British commander says Taliban attack after Eid-ceasefire disappointing

WASHHINGTON, June 21 (APP):British army Lt. Gen. Richard J. Cripwell, the deputy commander for the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan expressed his disappointment over the Taliban attack that came after a ceasefire between the militants and the government for Eid-ul-Fitr.
Speaking to reporters in Washington via tele-conference from Kabul, Gen. Cripwell said that the ceasefire and the burgeoning peace movement in Afghanistan led NATO officials in the country to believe the country is on the ‘edge of opportunity.’
“We are, of course, disappointed that the Taliban decided not to continue, and chose instead to return to war,” he said but added that NATO was fully behind the Afghan government, and Resolute Support would continue to honor the government’s ceasefire as long as it endures.
Although the Taliban ceasefire has now ended, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has decided to extend the government ceasefire, and has reiterated his offer of unconditional talks. This shows that a serious desire for peace was here in Afghanistan, the British Gen. said.
Speaking about the ceasefire, the General said that it was a ‘courageous’ move by the Afghan government and the Taliban agreed to the cease-fire and the nation saw what peace could look like as government and Taliban marked the end of the holy month of Ramadan this past weekend.
Ghani extended the ceasefire, but the Taliban carried out their first attack after the ceasefire, killing 30 Afghan soldiers in Badghis, a city in western Afghanistan.
Gen. Cripwell said that the military pressure on Taliban was on in an effort to bring the group to the table. “We are not here to do this ourselves,” the general said to Pentagon reporters via video teleconference.
“Our focus is on building capability to ensure the Afghan security forces can deliver effective, targeted military pressure to protect and secure their population and create the conditions for a political settlement.”
NATO trainers are helping Afghan forces, now, at every level. Senior NATO leaders partner with Afghan defense and interior officials. They work to increase institutional strength and look to root our inefficiency and corruption, the general said, as quoted by a report at the official Pentagon website.