As the US has announced its withdrawal from Afghanistan, the top UN official in the Central Asian state told the UN Security Council Tuesday that the Taliban fighters are flexing their muscles to gain greater control of the territory
Deborah Lyons, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), while addressing the 15-member body said that noting that more than 50 of Afghanistan’s roughly 370 districts have fallen to a Taliban military campaign since the beginning of May — some without resistance.
Ms Luyons cautioned that the group is seizing area surrounding provincial capitals in an effort to position itself to take those centres once foreign forces are fully withdrawn.
With all the major indicators for Afghanistan’s security and development looking “negative or stagnant” as international troops withdraw, the threats that lie ahead cannot be overstated, the UN official said.
From politics to security, the peace process to the economy, Ms Lyons said the “possible slide toward dire scenarios is undeniable”.
