KABUL, April 25 (Xinhua) -- At least 28 Afghans including four civilians have been killed and more than two dozen more civilians injured over the past 24 hours in Afghanistan after the Taliban outfit refused government offer to observe ceasefire during Ramadan, the Muslim holy fasting month that begun on Friday.
In the latest gun battle which took place in Qala-e-Zal district of the northern Kunduz province at around noon Saturday and lasted for 30 minutes, four Taliban insurgents were killed and another wounded, local police officer Khal Mohommad said.
Similarly, the national army in a statement released Saturday reported killing 17 Taliban militants and wounding 13 others in Shahrak district of the western Ghor province.
Police have also claimed that the Taliban indiscriminate firing on residential areas claimed the life of one civilian in the eastern Ghazni and three others in the northern Faryab province over the past 24 hours.
According to police, 25 more civilians including 15 women and children in the said provinces have been injured since Friday.
The escalation in fighting has been seen since Friday, the first day of Ramadan, when Afghans have called upon warring sides to observe ceasefire.
Afghanistan president Mohammad Ashraf Ghani in his message on Thursday, the eve of Ramadan, called on Taliban outfit to observe ceasefire during Ramadan and stop killing Afghans during the holy month, but the armed group rejected the offer and vowed to keep on fighting.
Backing the appeal, Afghan religious scholars and prayer leaders in their sermons on Friday congregation described Ramadan as the month of peace, reconciliation and brotherhood, urging the Taliban group to halt hostilities and join the peace process to end the war in the country. Enditem
