US troops begin withdrawing from Afghanistan

American troops have started leaving Afghanistan, according to a US official who spoke to the media, a couple of weeks after a historic agreement was signed between Washington and the Taliban that can result in the end of a 19-year bloodshed between the two sides. 

The officials said that hundreds of US troops have started to leave Afghanistan in accordance with the deal with the Taliban. These soldiers will not be replaced as the American administration looks to decrease US troops in Afghanistan from 13,000 to 8,600, said the official while speaking to Associated Press. 

"US Forces Afghanistan has begun its conditions-based reduction of forces to 8,600 over 135 days," spokesman Colonel Sonny Leggett said in a statement.

Read more: US, Taliban sign 'peace deal' as Afghanistan looks for end to 18-year war

The troop withdrawal comes before a public announcement of the move as tensions are set to rise once again in Afghanistan following a new rift between Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah. The two rival politicians held separate presidential oath taking ceremonies, each refusing to recognise the other and claiming the right to the presidentship. 

Ghani, who emerged the victor in controversial Afghanistan elections, is not recognised by Abdullah who has alleged that the polls were rigged. This can complicate matters for the US and create hindrances in the implementation of the peace accord between the US and the Taliban. The latter has been stepping up attacks against the Afghan security forces in recent days but has not targeted foreign forces. 

The next step of the deal involves an intra-Afghan peace dialogue through which the Taliban and Afghanistan stakeholders will try to figure out a power-sharing formula to ensure the US can withdraw and peace prevails in the country. 

Tensions between Abdullah and Ghani can threaten the fragile peace agreement and shatter dreams of peace prevailing in Afghanistan after almost two decades. The long-term plan is for the US to remove all troops within 14 months if security conditions are met.

Read also: Afghanistan's Ghani to issue presidential decree over Taliban prisoners as mechanism reached

US-Taliban ink historic deal

Briefly, this is what the deal is about:

A guarantee to prevent the use of Afghan soil by any international terrorist groups or individuals against the security of the United States and its allies;

Provision of a timeline for the withdrawal of all US and coalition forces from Afghanistan;

A political settlement resulting from intra-Afghan dialogue and negotiations between the Taliban and an inclusive negotiating team of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan; and

A permanent and comprehensive ceasefire.

US 'will not hesitate to nullify' agreement if deal broken 

However, the US had warned that it will not hesitate to 'nullify' agreement if the deal was broken by the Taliban. 

The US "will not hesitate to nullify" its historic deal with the Taliban if they renege on their security guarantees and commitment to hold talks with the Afghan government, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper had said after the deal was signed. 

"Should the Taliban fail to honour their commitments, they will forfeit their chance to sit with fellow Afghans and deliberate on the future of their country," he had said.