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| Afghanistan |
| Afghan Taliban deny peace talks with UN envoy |
| 2010-01-31 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] The Taliban denied Saturday that leaders of the group fighting to overthrow the Afghan government had met with U.N. representatives to discuss bringing peace to Afghanistan. The Taliban issued a statement branding reports of a meeting with the UN's outgoing special representative to Afghanistan, Kai Eide, in Dubai this month as "rumors" and "propaganda". Referring to itself as "the leading council of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" -- as it did during its 1996-2001 rule of the war-torn nation -- the group said the reports were "propaganda by the invading forces against the jihad and mujahideen". "The leading council of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan strongly denies the rumors reported by some international media about talks between Kai Eide and representatives of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan," the Taliban said in a statement posted on their website. "To defuse this (propaganda) we insist on continuing our holy Islamic jihad against the enemy," it said in a statement, referring to the U.S. and NATO forces fighting the Taliban insurgency. The statement said the Taliban's refusal to negotiate peace had ensured that an international conference in London on Thursday, attended by around 70 countries, was a failure. "Now in an effort to recover their military and political prestige, the enemies are resorting to a propaganda conspiracy," it said. |
| Posted by:Fred |