UNITED NATIONS — The head of the
United Nations Afghanistan aid operation expressed strong concerns Tuesday over
military gains by the
Taliban insurgents as US and coalition forces pull out of
the country.
اضافة اعلان
"All of the major trends — politics, security, the peace process, the economy,
the humanitarian emergency, and Covid — all of these trends are negative or
stagnant," Deborah Lyons told the UN Security Council in a video
conference.
"The Taliban's recent advances are even more significant and are a
result of an intensified military campaign," said Lyons, who leads the UN
Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
"For the Taliban to continue this intensive military campaign would be
a tragic course of action," she said.
She said the Islamist insurgents have seized more that 50 of the country's
370 districts, mostly districts which surround provincial capitals.
That, Lyons said, suggests the Taliban "are positioning themselves to
try and take these capitals once foreign forces are fully withdrawn."
She said if the insurgents continue their fight, the prolonged violence
"would extend the suffering of the Afghan people and threaten to destroy
much of what has been built and hard won in the past 20 years."
She expressed special worries for the rights of women as the
ultra-conservative Taliban gain ground.
"Preserving the rights of women remains a paramount concern and must
not be used as a bargaining chip at the negotiating table," she said.
In the same forum, the US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda
Thomas-Greenfield, stressed that the world would not accept the Taliban seizing
control of Kabul and the government.
"The world will not recognize the establishment in Afghanistan of any
government imposed by force, nor the restoration of the Islamic Emirate,"
Thomas-Greenfield said.
"There is only one way forward: a negotiated and inclusive political
settlement through an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process.”
The Taliban captured Afghanistan's main border crossing with Tajikistan
Tuesday, officials said, with security forces abandoning their posts and some
fleeing across the frontier.
The taking of the far north Shir Khan Bandar, about 50 kilometres (30 miles)
from Kunduz city, is the most significant gain for the Taliban since the US
began the final stage of its troop withdrawal in May, with peace talks between
the insurgents and Kabul deadlocked.
"Unfortunately this morning, and after an hour of fighting, the Taliban
captured Shir Khan port and the town and all the border check posts with
Tajikistan," Kunduz provincial council member Khaliddin Hakmi told AFP.
Read more
Region & World
.jpg)
.jpg)
