Afghan Taliban urged to end violence in show of good faith ahead of Eid

Fifteen diplomatic missions and the NATO representative in Kabul have joined hands to urge the Taliban to halt military offensives across Afghanistan, just hours after a Doha conference failed to agree on a ceasefire.

A senior delegation of Afghan leaders met the Taliban's political leadership in the Qatari capital over the last two days but a Taliban statement issued late on Sunday made no mention of a halt to Afghanistan's rising violence.

"This Eid al Adha, the Taliban should lay down their weapons for good and show the world their commitment to the peace process," the 15 missions and the NATO representative said on Monday, referring to Tuesday's Muslim holiday in Afghanistan.

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The joint statement was supported by Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the European Union delegation, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Britain and the United States and NATO's senior civilian representative.

Over the last few Eid holidays, the Taliban have called temporary ceasefires, saying they wanted to let Afghans spend them in peace.

No Eid halt in violence from Taliban

This time there has been no such announcement as the Taliban make swift territorial gains in near-unprecedented levels of fighting nationwide.

The insurgents have been emboldened as foreign forces near a complete withdrawal after 20 years of fighting.

Monday's statement also condemned rights violations, such as efforts to shut schools and media outfits reported by media in areas recently captured by the Taliban. The insurgent group has previously denied such assertions.

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