17 civilians killed as Taliban mounts attacks after deal

Bloomberg

Afghan Taliban insurgents killed 17 civilians and wounded 49 during the first week of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, further chipping away at their pledge to reduce violence following a peace deal with the US.
The fatalities occurred from April 24, Javid Faisal, a spokesman for the National Security Council of Afghanistan, said on Twitter. Most of the casualties were caused by roadside bombs and direct fire, he added.
The peace agreement signed in February was meant to pave the way for the withdrawal of US and NATO forces from Afghanistan within 14 months. But while attacks on the US-led coalition have ceased, the Taliban almost immediately began mounting assaults on Afghan rural areas.
Separate data from the National Security Council show that 337 civilians have been killed, 452 wounded and 164 abducted in the two months since the signing. “Taliban have failed to live up to their commitment to remain peaceful. They increased their campaign of terror immediately and harmed 100s of Afghan men, women and children,” Faisal tweeted.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed disputed the numbers, saying on Twitter that the dead were killed by airstrikes and rocket attacks of “US occupiers” and Afghan forces.
The violence has escalated as the country, with a weak health system, struggles to fight the coronavirus pandemic that has killed 85 Afghans and infected about 2,700 as of May 2, according to the Health Ministry.
The accord between the US and the Taliban is meant to wind down more than 18 years of fighting and America’s longest war. Intra-Afghan peace efforts, though, have stalled amid a power struggle between President Ashraf Ghani and the country’s chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah.