Worsening Afghan security hurts humanitarian effort

By Jon Hemming

KABUL (Reuters) - Worsening security in Afghanistan is creating more humanitarian problems and making the delivery of much needed assistance even more difficult, a top U.N. official said on Sunday.

Since their removal from power in 2001, the Taliban have regrouped and have now created what the Pentagon called this week a "resilient insurgency" that was likely to increase both in pace and scope this year with more attacks in more areas.

"Security is deteriorating, there are more security incidents in various parts of the country and that complicates access and of course it creates humanitarian problems as well because people are displaced and unable to go back to their homes," said U.N. Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes.

Fighting between Taliban insurgents on one side and Afghan and international troops on the other killed some 8,000 people last year, more than 1,500 of them civilians, the U.N. says.

But Afghanistan has now suffered nearly 30 years of conflict which has caused massive upheaval. Millions have fled to neighboring countries, many more were internally displaced and on top of all that, floods and drought have added to the misery.

The U.N.'s World Food Programme (WFP) distributed 220,000 tonnes of food to some 5.7 million Afghans last year out of an estimated total population of 31 million.

But 55 humanitarian convoys were attacked or looted by gunmen last year resulting in the loss of 1,000 tonnes of food. Forty humanitarian workers were killed and 89 abducted, seven of those were later killed by their captors.

The U.N. now rates 78 of Afghanistan's 398 districts as "extremely risky" and its agencies are unable to operate there.

TALKING TO THE TALIBAN

"Some of the things the Taliban ... are doing -- for example attacking humanitarian convoys, killing humanitarian workers, abducting humanitarian workers -- are making our lives extra difficult and are completely contrary to any international humanitarian law," Holmes told Reuters in an interview.

Nevertheless, Holmes said he was considering opening dialogue with the Taliban to try to ensure safe passage for humanitarian assistance, mainly in the south and east, where the insurgents are most active and control many remote rural areas.

"Now talking to the Taliban ... is a very sensitive issue and certainly we wouldn't be engaging in any kind of political discussions with the Taliban, that's not what we do," said Holmes.

"That's something we'll need to look at to see whether it makes sense. We need to talk to the Afghan government about that as well.

"Our objective is to help people in need whoever they may be, wherever they may be. We have nothing to do with any political or military agenda, we are simply trying to help people in need and sometimes that means talking to people who control particular areas," said Holmes, a former British diplomat.

The worldwide rise in food prices was also badly affecting Afghanistan, one of the poorest countries in the world. The U.N. and the Afghan government launched a largely successful appeal in January for $81 million to help those affected by rising prices.