The military is deciding on what to ship back, what to hand over to the Afghan forces ahead of Sept. 11. The final phase of ending America’s “forever war” in Afghanistan after 20 years formally began on Saturday, with the withdrawal of the last U.S. and NATO troops by the end of summer. Peace talks between the Taliban and Afghan government quickly bogged down. Afghans have paid the highest price since 2001, with 47,245 civilians killed, according to the Costs of War project. Afghanistan’s security forces are expected to come under increasing pressure from the Taliban after the withdrawal if no peace agreement is reached in the interim, according to Afghan watchers.

Source: The Hindu May 01, 2021 16:28 UTC