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UN Says Not Pulling Staff Out of Afghanistan
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Security in Afghanistan is still a far-fetched dream (AFP)
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KABUL,
August 22 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Despite escalating
attacks on election workers and calls from a UN union representative
to pull staff out of the country, the United Nations Sunday, August
22, insisted it would not withdraw staff from Afghanistan.
"There
is no pull out of Afghan staff," UN spokesman Manoel de Almeida e
Silva told a press conference.
He
said the call for a withdrawal of staff from Afghanistan Friday, a day
after a bomb attack on a UN-backed electoral registration office in
western Afghanistan, had not come from UN staff in Afghanistan,
according to Agence France-Presse (AFP)
"That
did not come from the union in Afghanistan... It came from the deputy
chair of the staff union in New York," he said.
The
spokesman said while security remained "a matter of great
concern" for the United Nations in the run-up to October 9
presidential elections, the world body was committed to the country.
Security
Deterioration
Seven
policemen were injured in a blast at an electoral office in western
Farah city Thursday. The attack followed another against an office for
vote staff in southern Paktia province August 15 in which two guards
were injured.
Twelve
electoral workers have been killed and 33 injured since May as a
string of attacks have targeted voter registration sites, electoral
offices and UN-Afghan electoral convoys.
Civilians
and Afghan police have also been killed and injured in these attacks.
On
Friday, the UN Staff Union urged Secretary-General Kofi Annan to
consider withdrawing UN personnel from Afghanistan following the
bombing.
The
union’s committee on staff security called for a comprehensive
review of the security situation in Afghanistan and new security
measures before staff are sent back, saying “the safety of staff
remains the highest priority,” reported Pakistani paper Daily
Times.
“As
we approach the election time, more than likely attacks will
intensify,” said Guy Candusso, the union’s vice-president. “We
think the UN should consider suspending operations and rethink
security before moving into the next critical phase of the election
process.”
Afghan
voters are scheduled to elect a president on Oct 9 and a parliament in
April.
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Afghan refugees still suffering (AFP)
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UN
associate spokesman Stephane Dujarric, asked about a possible staff
withdrawal from Afghanistan, said a UN security assessment mission
recently returned from the country with specific recommendations that
have been approved and are in the process of being implemented,
according to the daily.
“The
overall security in Afghanistan is in the process of being upgraded,
both on a management and operational level,” he said. “Obviously,
security is being examined on a daily basis in the country’s
different regions. And as in every mission, we have to tailor our
activities to the security conditions.”
Registration
Finished
Despite
the violence, voter registration wrapped up Friday with some 10.53
million Afghans, 41.4 percent of them women, registered to vote in the
landmark elections, de Almeida e Silva said Sunday.
The
United Nations, along with Afghan government representatives, is
overseeing arrangements for the historic presidential election.
The
Taliban militia, who were ejected from power in a US-backed operation,
have declared their intention to sabotage the elections.
US-led
Troops Kill Three Afghanis
On
the ground, US-led soldiers killed three people overnight when they
opened fire on a vehicle carrying a six family members which attempted
to run a checkpoint in southern Afghanistan, the US-led military
Sunday, according to AFP.
"Coalition
forces fired on a pick-up truck that attempted to run through a joint
Afghan National Army-Coalition checkpoint near Ghazni, killing three
and wounding two," the US-led coalition said in an emailed
statement.
After
the incident, which occurred at 9:00 pm (1630 GMT) Saturday, soldiers
searched the truck but did not find any weapons, the statement said.
US
military spokesman Captain Mike Eckert told AFP by telephone that
investigations were still ongoing into whether all the people in the
car were civilians.
The
dead included one male and two females, the statement said.
"Coalition
forces evacuated a critically injured man and a critically injured
woman and her uninjured infant by helicopter to Bagram (air base) for
medical treatment," the statement said.
Interior
ministry spokesman Lutfullah Mashal confirmed the incident saying:
"A six-member family were driving a station-wagon vehicle in Giro
district of Ghazni province. The coalition and ANA check post waved at
them to stop and while they didn't stop they were fired at," he
told AFP.
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