Optimism, fear in former Taliban bastion as US begins Afghanistan pullout
Kandahar (Afghanistan) (AFP) - As the US military began formally withdrawing from Afghanistan Saturday, some residents in Kandahar -- the former bastion of the Taliban -- were optimistic the exit will bring peace to the violence-wracked country. "The fighting will then be between two Muslim brothers (Afghan government forces and the Taliban) and the hope is that the two will reconcile and make peace," said Pacha Khan, a farmer from the southern Afghan province that was once a flashpoint of fighting. US President Joe Biden had announced in April that the remaining 2,500 American troops will for...