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Afghanistan has struck a ceasefire deal with Taliban fighters in a remote province, a presidential spokesman said on Monday, the first move of its kind amid an escalation of violence ahead of elections next month.
The truce was reached on Saturday in northwestern Badghis province, near the border with Turkmenistan, spokesman Seyamak Herawi said. The government wanted to make similar deals with the Taliban in other parts of the country in a bid to improve security for the August 20 presidential election, he said.
Attacks have been less frequent in remote Badghis compared with Taliban strongholds in the south and the east.
The Helmand offensive is the first major operation under U.S. President Barack Obama's new regional strategy to defeat the Taliban and its allies.
Foreign troops out
Former Taliban officials have been trying to mediate between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the fighters since late last year, hoping eventually to arrange peace talks.
Before the Badghis deal the Taliban had repeatedly rejected such suggestions, saying they would continue their fighting until all foreign troops had left Afghanistan. The Taliban were not immediately available for comment on Monday.
The truce was arranged after mediation between Taliban leaders in Badghis and tribal elders and other influential figures in the province, Herawi said.
Under the deal, the Taliban agreed not to attack election candidates in the province and to allow them to set up campaign offices.
Herawi said polling centers would be secured by government forces and the Taliban had also agreed not to target reconstruction projects in Badghis. He said the Taliban had not demanded any special conditions before striking the deal.
"This was a good experience ... and we want it to be implemented in other parts of the country," Herawi said.
PHOTO CAPTION
Tribal elders in Afghanistan's Badakhshan province
Reuters
