Fear and bloodshed in Afghanistan amid US drawdown: UN envoy

The UN warning came after a top US general pressed the Taliban and Afghan officials to help quell the violence

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  A rocket is launched in Kabul, Afghanistan, December 12, 2020 in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. Samiulla Hameed/via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.

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  An Afghan man inspects a damaged house after a mortar shell attack in the capital, Kabul, early on December 12, 2020. At least one person was injured in the attack and another wounded, officials said. AP Photo

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  An Afghan boy holds the remains of a vehicle which was carrying and firing mortar shells in Kabul. The shells were fired from the northern edge of the capital and from a vehicle, Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said.AP Photo

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  Residents watch a municipal worker clear a street after multiple rockets were fired in Kabul on December 12, 2020 in the second such attack on the Afghan capital in less than a month. AFP

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  Residents stand along a street near a damaged car windshield after multiple rockets were fired in the Afghan capital Kabul, including from a vehicle. AFP

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  An Afghan man inspects a damaged house after a mortar shell attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. AP Photo

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  Afghan security personnel inspect a damaged shop after a mortar shell attack in Kabul. AP Photo

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  Municipal workers clear a windscreen and other debris from a street in Kabul after multiple rockets were fired in the Afghan capital. AFP

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  Onlookers watch a municipal worker remove debris from a street after multiple rockets were fired in the Afghan capital Kabul on December 12, 2020. AFP

The UN’s envoy to Afghanistan warned of worsening violence and an increasingly anxious population on Thursday following US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw forces from the country.

Deborah Lyons, head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), described evermore roadside car bombs, mass civilian and child casualties and “new terrorist threats” as the US was halving the size of its deployment.

Her comments came in a week that top US general Mark Milley held emergency talks with Taliban and Afghan officials in a bid to quell violence in Afghanistan and bolster a fragile peace process as Washington seeks to end its 19-year deployment.

“The sense and perception of violence and insecurity is higher now than ever,” Ms Lyons told a virtual meeting of the UN Security Council.

“The ongoing security transition coupled with the emerging reality of international troop withdrawals have obviously added to the anxieties felt by the Afghan population.”

Mr Trump in November decided to slash troop levels in Afghanistan from 4,500 to 2,500 by January 15, leaving many questions unanswered about the future of the US military mission there after he leaves office the following week.

Violence in Afghanistan has surged in recent months even as the Taliban and Afghan government negotiators are meeting in Qatar to try to hammer out a peace deal that could put an end to decades of war.

Improvised explosive devices killed and maimed 60 per cent more civilians in October and November than in the same months in 2019, said Ms Lyons. Attacks on schools and deaths of children increased, she added.

The number of assassinations has also risen, said Ms Lyons. The deputy governor of Kabul, Mahboobullah Mohebi, and his assistant were killed on Tuesday when a sticky bomb attached to his armoured vehicle detonated in the capital city.

After talks with Afghan and Taliban officials this week, Army Gen Milley said the Taliban had stepped up attacks on Afghan forces, particularly in Helmand and Kandahar, and against roadways and other infrastructure.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff met for about two hours with Taliban negotiators in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday and flew on Wednesday to Kabul to discuss the peace process with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

“The most important part of the discussions that I had with both the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan was the need for an immediate reduction in violence,” Army Gen Milley told AP.

“Everything else hinges on that.”