UN expands Afghan peacekeeping mission ( 2003-10-14 09:21) (Agencies)
The U.N. Security Council
voted unanimously Monday to expand the 5,500-strong NATO-led force in
Afghanistan to areas beyond the capital, Kabul.
The vote, which had been expected, comes after Afghan President Hamid Karzai
called on the world body last month to deploy peacekeepers into regions where
increasing lawlessness is causing many Afghans to long for the security that
marked the rule of the rigid Taliban regime.
The Afghan government, which took over after the U.S.-led coalition ousted
the Taliban militia, has little control in most of the 32 provinces, where
governors often rule like warlords with private militias. Karzai warned that
unless the world steps up its reconstruction aid and sends more troops, Islamic
radicals could regain control in Afghanistan.
"This resolution helps pave the way for the increased security in Afghanistan
upon which nearly everything else is dependent," said John Negroponte, the U.S.
ambassador to the United Nations and the council's president for October.
The 15-member council approved the decision in a speedy meeting Monday
without debate, after NATO's secretary-general, Lord Robertson, sent Negroponte
a letter seeking a vote on the German-drafted resolution
Taliban and al-Qaida rebels have been launching increasingly bold assaults in
recent months, raiding police stations, killing aid workers and confronting U.S.
troops in growing numbers.
Many of the attacks have taken place in the south and east of the country,
near the border with Pakistan. Afghan and Western officials have long complained
that the insurgents have found a safe haven in Pakistan, crossing the border
frequently to launch attacks.
Germany's U.N. Ambassador Gunter Pleuger is leading a Security Council
mission to Afghanistan on Oct. 31 to study the work of the United Nations and
the peacekeeping mission.
NATO took over command of the multinational force in August from Germany and
the Netherlands. German and Canadian troops make up the bulk of the current
force.
