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7 Taliban militants surrender in N. Afghan province

Xinhua, February 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

Some seven Taliban rebels renounced violence and surrendered to the government in Afghanistan's northern province of Badakhshan on Sunday, the provincial governor spokesman said.

"A total of seven Taliban members denounced the violence and joined the peace and reconciliation process in Argu district. The group under the command of Baismillah Khan also handed over seven rounds of weapons to security authorities earlier on Sunday," spokesman Ahmad Nawid Frotan told Xinhua.

He added, "the local government will spare no efforts to help them rejoin their families and provide them jobs."

The Afghan government set up a High Peace Council and launched the peace and reconciliation process in 2010 to encourage Taliban to disarm and give up militancy against the government.

Since mid-2010, more than 10,000 Taliban militants have laid down arms and joined the government-backed peace process, according to officials, but the claim has been rejected by the armed outfit as "baseless." Enditem