days for the more complicated part of the peace process: talks with the Afghan government over a future power-sharing agreement. But those talks have been repeatedly delayed over complications with a prisoner swap that was laid out as a precondition for negotiations. The American deal with the Taliban called for the release of up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners in return for 1,000 Afghan security forces held by the insurgents — a clause that angered many Afghan officials.

After balking for weeks, the Afghan government began a phased release of Taliban prisoners, under heavy pressure from the Trump administration. But with more than 4,000 Taliban released, the last stretch is once again facing difficulty, as the Afghan government says it cannot release about 500 of those on the Taliban list because they are deemed dangerous and are accused of serious crimes.

Javid Faisal, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s National Security Council, said the government has proposed that the Taliban suggest new names instead of the 592 that cannot be released. It is unclear whether the insurgents have agreed to that.

“We have told them that we are ready to release alternative people,” Mr. Faisal said.

The ongoing attack in Samangan caps a bloody 24 hours in northern Afghanistan, where Taliban launched attacks in several provinces, officials said.