Taliban announces 3-day Eid ceasefire in Afghanistan

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - The Taliban announced on Saturday a ceasefire in Afghanistan for three days, starting from the beginning of Eid, the festival which marks the end of Ramadan, EFE reports.

The announcement comes two days after the Afghan government called an unprecedented unilateral truce.

According to the statement, the ceasefire has been declared to allows Afghans to take part in the Eid prayers and other related activities.

Eid al-Fitr begins at the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

The ceasefire, coinciding with the celebrations, is expected to start on June 15.

In their statement, the Taliban did not mention the unilateral ceasefire announced two days ago by the Afghan government.

President Ashraf Ghani had presented the truce as a fresh opportunity for the insurgent group to surrender its weapons after it rejected an ambitious peace offer from the government in February.