Taliban offer joint investigation into civilian casualites in Afghanistan

This committee would "conduct investigations into the civilian casualties across the country," said the statement released late Sunday.

The probe should include representatives from the Taliban, calling itself the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, along with Nato forces, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, and UN human rights organisations, the statement said.

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RFI's correspondent in Kabul, Jonathan Boone, says the offer forms part of a wider public relations battle. The vast majority of civilian deaths and injuries in the war have been blamed on the Taliban.

“This is a sign of the pressure the Taliban is coming under,” said Boone, pointing to a UN report on civilian casualities which revealed that "the lions share of the civilian casualties all being attributed to insurgent groups."

Meanwhile, Nato forces "which are routinely blamed by the Afghan government and the Afghan people for causing civilian casualties, have managed to greatly reduce the number of civilian casualties.”

Boone is quick to point out, however, that agreeing to take part in the investigation is not a peace overture.

“It as about both sides battling to prove that they are the ones who are protecting the so-called Afghan population. A peace overture would be contrary to everything we know about their attitudes to reconciling with Nato forces or the Afghan government.”

This is not the first time that the insurgents have called for a joint committee to investigate civilian deaths: a similar attempt four years ago was rejected.

But an independent Afghan rights watchdog has welcomed the latest overture. Afghan Rights Monitor (ARM) said that by allowing independent investigations into civilian deaths in areas under their control, insurgents should adhere to certain conditions, including "providing genuine, concrete and certifiable guarantees for the safety and security of human rights investigators [and] reporters".