6 March
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is urging the Taliban to abide by the peace agreement it signed with the US last week.
Sporadic attacks by the Taliban have continued even after the deal. The US said it conducted an air strike on Wednesday.
Pompeo told reporters on Thursday that the recent upsurge in violence in parts of Afghanistan is "unacceptable." He said, "Violence must be reduced immediately for the peace process to move forward."
He said the senior Taliban leadership is "working diligently to reduce violence from previous levels." He said, "We still have confidence that the Taliban leadership is working to deliver on its commitments."
He stressed that the US special representative for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, is negotiating a hostage swap between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
The International Criminal Court decided on Thursday to investigate alleged war crimes by the Taliban and the US military in Afghanistan.
Pompeo called the move "a truly breathtaking action by unaccountable political institution masquerading as a legal body." He said the ruling is reckless as it comes just days after the US signed "a historic peace deal on Afghanistan."
NHK
