Enemy attacks on civilians, Afghan forces "much higher" than last year: Report

According to a report by the Special Investigator General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), the frequency of enemy attacks in Kabul was significantly higher than in the same quarter last year.

The quarterly report articulated that "recent heavy fighting between American, Afghan and Taliban forces in the Helmand and Kandahar Provinces has forced thousands of Afghan civilians to flee their homes", as the peace negotiations continue to stall.

On the 2nd of December, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (under the tutelage of President Ashraf Ghani) and the Taliban negotiating teams agreed to establish rules and procedures to guide the peace talks, which could lead to a political roadmap and a permanent (comprehensive) ceasefire agreement.

While the Department of Defense announced that it would aim to reduce American troops in the war-torn country down to 2500 by January 2021, the report highlighted that the announced figure has not been reached, adding that "top generals said the new force level is sufficient to protect U.S. forces and their Afghan partners, as well as to carry out the U.S. training and counterterrorism missions".

Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO, warned that "The price for leaving too soon or in an. uncoordinated way could be very high [...] Afghanistan risks becoming once again a platform for international terrorists to plan and organize attacks on our homelands. And ISIS could rebuild in Afghanistan the terror caliphate it lost in Syria and Iraq".

International donors have expressed the potential for between $12 billion and $13.2 billion in aid through 2024, if subsequent annual commitments could remain consistent - an amount that represents the bare minimum of what World Bank analysts say would be required to maintain Afghanistan as a “viable state.”