Signs began to show Monday that key pillars of the agreement to negotiate an end to the Afghanistan war were starting to buckle, just hours after the United States signed what was billed as a historic agreement with the Taliban.
Reports emerged Monday that fighting had resumed between the Taliban and the Afghan security forces, marking an end to the reduction in violence that paved the way for the agreement that was signed Saturday by U.S. and Taliban officials.
Also on Monday, the Taliban refused to take part in intra-Afghan talks, one of the conditions of a full withdrawal of U.S. troops, until the Afghan government releases roughly 5,000 Taliban prisoners. The agreement calls for the prisoners to be released in exchange for up to 1,000 Afghan government captives by March 10.
Less than 24 hours after the agreement was signed, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, whose government was not involved in the U.S.-Taliban deal, rejected the Taliban’s demand.
