Taliban detain Afghan peace marchers, supporters say

Afghan peace protesters marching through Taliban territory have been detained by the insurgents, two supporters of the movement told AFP on Tuesday.

Afghan peace protesters marching through Taliban territory have been detained by the insurgents, two supporters of the movement told AFP on Tuesday.

The so-called People’s Peace Movement attracted international attention last year when they walked across Afghanistan and into the capital Kabul in an attempt to reduce the record levels of violence across the country.

About 30 members of the People’s Peace Movement started a new walk on May 27, when they set out from Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand province.

According to Abdul Malik Hamdard, a peace march supporter, the Taliban forced members of the group to accompany them in vehicles Sunday night as they crossed into Taliban territory in the south of the country.

“We do not know for what purpose the Taliban fighters have taken our members,” another supporter, Bacha Khan Muladad, told AFP.

“We don’t know whether they have been taken hostages or are negotiating with them.”