The Taliban "restores the former security guarantees" to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Afghanistan, the Islamist militia said in a statement on Sunday, ordering its fighters to provide "security to this committee's workers and equipment."

The Red Cross ceased most of its activities in the war-torn country after the withdrawal of protective guarantees by the Taliban in April 2018.

Roya Musawi, a Red Cross spokeswoman in Afghanistan, said operations throughout the country had resumed following the publication of the statement.

Operations include the transportation and handling of bodies left on the battlefield, arranging family visits for prisoners on both sides of the conflict, and providing health services, she said.

Around 140,000 people received treatment at one of the seven Red Cross rehabilitation centres in Afghanistan last year, according to the organisation. Only one of those centres, located in Kabul, was able to remain open during the period of the Taliban ban.

Australian Associated Press