(VOVworld)- The new Afghan Taliban leader appealed for unity in the insurgency in his first public message released on Saturday amid reports his predecessor's family members opposed his selection. 

The new head, Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, was deputy for several years to the elusive one-eyed former leader Mullah Omar, who served as a unifying figure and a spiritual guide for the insurgency despite his absence. This week the Taliban confirmed Omar had been dead for some time. The Afghan government said it was more than two years. The new leader of the Afghan Taliban vowed to continue his group's bloody, nearly 14-year insurgency in an audio message released Saturday, urging his fighters to remain unified after the death of their longtime leader.