Afghanistan: Guterres urges restraint as Taliban reach Kabul; UN Security Council set to meet Monday

2 years ago 363

As the situation successful Afghanistan deepens by the hour, with reports that insurgent forces reached the country’s capital, Kabul, earlier connected Sunday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged the Taliban and each different parties “to workout utmost restraint to support lives and guarantee that humanitarian tin beryllium addressed.”

A note issued to the UN property corps said that Mr. Guterres is pursuing with heavy interest the rapidly evolving concern successful Afghanistan, arsenic the struggle is forcing hundreds of thousands to fly their homes. There proceed to beryllium reports of superior quality rights abuses and violations successful the communities astir affected by the fighting, added the note.

Protect rights of women and girls

The Secretary-General is particularly acrophobic astir the aboriginal of women and girls, whose hard-won rights indispensable beryllium protected, the enactment continued, stressing that “all abuses indispensable stop. He calls connected the Taliban and each different parties to guarantee that planetary humanitarian instrumentality and the rights and freedoms of each radical are respected and protected.”

The enactment goes connected to accidental that the need for assistance is surging portion the operating situation becomes much restricted owed to the escalation of the conflict. As such, Mr. Guterres is calling connected each parties to guarantee that humanitarian actors person unimpeded entree to present timely and life-saving services and assistance.

UN remains committed to bid successful Afghanistan

“The United Nations remains determined to lend to a peaceful settlement, beforehand the quality rights of each Afghans, notably women and girls, and supply life-saving humanitarian assistance and captious enactment to civilians successful need,” concludes the note.

Speaking to reporters astatine UN Headquarters this past Friday, the Secretary-General stressed that determination was still imaginable for stalled intra-Afghan talks taking spot successful Doha, Qatar, supported by the portion and the wider planetary community, which could pb to a negotiated settlement.

On Monday, the Secretary-General volition code the UN Security Council's unfastened gathering connected Afghanistan.

Swift seizure of Afghan cities

According to latest reports, Taliban forces reached the Afghan capital, Kabul, earlier connected Sunday. This followed the capture of 1 provincial superior aft different implicit the past respective weeks, ending with the cardinal confederate provinces of Kandahar and Helmond connected Friday.

The insurgents present power much than two-thirds of the country, conscionable weeks earlier the planned last withdrawal of US and planetary troops.

As wide warring intensified, meanwhile, thousands of Afghans fled their homes amid fears the Taliban would again enforce a repressive government. The militant Islamist radical ruled the state from the mid-1990s until the station 9/11 attacks US-led invasion, successful precocious 2001. 

UN and humanitarian partners respond

Due to an escalation of warring crossed the country, galore radical had been arriving successful Kabul and different ample cities, seeking information from the struggle and different threats.

According to a flash update from the UN alleviation helping successful earlier today, betwixt 1 July and 15 August 2021, the humanitarian assemblage verified 17,600 internally displaced persons (IDPs) who had arrived successful Kabul. Arrival of caller IDPs were not reported. Assessments were ongoing successful the greeting of 15 August.

Since yesterday, an further 2,000 radical were verified to beryllium successful need humanitarian assistance.

Noting that humanitarian partners person truthful acold provided food, cash, household items, wellness and h2o and sanitation assistance to much than 13,500 IDPs, portion much assistance is connected the way, the UN alleviation wing, known arsenic OCHA, said nevertheless that “inter-agency appraisal teams did not run connected the day of 15 August, due to uncertainty of the concern successful Kabul.

Read Entire Article