Top US General in Afghanistan warns of civil war after troop withdrawal

The top US military commander in Afghanistan has said that the country may collapse into civil war after the full US military drawdown.

Addressing a press conference in Kabul, General Austin S Miller on Tuesday said, "Civil war is certainly a path that can be visualized. That should be a concern for the world."

The United States after 20 years in Afghanistan could not hope to impose a military solution as it has tried to do for almost two decades but had to seek a compromise political settlement, Miller said, as quoted by New York Times (NYT).

The commander of US forces in Afghanistan said the US will support the Afghan security forces as foreign forces leave the country.

 

Amid growing Taliban offensive and seizure of territory in the northern part of the country, Miller said that the Taliban's expansion of violence makes it difficult to achieve peace.

According to NYT, US officials expect the entire withdrawal of their forces from the country will be completed in less than a week by the July 4 national holiday.

Pentagon on Tuesday said the end of the retrograde end will signify the end of the US combat mission in Afghanistan. The US mission will transition to protecting US diplomatic efforts in the nation and to establishing the bilateral relationship between the United States and Afghanistan, it added.

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said that the only American forces that will be left in the country will be there to protect the U.S. diplomatic presence.

As the Taliban is continuing attacks against Afghan government forces, Kirby said, "The violence is too high and ... the security situation, certainly, is concerning over there."

"What's important to say -- and I'll say it again -- is that we want to see a peace process that's credible and Afghan-led and leads to a negotiated settlement.