Trump announces immediate withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan
SANAA, March 1 (YPA) – US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that the United States would begin withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan immediately.
“Today,” Trump told reporters when asked when the soldiers will start to leave Afghanistan as part of a peace agreement with the Taliban.
‘ It will start immediately, ” the president said.
The agreement was signed by the US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban political chief Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in in the Qatari capital, Doha.
According to the agreement published by the US Embassy in Kabul, the Taliban will pledge to sever ties with al-Qaeda, continue the war against ISIS and withdraw US troops from Afghanistan within 14 months.
Under the agreement, the United States, its allies and the coalition will reduce their forces to 8,600 in 135 days “proportionately,” as well as withdraw the United States, its allies and the coalition from five military bases.
It also states that, under the commitment and implementation of its obligations under the agreement, the Islamic Emirate will fully withdraw from Afghanistan for the remaining nine and a half months.
The agreement also ensures that Afghan territory is not used against the security of the United States and its allies, and puts a permanent and comprehensive cease-fire on the agenda of negotiations between the Afghan parties.
The agreement came after a seven-day truce announced by Washington and the Taliban, which ended On Friday.
President Donald Trump said earlier that if the Taliban and the Afghan government abide by the agreement, it would be a way to end the war and return the US forces to the United States.
The agreement would end Afghanistan’s longest war in more than 18 years, killing thousands of civilians as a result of the conflict between the Taliban on the one hand and the United States-led government and international forces on the other.
According to news and UN reports, the Taliban control about 59 of the 407 administrative units that make up Afghanistan.
E.M