Taliban lifts self-imposed ban on Red Cross in Afghanistan

Taliban on Sunday lifted a self-imposed ban on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Afghanistan, after months of embargo that started from April this year.

''The ICRC consented to follow the old agreement on top of new promises in humanitarian aid and those aid workers were permitted to "resume their activities, said the Taliban spokesperson, cited by Deutsche Welle.

"We welcome the acknowledgement of our humanitarian principles and renewal of security guarantees," Schaerer Juan-Pedro, head of ICRC in Kabul, said on Twitter.

In April, the Taliban banned the ICRC from operating in Afghanistan regions under the Islamist militia's control and revoked guarantees of security from free movement.

Earlier, the Taliban had accused the ICRC of "suspicious" activities during vaccination campaigns and of failing to monitor conditions in Afghan jails and provide medical aid to Taliban prisoners.

ICRC provides assistance including transportation and handling of bodies from battlefields, arranging family visits for prisoners on both sides of the conflict and providing health services.

According to the Red Cross, an estimated 140,000 people received treatment at one of the seven rehabilitation centers in Afghanistan last year.