Ghani announces end of ceasefire with Taliban

Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday ended his government's ceasefire with the Taliban and ordered security forces to resume operations against the group.

"The ceasefire is over. The Afghan security and defense forces are allowed to restart their military operations," Afghan's TOLO News quoted Ghani, as saying while addressing media in Kabul on Saturday.

"No one has the right to monopolize the peace process. Taliban's time to decide how they are going to deal with the situation. People want peace from the Taliban and the government, and it's time for the Taliban to answer this question positively," he added.

Ghani on June 17 announced a 10-day extension on government's ceasefire and also urged the Taliban to extend their three-day ceasefire. The Taliban, however, has not yet responded and instead continues to carry out attacks across the country.

This came in the backdrop of an initial truce which was observed by both sides over the Eid festival period.

The Taliban on June 9 announced a three-day ceasefire over the Eid holiday, two days after Ghani announced the ceasefire from the 27th day of Ramzan (June 12) to the fifth day of Eid-ul-Fitr (June 19).

It is the first time the Taliban has agreed to a ceasefire for Eid since the US invasion in 2001.