Afghan peace marchers arrive in Kabul as Taliban end ceasefire

KABUL - Dozens of peace protesters arrived in Kabul on Monday after walking hundreds of kilometres across war-battered Afghanistan, as the Taliban ended an unprecedented ceasefire and resumed attacks in parts of the country.

Exhausted after their 700-kilometre (430-mile) trek, most of it during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the marchers walked double file through the Afghan capital shouting "We want peace!" and "Stop fighting!" "We want our people to stay united for peace and get rid of this misery for the next generation," Mohammad Naikzad, one of the marchers, told Tolo News.

"I am calling on both sides -- the government and the Taliban -- for God's sake... find a way for peace and reconciliation."

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The Taliban refused to extend their three-day ceasefire beyond Sunday night despite pressure from ordinary Afghans, the government and the international community.

Taliban fighters attacked security forces in numerous districts of eastern and southern Afghanistan, officials told AFP, but there were no details on casualties.

Defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanesh told AFP there had been "very few" reports of fighting since the government on Saturday extended its own ceasefire with the Taliban for another 10 days.

"We hope the Taliban accept the Afghan nation's call for peace," Radmanesh added.

No Ceasefire Extension

The Taliban refused to extend their ceasefire beyond Sunday night, dampening hopes for peace after jubilant scenes over the Eid holidays in Afghanistan.

The announcement came after a suicide attack in the restive eastern part of the country on Sunday killed at least 18 people in a crowd celebrating the Muslim holiday, the second assault in as many days to mar the unprecedented ceasefire.

Kabul extended its ceasefire with the Taliban by 10 days but said security forces would defend themselves if attacked, a spokesman for President Ashraf Ghani tweeted.

The Afghan leader also requested the militant group halt hostilities but the Taliban said fighting would resume.

"The ceasefire ends tonight and our operations will begin, inshallah (God willing). We have no intention to extend the ceasefire," Zabihullah Mujahid, the group's spokesman, told AFP in a WhatsApp message.

He made no reference to Ghani's announcement. The announcement has raised concern among some Afghans over the number of Taliban who have taken advantage of the ceasefire to enter cities around the country, including the capital Kabul, and may still be there when the truce ends.

The Islamic State group, which was not part of the truce, claimed it had carried out its second suicide attack in two days in the province of Nangarhar.