The United Nations on Friday appointed German diplomat Markus Potzel as its new deputy representative to Afghanistan.

For now, Potzel will also be in charge of the UN Afghanistan Mission (UNAMA), the world body's deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said.

A career diplomat, Potzel was designated as Germany's ambassador to Kabul from 2014 to 2016.

Friday's announcement came after Deborah Lyons recently ended her tenure as the UN's chief representative in Afghanistan.

"I could not have imagined, when I accepted this job, the Afghanistan that I am now leaving,'' Lyons said in a statement on Thursday, adding that "my heart breaks" for Afghan girls and women kept from school and work because of Taliban diktats.

"It is that much more painful, as a woman, to leave my Afghan sisters in the condition they are in,'' she said.

No news on UN top envoy to Afghanistan

It is still not clear how soon the UN would replace its top envoy in the country that is witnessing a deepening humanitarian crisis ever since the Taliban seized power in August 2021.

For almost two decades, UNAMA has been responsible for coordinating political development and humanitarian aid in Afghanistan. It also monitors human rights compliance.

The UN has been dependent on cooperation with the Taliban since the militant Islamist group's takeover.

The body, along with other aid agencies, is struggling to raise the $4.4 billion (€4.16 billion) they said was needed for humanitarian aid in Afghanistan this year.

dvv/jsi (AP, dpa)