The Taliban says it will no longer allow safe passage to Red Cross staff working in Afghanistan.
The militants accuse the neutral humanitarian group of failing to meet its obligations to help Taliban prisoners in a jail in Kabul.
The International Committee of the Red Cross monitors detention conditions and provides medical aid. It scaled down its presence in Afghanistan last year after seven staff were killed.
Spokeswoman Andrea Catta Preta said the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) was in close contact with the Taliban following their announcement, and hoping to find a solution so the group’s humanitarian work could continue.
The ICRC treats all parties harmed by warfare humanely and does not take sides. It has in the past given first aid training to Taliban members. It operates in Taliban-controlled areas with guarantees of safety and helps to repatriate bodies from both sides after fighting between the militants and the Afghan army.
In its statement on Monday, the Taliban said that many of its prisoners held in Pul-e-Charkhi jail in the capital Kabul were in a terrible state of health and that the ICRC would be responsible for whatever happened to them. Hundreds of fighters have been on hunger strike to demand better prison conditions.
