West Warned Of Failure In Afghanistan

THE Afghan insurgency has been much worse than expected, and a sharper United Nations mandate is needed if international efforts to stabilise the country are to succeed, a top UN official has warned.

The pessimistic pronouncement came as four Afghan civilians died in a British air strike and a US military expert said the tide of the war against insurgents was running against the United States and its allies.

The latest strike was called in after Taliban militants ambushed British troops operating in the southern province of Helmand, Britains Defence Ministry said. Two women and two children were killed and a fifth person was injured.

A total of 1977 civilians were reportedly killed in fighting in Afghanistan last year, including nearly 240 in air strikes by foreign troops.

Afghan civilians have repeatedly accused British and American forces of being indiscriminate in their air strikes, with civilians frequently among the victims. A suicide attack on Wednesday aimed at foreign troops near the Kabul airport killed at least five Afghans and wounded 10, an official said.

UN undersecretary-general for peacekeeping Jean-Marie Guehenno told the Security Council at a debate on extending the UN mandate in Afghanistan: "We face an insurgency that has proven to be more resilient than we expected and more ruthless than we ever imagined."

He said Afghan governmental institutions remained fragile, partly due to widespread corruption. The opium trade continued to flourish and had undermined the Government by helping fund Taliban insurgents.

"The international community, while both committed and generous, has also been, too often, insufficiently united on key issues of policy," Mr Guehenno said.

Despite these problems, he said there was no need to expand the powers of the UN mission in Afghanistan. Rather the mandate needed to be "sharpened", he said.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his latest report to the Security Council that militant attacks in Afghanistan had increased dramatically last year, with civilians accounting for nearly a fifth of people killed.

Mr Ban recommended there be increased co-ordination between the international community, Afghan Government and NATO-led forces.

Afghanistans UN ambassador, Zahir Tanin, urged the council to extend the UN mandate. He also said it was true the Taliban had changed tactics and were attacking civilians, schools and religious figures.

"These attacks, which have come by hit and run tactics, should not be seen as a sign of the enemys strength, but rather of their frustration resulting from the inability to engage in direct battles," he said.

In Stockholm, Lieutenant-Colonel John Nagl, a US counter-insurgency expert, told a security conference that the tide of the Afghan conflict was running against the US and its allies, in contrast to Iraq, where the turning of Sunni tribal leaders against al-Qaeda, and the merging of their militia into government security forces, were important signs of progress.

The US wants France to put more troops in Afghanistans restive south, but would agree to a French proposal to boost forces in the east instead, US officials said. Frances commitment to add troops to Afghanistan could be critical to keeping Canada in the war. Ottawa has threatened to pull its troops from the south if NATO cannot muster reinforcements.

REUTERS

Tag Cloud

External Information

Additional Information

Where Am I?