http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/world/asia/afghanistan-eu-refugees-migrants.html 2016-10-05 14:11:09 Afghanistan and E.U. Strike Deal to Send Asylum Seekers Home The announcement came as the Taliban’s onslaught continued in key areas of Kunduz for a third day, raising questions about urban centers’ security. === KABUL, Afghanistan — The move came as the Taliban’s The deal was made public before a gathering in Brussels of dozens of world leaders whose governments were expected to pledge more than $3 billion in annual development aid to Afghanistan over the next four years. “The E.U. and the government of Afghanistan intend to cooperate closely in order to organize the dignified, safe and orderly return of Afghan nationals to Afghanistan who do not fulfill the conditions to stay in the E.U.,” an announcement from the European Union said. Afghanistan’s commitment to accept tens of thousands of rejected asylum seekers back into a country where violence is a daily reality was seen as Afghans were the second-largest group of asylum seekers in Europe in 2015, with nearly 200,000 applying for asylum. That number had increased more than Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, rejected reports of aid conditionality and said that the agreement was signed days earlier as part of a separate process. “There is never, never a link between our development aid and whatever we do on migration,” Ms. Mogherini said before the start of the Brussels conference. The refugee deal Asked about reports of a deal with the European Union, President Ashraf Ghani’s spokesman, Haroon Chakhansuri, had said in a text message from Brussels, “It is absolutely not true.” In Kunduz, fighting continued in key areas on Wednesday, despite Afghan officials saying their forces were making progress in clearing Taliban fighters who took over parts of the city on Monday. As much of the city remained under lockdown, Taliban fighters fired on the provincial governor’s compound and the police headquarters from the roofs of homes nearby. “The Taliban came this morning, told us to leave our homes,” said Khalid Durani, a resident of the city who lives near the governor’s compound. “They climbed the roofs and started firing at the police headquarters and the governor’s compound — a heavy firefight is going on now.” The Taliban’s re-entry into Kunduz, Although small teams of American forces were involved in defending the governor’s compound, according to Afghan officials, how far the Americans can go is complicated by the aftermath of helping retake Kunduz last year. As part of that effort, American planes