Afghanistan is fast slipping back into the hands of the Taliban. According to report by Senlis Council, an independent think-tank with long experience in the area, the Taliban has a permanent presence in 54% of Afghanistan and the country is in grave danger of falling back into their hands.
The report coincides with a similar warning from Oxfam. In a report for the House of Commons International Development Committee, Oxfam warns that the security situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating and the country’s problems have been exacerbated by corruption in central and local government.
Senior British and U.S military commanders privately admit that the situation in the country is becoming from bad to worse.
According to the Senlis Council, which has an office in Kabul and field researchers based in Helmand and Kandahar, the insurgency is concentrated largely in the poverty driven grassroots and there is a group of hard core militant Islamists. It also said that the Nato-led International Security Force, of some 40,000 troops should be doubled and forces from Muslim countries should be included.
Though the country has received more than $15 billion in aid since 2001, not much is going to projects to sustain improvement in life. Oxfam says that people in Afghanistan are facing immense hardship comparable with sub-Saharan Africa. International forces, according to Oxfam, should stick to providing security to the country.
Source & Image:Guardian
