EU stresses Afghans' need for humanitarian aid amid increasing violence

The EU commissioner repeated calls for a ceasefire between warring factions

An internally displaced Afghan woman washes clothes outside her shelter on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan February 3, 2021. Reuters

Half of Afghans need humanitarian aid but rising violence is preventing deliveries, a senior European Union humanitarian official said on Wednesday, reiterating calls for a ceasefire between the Afghan government and the insurgent Taliban.

The European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič visited Kabul to announce the EU will provide 32 million euros ($38.5 million) for humanitarian projects in 2021.

“Increasing violence and conflict is the main cause for the humanitarian need in this country,” he said. “We very much hope and call for an immediate, unconditional and comprehensive ceasefire.”

Violence has risen in the war-torn nation, dashing hopes that a US-brokered peace process in Doha would reduce conflict while the Afghan government and the Taliban negotiated a political settlement.

Even during the usually subdued winter months, fighting has taken place around the country along with a wave of assassinations of government officials and civil society members.

On Wednesday a blast in Kabul killed a police officer, and unknown attackers killed a religious leader in the southern city of Kandahar and a judge in the eastern city of Jalalabad.

Mr Lenarčič called on the government and the Taliban “to understand that allowing for full and unimpeded humanitarian access is their obligation under humanitarian law.”

Mr Lenarčič said that the amount of the EU’s humanitarian aid could rise. Those funds are separate from the $12 billion over the next four years that foreign donors including the EU pledged in November.

Journalists at a protest against the killing of Malala Maiwand, an Afghan journalist who was killed on 11 December. No group has claimed the attack. EPA

Activists gather in front of the UN office in Herat, Afghanistan, to demand peace and an end to war. EPA

Afghan Journalist Rahmatullah Nikzad who was shot dead by unknown assailants in Afghanistan's central Ghazni province on Monday. AP

Members of the Taliban's peace negotiation team taking part in talks with the Afghan government in Doha. Reuters

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo talks to Afghanistan's State Minister for Peace Sayed Sadat Mansoor Naderi in Doha last November. The Afghan government and the Taliban are trying to hammer out a peace deal. AP

A Taliban delegation talking to Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad last week. The two groups met to discuss an ongoing peace process. EPA

Taliban prisoners preparing to leave a government prison in Kabul, Afghanistan, as part of an arrangement to persuade the insurgent group to start peace talks. EPA