Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the former warlord known as “the butcher of Kabul,” returned to the Afghan capital on May 4, arriving in the city in a heavily armed convoy. Nekmatyar was accused of killing thousands in Kabul during the wars of the 1990s.

His return was made possible by a peace deal he signed with the Afghan government last fall.

President Ashraf Ghani welcomed Hekmaytar at a ceremony at the presidential palace, where the Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan leader offered to mediate with the Taliban, calling on them to accept him as a brother.