US to begin withdrawal of troops mid-January

Trump will cut US forces in Afghanistan to 2,500 from 4,500 by mid-January, the Pentagon said, seeking to wind down the US’s longest war. The withdrawal of foreign forces – Britain plans to follow the US’s lead – could mean greater scope for the Taliban to expand its influence.

The peace talks in the Qatari capital have faltered and the Taliban refuses to call a ceasefire, launching attacks that have at times prompted the US to launch air raids to protect urban areas.

But senior diplomats told Reuters that a breakthrough was expected in the peace talks after the donor conference.

“Taliban and Afghan government representatives will take a break from the peace talks after the Geneva conference but not before they have a joint declaration of agreement over key security issues,” said a senior Western official.

At the Geneva meeting, the government of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani will present a peace and development framework meant to allocate funds to key projects, safeguard millions of jobs and protect democratic institutions.

“The conference will remain focused on making Afghanistan self-reliant by the end of its transformation decade which is 2024,” Naser Sidiqee, a senior official of the Afghan finance ministry, said in Geneva last week.

The Taliban is not invited to the conference but the armed group have urged donors to continue their humanitarian assistance while accusing Ghani’s government of pocketing the aid money.

“We request the international community and organisations to deliver aid, collected in the name of the people, to the people,” the armed group said in a statement.