New York City (SW): The United Nations Security Council extended sanctions against the Taliban and warned of Daesh’s presence in Afghanistan on Monday in a resolution.
Briefing the council, Nicholas Haysom, the United Nations envoy for Afghanistan, said that security situation in Afghanistan is” extremely challenging” adding that “ most threats coming from the Taliban insurgency”.
On the Daesh presence in Afghanistan, the envoy said that they have only a limited presence at the moment, most notably in Nangarhar province in the east and that they should not be underestimated.
“They certainly constitute a worrying factor, when they represent an alternative flagpole around which a large variety of disaffected groups can rally”, he said.
According to a UN statement, he stressed that many Afghans are anxious about the future, with some feeling they have no choice other than to leave the country in search of security and economic opportunity. “Civilians, as ever, continue to bear the brunt of the conflict, as casualties rise at an ever increasing pace and more people have been displaced from their homes by the conflict”, he added.
Haysom however, complimented the government for continuing to put into place the building blocks for long-term economic improvement, including through regional integration, and he noted that while temporary loss of key district and provincial centers like Kunduz revealed major shortcomings of the Afghan security, almost all of these centers have been retaken.
He highlighted the need to tackle corruption and make governance reform to reassure the international community that its aid will have a tangible impact in 2016, with the NATO meeting in Warsaw to pledge military commitment for four years, while in Brussels donors will recommit to civilian aid.
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