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MOSCOW Russia's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that any decision by the United States to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan would worsen the situation in the country, Interfax news agency reported.

The ministry said it had not spoken to the new administration of U.S. President Donald Trump about the issue.

"As far as I know, Trump does not currently have any intentions to withdraw, which is logical, because if in the current environment he decides to withdraw the contingent, then everything will collapse," Interfax quoted Zamir Kabulov, special representative to the Russian president on Afghanistan, as saying.

(Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Writing by Jack Stubbs)

BEIJING/WASHINGTON China said on Tuesday it had "irrefutable" sovereignty over disputed islands in the South China Sea after the White House vowed to defend "international territories" in the strategic waterway.

LONDON Prime Minister Theresa May must give parliament a vote before she can formally start Britain's exit from the European Union, the UK Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday, giving lawmakers who oppose her Brexit plans a shot at amending them.

JARABLUS, Syria A new Syrian police force trained and equipped by Turkey started work in a rebel-held border town on Tuesday, a sign of deepening Turkish influence in northern Syria, where it has helped drive out Islamic State militants in recent months.

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Russia says US withdrawal from Afghanistan would worsen situation - Ifax - Reuters

The Taliban has called on President Donald Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan, saying it is a "quagmire" that has produced little but 15 years of destruction and death.

Trump has never stated what his policy is on Afghanistan, though he has said he supports U.S. troops stationed there and he appointed two former generals with extensive experience in Afghanistan to top security positions.

In an open letter to the new U.S. president published on a Taliban web page verified by the SITE Intelligence Group on January 23, the insurgent movement told Trump the United States has lost credibility after spending billions of dollars on a 15-year entanglement with no end in sight.

"The responsibility to bring to an end this war rests on your shoulders," it said.

The Taliban has repeatedly urged the United States and its allies to leave Afghanistan, ruling out peace talks with the Kabul government as long as foreign forces remain on Afghan soil.

While the United States sent tens of thousands of troops to Afghanistan when it first invaded in 2001 to oust Al-Qaeda, the number of U.S. forces in NATO's coalition this year has dwindled to 8,400.

Since coalition forces ended their main combat mission in 2014, the Taliban has made steady inroads against the Western-backed government in Kabul, with government forces now in control of only two-thirds of the country.

Trump's views on such foreign wars have been ambivalent. He has sharply criticized past U.S. administrations for their handling of conflicts in the Muslim world, but he has also pledged to eradicate militant Islamists around the globe.

Defense Secretary James Mattis and national-security adviser Michael Flynn both served terms in Afghanistan.

The Taliban in its letter warned Trump against relying on the "unrealistic" reports presented by such generals, saying "they would emphasize continuation of war and occupation of Afghanistan."

"You have to realize that the Afghan Muslim nation has risen up against foreign occupation," and if the United States chooses to extend its engagement there it faces "a historically shameful defeat," it said.

Afghanistan's chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah, over the weekend said he is certain that "cooperation" will continue between Kabul and Washington under the Trump administration.

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Taliban Calls On Trump To Withdraw From Afghanistan 'Quagmire' - RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty

News Ghana

Roof Collapses in Eastern Afghanistan Refugee Camp, Kills 6 New York Times KABUL, Afghanistan An Afghan official says the roof of a shoddily constructed house in a refugee camp in eastern Afghanistan collapsed as a family was sleeping inside, killing 6 family members, including two women and two children. Attaullah ... Airstrike kills 6 IS militants in E. AfghanistanNews Ghana all 4 news articles »

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Roof Collapses in Eastern Afghanistan Refugee Camp, Kills 6 - New York Times

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In the final days of the Obama Administration, 23 refugees came through Slovakias Emergency Transit Centre from countries including Somalia, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iraq and Eritrea, all of which have struggled with terrorism, according to the International Organization for Migration.

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Slovakia has been sending refugees into the U.S. since 2009, with now 978 refugees already resettled into the country.

But, the latest group of refugees could be some of the last to enter the country for a while. The Trump administration has promised to halt the refugee resettlement program, at least from countries where the majority of refugees currently migrate from.

Where the newest refugees have migrated to in the U.S. remains unknown, but regions like Knoxville, Tennessee, have seen their fair-share of refugees entering their neighborhoods at record pace, as Breitbart Texas reported.

Like the refugees coming to the U.S. from Slovakia, the majority of refugees entering Knoxville are from Iraq, a country that has been torn apart by Islamic terrorism. Other refugees in Knoxville are from similar third-world areas, like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.

Just three years ago, there were only 170 refugees resettled in Knoxville. In 2015, that number slightly increased to 194. If the projections are sustained, there will be at least 476 brought to the region in two years.

John Binder is a contributor for Breitbart Texas. Follow him on Twitter at@JxhnBinder.

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Refugee Flow From Somalia, Afghanistan Continues Into US - Breitbart News

Jan 23, 2017- Afghanistan remains one of the main challenges for the Trump administration with analysts suggesting that the new US President needs to review the strategy of the War on Terror in Afghanistan.

Donald Trump, who was sworn-in the 45th President of the US on January 20, in his maiden yet short speech at the inauguration ceremony, reportedly said: "We will unite the civilised world against radical Islamic terrorism to eradicate it completely from the face of the Earth."

However, he did not mention Afghanistan, where US-coalition forces have been fighting since October 2001 to eliminate Al Qaeda terrorists and the Taliban group, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The War on Terror, initiated by former US President George W. Bush in Afghanistan, and continued by former President Barack Obama would also last during Trump's tenure," renowned analyst General Atiqullah Omarkhil (Retd), formerly of the Afghan National Army, told Xinhua.

Backing his notion, the military expert and political observer said the "US itself doesn't want to end the war in Afghanistan".

He argued that "the US-led coalition forces might have already won the War on Terror when it had more than 150,000-strong multi-national troops in Afghanistan if it fought sincerely".

"The coalition forces overthrew the Al Qaeda-backed Taliban regime within weeks in late 2001 but the 'cat and mouse' war continues," the analyst highlighted.

The former army General expressed doubt over the US resolve in fighting terrorism sincerely in Afghanistan amid Kabul's desires that the new administration in Washington like its predecessors would continue to support the Afghan government in the war against the Taliban and associated groups.

Afghan Presidential Spokesman Haroon Chakhansori recently assumed that since relations between Kabul and Washington are strategic and based on common interests, it stands to reason the new administration would continue to back Afghanistan.

Similarly, Mujib Rahman Rahimi, the spokesman for the Afghan Chief Executive, also in talks with the media last week, accused Pakistan of supporting the Taliban and hoped the new US administration would support the Afghan government in the war against terror.

He hoped that the Trump administration would put pressure on Islamabad to give up backing militants operating in Afghanistan.

Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai also called upon Trump to review Washington's strategy in the War on Terror and pay attention to the terrorists' safe havens in Pakistan.

Afghans mostly accuse Pakistan of backing the Taliban and like-minded groups in fighting in Afghanistan, a claim utterly rebuffed by Islamabad as baseless.

Nevertheless, Omarkhil, as an eminent analyst, brushed aside the demand of Afghan officials from the new US administration as wishful thinking and observed: "The US is not serious in the War on Terror, otherwise, the Taliban militants might already have been diminished."

The war, launched by the US-led coalition forces against the Taliban regime for providing shelter to Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in October 2001, has claimed thousands of lives in Afghanistan.

"The US-led war in Afghanistan has yet to deliver," observed the analyst.

"Failure in the War on Terror has paved the way for the Islamic State terrorist group to emerge and kill Afghans. The countrymen will continue to suffer at the hands of terrorists in the years ahead," Omarkhil said.

Corroborating the notion, former Afghan diplomat and prominent analyst Ahmad Sayedi said Trump in his speech clearly indicated that he wants everything for his country and cautioned the government to be vigilant and do its best to stand on its own feet.

"With a backdrop of failure in the War on Terror over the past 15 years, Afghanistan will likely continue to remain a challenge for the US in the years ahead," the political expert observed.

The Afghan media has also warned the Trump administration that leaving Afghanistan in the lurch would eventually pave the way for terrorist outfits to regroup and destabilise the region and the world at large.

Published: 23-01-2017 16:04

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Fighting terror in Afghanistan challenge for Trump - The Kathmandu Post