Month: February 2020

Trump en Taliban zijn klaar met akkoord, maar het is nog geen vrede in Afghanistan

Thomas Ruttig •

Mondiaal Nieuws, 18 February 2020 The Belgian news website quotes from AAN’s analysis, by Thomas Ruttig, on the latest developments toward a US-Taleban ‘reduction in violence’ agreement: Thomas Ruttig, van het Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN), wijst er in een analyse op dat februari een wintermaand is met vaak veel sneeuw, zeker in de bergen. Dat […]

18 Feb 2020

Ghani declared winner of Afghan election – but opponent rejects result

The Guardian, 18 February 2020 AAN’s Kate Clark is quoted here about the importance of the Afghan election result: “At a normal time, disputed election results would be traumatic for a country that craves stability and strong government, but this week, Afghans are also expecting a US-Taliban deal to be announced,” said Kate Clark, a […]

18 Feb 2020

First Breakthrough Toward Peace? A look at the seven-day ‘reduction of violence’

Thomas Ruttig •

The United States and the Taleban have agreed to reduce violence for seven days, an agreement which would also apply to the Afghan government forces. While not a full ceasefire, it would be a ‘test’ of the seriousness of the parties before the signing of a bilateral deal agreeing the withdrawal of US troops, Taleban […]

17 Feb 2020

Efter 19 års krig med tusinder af dræbte – Udsigt til aftale om Afghanistan

Politiken, 16 February 2020 AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted in the leading Danish daily on the ‘reduction on violence’ week in Afghanistan (behind a paywall).

16 Feb 2020

Still Ifs and Whens: The US and the Taleban inch toward a bilateral agreement

Thomas Ruttig •

There have been increasing indications over the past few days that the United States and the Taleban are edging toward an agreement – or possibly two. While a declaration of a mutual ‘reduction of violence’ seems imminent, a bilateral US-Taleban agreement opening the way to peace negotiations between the Afghan parties to the conflict appears […]

13 Feb 2020

US touts partial ceasefire with Taliban in push for election-year troop reduction

Thomas Ruttig • AAN •

The Guardian, 12 February 2020 AAN’s Kate Clark is quoted in this article about reported progress in the US-Taleban talks: Kate Clark, the co-director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network, said that a US withdrawal might tip the military balance in the Taliban’s favour, which could prove dangerous if it has no intention of pursuing a […]

12 Feb 2020

Kabul’s Expanding Crime Scene (Part 1): The roots of today’s underworld

Fabrizio Foschini •

Criminality in Afghanistan, particularly in Kabul, has soared in recent years. An increase in the city’s population, coupled with shrinking economic opportunities, appears to have forced more people into illegal activities as a means of survival. On top of this, the activities of well-armed and politically-connected criminal groups, present in the city and its surroundings […]

11 Feb 2020

Anschlag in Kabul: Frustrierte Islamisten

AAN • Thomas Ruttig •

Tageszeitung, 11 February 2020 Guests article by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig on the first terrorist (suicide) attack in Kabul since November 2019, and putting it in the context of US-Taleban negotiations which seem to inch toward an agreement (in German).  

11 Feb 2020

Afghanistan’s 2019 Elections (29): A statistical overview of the preliminary results

Ali Yawar Adili •

After four and half months, the final results of the presidential election are still yet to be announced after the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) ordered a partial audit of more than 200,000 suspicious votes and a recount of almost 600 polling stations where there were discrepancies or missing biometric data. At the point where we […]

8 Feb 2020

al-Jazeera: Herat’s restored synagogues reveal Afghanistan’s Jewish past

al-Jazeera, 7 February 2020 While the last Jew living in Kabul and his synagogue are well known, it is lesser known that Herat – and other cities of northern Afghanistan – had had Jewish communities for centuries. It is believed that the population of Jews in western Afghanistan was close to 40,000 as of 1836 […]

7 Feb 2020

National Geographic: In Afghanistan, climate change complicates future prospects for peace

National Geographic, 3 February 2020 An important thematic reminder in the midst of the current hot discussion about ‘elections and peace’, on one of the gravest problems Afghanistan is facing: “Afghanistan is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change, and one of the least equipped to handle what’s to come. […]

6 Feb 2020

New York Times: Asylum Seekers Find a New Route to Europe [through Cyprus]

New York Times, 28 January 2020 This article doesn’t mention Afghans or Afghanistan, but it describes another facet of the ongoing refugee crisis at the gates of Europe: “The number of asylum seekers in Cyprus was five times higher in 2019 than it was four years ago, unlike in the rest of the [EU], where […]

5 Feb 2020