Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: April 2019

Überblick über die Sicherheitslage in Afghanistan

Thomas Ruttig

ecoi.net, 30 April 2019 The country of origin information system of the Austrian Red Cross’s (extensive) summary of security developments in Afghanistan in 2018 and the beginning of 2019 relies, among other sources, on information provided by AAN and by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig’s German-language blog Afghanistan Zhaghdablai.

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Hoffnung am Hindukusch: «Die Frage ist, wie Afghanistan nachher politisch gestaltet wird»

Thomas Ruttig

SRF, 30 April 2019 Listen to an interview with AAN’s Thomas Ruttig with Swiss Radio about the forthcoming Peace Loya Jirga, with a transcript (in German).

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President Ashraf Ghani administering the swearing-in of Chief Executive Abdullah and his deputies on 29 September 2014. Photo: 29 September 2014, Palace Facebook page

Afghanistan’s 2019 Elections (4): What will happen when the presidential tenure runs out on 22 May?

Ali Yawar Adili

The Supreme Court has ruled that President Muhammad Ashraf Ghani and his vice-presidents shall continue to serve until the election of a new president. This ruling comes in the wake of mounting pressure by a number of presidential candidates and their political backers, who have called on the government leaders to step down after 22 […]

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AAN Q&A: Between ‘Peace Talks’ and Elections – The 2019 Consultative Peace Loya Jirga

Thomas Ruttig Jelena Bjelica

The four-day Consultative Peace Loya Jirga will commence on Monday, 29 April 2019. This assembly – the sixth loya jirga since 2001 – was convened by President Ghani with the aim of discussing the framework for negotiations with the Taleban. Originally scheduled to start on 17 March, it had to be delayed for organisational reasons. […]

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Taliban launches spring offensive even as Afghan peace talks ongoing

Thomas Ruttig

The National, 22 April 2019 A quote from AAN’s Thomas Ruttig in the UAE-based daily, pointing out that the Taleban are not the only party to the conflict escalating the military conflict: According to Thomas Ruttig, co-director of Afghanistan Analysts Network, the onus of the sustained fighting also falls on foreign and Afghan forces. “The […]

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ICC’s Blatant Denial Of Justice And Its Implicit Dangerous Repercussion – Analysis

AAN

Eurasia Review, 17 April 2019 This analysis basically relies on information provided by an AAN dispatch.

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Better, But Still Bad: UNAMA releases new report on the torture of security detainees

Kate Clark

UNAMA has released its latest two-yearly report on the treatment of conflict-related detainees in Afghanistan and finds perpetrators of torture in the Afghan National Security Forces are still enjoying immunity from punishment. Overall rates are down, especially in the Afghan intelligence agency, the NDS, but the proportion of those detained giving credible accounts of torture […]

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How many civilians does America kill in air strikes? The Pentagon does not really know

AAN

The Economist, 4 April 2019 More American bombs and missiles fell on Afghanistan in 2018 than in any year since published records began a decade ago—more than five times as many as in 2015. Civilian deaths from air strikes correspondingly rose by 87% between 2017 and 2018 to 463, according to Action on Armed Violence […]

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Women and Afghan Peace Talks: ‘Peace consensus’ gathering left Afghan women without reassurance

Thomas Ruttig

One of the recurrent themes around the US-Taleban negotiations to end the Afghan war (so far without participation of the Afghan government) is the demand of Afghan women for “meaningfully participation” in the preparations for inclusive peace talks. This expectation also figured at a national consensus gathering (ejma) in Kabul in late February this year. […]

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An injured man uses a piece of timber as a crutch to try to get away from the scene of one of the worst attacks since 2001. The Taleban said they were targeting the Ministry of Interior buildings in Kabul. Using a van painted to look like an ambulance, the suicide attack killed 114 civilians, and injured 229 more. Such intentional killing of civilians by Taleban is one of the crimes the ICC Prosecutor had wanted to investigate. (Photo: Andrew Quilty, 2018)

ICC rejects war crimes investigation in Afghanistan: Continuing impunity for perpetrators, no voice yet for victims

Kate Clark

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has decided not to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity that have allegedly taken place on Afghan soil. The Court’s Chief Prosecutor, after finding that there was evidence of the Taleban committing a range of crimes, including murder and intentionally attacking civilians, and of Afghan government forces and the […]

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Why the Taleban Should Read the Afghan Constitution

Ghizaal Haress

As talks between the US and the Taleban move forward, we are starting to see the contours and obstacles to peace in Afghanistan. One of the possible obstacles to reaching an agreement is the Taleban’s view that Afghanistan’s current constitution is unsuitable and unacceptable. Ghizaal Haress, a prominent Afghan lawyer and a member of the […]

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