Kandahar, June 5: The Taliban group has on Tuesday detained Afghanistan peace protesters marching through insurgent’s territory, according to two movement’s supporters.
Last year, the so-called People’s Peace Movement has attracted international attraction in the region when the protesters marched across Afghanistan and into its capital Kabul in a bid to reduce the violence record level across the nation.
Due to 18-year-long fighting between the US-backed forces and the militant group, several thousands of civilians have lost their lives and been reported wounded.
On May 27, around 30 members of the protesting group have begun their new walk, setting out from Lashkar Gh, the capital of Helmand city, according to Dawn news reports.
The Taliban has on Sunday forced four protesters to accompany them in vehicles as they crossed into Taliban territory, then on Monday, fighters returned and took the rest of the group with them. He said around 25 marchers were arrested in total, according to peace march supported Abdul Malik Hamdard.
“Initially (the Taliban) told us that ‘we will talk to them’. We have had no news from them since then,” Hamdard said.
On Tuesday, the insurgent group released pictures of four detainees, including the protest leaders Igbal Khyber, saying the men were safe and wouldn’t be harmed.
“We do not know for what purpose the Taliban fighters have taken our members,” another supporter, Bacha Khan Muladad, said. “We don’t know whether they have been taken hostages or are negotiating with them.” Muladad added.
The protest’s spokesperson Bismillah Watandost, who is among detainees, has said last week the Taliban aims to express their pain and suffering of Afghan, and also called for a truce over Muslim’s festival of Eid which kicked off on Tuesday.
The group had initially planned to march to Mosa Qala, a Taliban’s stronghold some 130 kilometres from Lashkar Gah.