Afghan civil war ‘unavoidable’ if Taliban refuse talks, says opposition leader

Ahmad Massoud issues warning as militant group seeks to assert control around Kabul airport

One of the main figures still leading Afghan opposition to the Taliban's takeover of the country, Ahmad Massoud, has warned that a new civil war is inevitable without a comprehensive power-sharing agreement.

Massoud, the son of Ahmad Shah Massoud, who opposed the Taliban in the 1990s and was assassinated two days before 9/11 in 2001, told the Dubai-based Al Arabiya TV channel that war was unavoidable" if the Taliban refused dialogue.