Taliban Violence On The Rise In 2021

UNITED NATIONS (AP) – U.N. experts say Taliban insurgents show no sign of reducing the level of violence in Afghanistan to facilitate peace negotiations with the government. The experts said in a report to the U.N. Security Council circulated Friday that the Taliban appears to be trying to strengthen its military position as leverage, with the “unprecedented violence” of 2020 carrying into 2021. The experts said the Taliban are also reported to be responsible for the great majority of assassinations that have become a feature of the violence in Afghanistan, targeting government officials, women, human rights defenders and journalists among others.