Taliban Resume Efforts to Halt Elections After End of Cease-fire by J.P. Lawrence - Stars & Stripes
HERAT, Afghanistan - Taliban gunmen killed seven as they stormed an election registration site in Nimroz province Thursday, in a new round of attacks on Afghanistan’s hopes for safe elections this October following the end of a short cease-fire.
Taliban attacks on registration efforts in Afghanistan have led to concerns about whether the country’s district and provincial elections, already three years late, will happen on time.
Elections have long been a priority for Western countries in Afghanistan, with Gen. John Nicholson, commander of NATO’s Resolute Support Mission, declaring that credible elections are part of the strategy to pressure the Taliban to reconcile.
United States and NATO forces are advising Afghan security forces in safeguarding election sites, said Australian Col. Stephen Gliddon, future operations planner at NATO’s headquarters in Kabul.
The Taliban have called for an election boycott and have killed at least 86, wounded 185 and abducted 26 civilians in attacks against election sites since April, according to a May report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan…