Revived Taliban restrict Afghan aid effort
A spike in attacks in the southern provinces has restricted aid agencies to major cities at a time when NATO says it's crucial to deliver better services.
from the May 10, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
Mr. Siddiqi says his agency has rolled back its activities steadily over the past two years and now operates only in provincial capitals in the south.
Delivering aid in outlying districts has become impossible, and eight staff members have been killed since 2002.
"We face many problems. The Taliban have arrested our engineers there and captured our vehicles," he explains.
When the Taliban ran the country, VARA operated all over Afghanistan.Now, with the lines about who is in control of villages becoming increasingly blurred, it has become more restricted.
"In some places, the Taliban will kill all government officials, and in others, the government has links with the Taliban so they cannot guarantee our safety," he adds.
The government's flagship National Solidarity Program, which allows communities to decide how to spend aid money, has taken only preliminary steps in Helmand and only operates on a very small scale in Uruzgan.
"Insecurity is obviously a threat, and in provinces such as Zabul and Uruzgan it is very difficult to find implementation partners," says Mohammad Tariq Ishmati of the MRRD's Kandahar office.
But problems with deteriorating security are not confined to Afghanistan's most violent areas. Across the country, aid agencies are finding themselves caught in factional conflicts or are the targets of criminal attacks.
A report last month by the Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief (ACBAR) warned that donors' political objectives are distorting aid delivery.
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