'Fight and talk': Afghan war escalates alongside peace push

KABUL (Reuters) - Fighting in Afghanistan has escalated ahead of the usual spring season, as both sides seek to increase leverage in talks on a peace settlement - a gamble that analysts warn could also risk hardening positions.

In March, hundreds of Afghan forces were killed or wounded in heavy clashes in southern, western and northern Afghanistan, according to unofficial reports. Two U.S. special forces were killed near Kunduz, and attacks by both sides caused civilian casualties. U.S. air strikes also accidentally killed Afghan soldiers, in a case of friendly fire.

“Government forces are on the offensive this year. We expect a lot of fighting and obviously casualties,” said a senior Afghan security source.

Seasonal trends to fighting have become less defined over the years, as most Taliban now fight near their homes and so do not need to wait for snow to melt in the mountain passes to travel to battlefields, said Graeme Smith, a consultant for the International Crisis Group (ICG).

Even so, the Taliban annually announces the start of a spring offensive with fanfare and a name evoking epic importance, such as last year’s “Al Khandaq” campaign - named after the Battle of the Trench, fought by the Prophet Mohammad to defend the city of Medina in Islam’s early days. 

This year, Afghan forces beat the Taliban to naming their offensive, launching a spring operation dubbed “Khaled”, an Arabic word for “endless”, said the Afghan security source.

“The objective of the operations this year will be to improve intelligence gathering and targeted strikes against the enemy,” he said.

The “fight and talk” strategy has been used to describe the Afghan war as far back as the Obama U.S. presidency. One diplomat said Afghanistan’s escalation follows a similar path of greater fighting in South Sudan and Colombia ahead of peace settlements for those conflicts. - Read More
'Fight and talk': Afghan war escalates alongside peace push

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