The Taliban's official spokesman disavowed peace talks with the Afghan government on Thursday, throwing fledgling efforts to negotiate an end to 14 years of war into disarray, Reuters reported. The statement came a day after the Afghan government said that Mullah Omar, the elusive supreme leader of the militant movement, had died two years ago in neighbouring Pakistan. News of Omar's demise is likely to intensify a struggle within the deeply divided group to succeed him, clouding chances of a peace process that had already run into trouble.