254 civilians killed in Afghanistan during Ramzan

As many as 15 suicide attacks and dozens of other attacks have been carried out in the country by the Taliban since the start of Ramzan on April 13, the Ministry of Interior Affairs of Afghanistan said on Tuesday.

A total of 255 civilians were killed and 500 more were wounded in the attacks during this period and the Taliban were responsible for 200 blasts and 15 suicide bombings during Ramzan, TOLOnews reported the interior ministry as saying. “I thank all security forces. They prevented over 800 incidents and arrested over 800 terrorists who will be trailed and law will be implemented,” Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said on Tuesday.

This comes after the Taliban on Sunday night announced that they would observe a three-day ceasefire for the festival of Eid. Later on Monday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani also instructed all Afghan forces to observe the ceasefire during Eid.

US Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad on Tuesday had welcomed the announcements by the Taliban and the Afghan government to uphold ceasefire in the country during the festival of Eid.”I welcome the announcements by the Taliban and the Afghan government to observe an Eid ceasefire. Violence has been horrific in recent weeks, and the Afghan people have paid the price,” Khalilzad tweeted.

Amid the ongoing drawdown of US troops from Afghanistan, the war-torn country has seen a spike in the incidents of violence in recent weeks, leading to casualties of Afghan security forces and civilians.