KABUL, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- More than 270 Taliban fighters have given up fighting and laid down arms in the northern Balkh and the neighboring Sari Pul provinces over the past 24 hours amid the ongoing peace efforts in Doha and the prevailing skirmishes in Afghanistan, officials said Tuesday.
"A group of Taliban composed of 125 armed insurgents have laid down arms and joined the peace process in Charkent district of Balkh province," an army statement said.
This is the second group of the Taliban militants, according to security sources that have laid down arms in the northern region of Afghanistan since Monday to support the peace process in the war-battered country.
The former militants said they had laid down arms to enhance the peace efforts.
Earlier, 150 Taliban fighters, according to police, have given up fighting and handed over their weapon to local authorities in the troubled Sari Pul province.
The surrender of militants is taking place amid the ongoing peace efforts in Doha where a 21-member Afghan government negotiating team is engaged with the Taliban representatives since Sept. 12 to find negotiated solution to their country's protracted conflict.
Afghanistan's President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani who visited Qatar on Monday, besides meeting Qatari leaders, also met the negotiating team to get knowledge on development in the peace talks.
Since the start of intra-Afghan dialogue in Doha, militancy and conflicts, according to Afghans, have got momentum and the Taliban fighters have increased activities elsewhere in the country.
More than 60 civilians have been killed and more than 140 civilians were injured in the Taliban's 650 aggressive attacks and 86 bomb blasts over the past two weeks in the country, Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said on Sunday.
Some 70 fighters with majority of them militants, according to officials, have been killed elsewhere in Afghanistan over the past 24 hours.
"Taliban insurgents would do their best to gain more ground and consolidate position to talk from strong position on negotiating table," local analyst Khan Mohammad Daneshjo told Xinhua. Enditem
