Red Cross scales back Afghan program amid violence
October 9, 2017
Since February seven workers for the humanitarian group have been killed in escalating violence. The charity says it has no choice but to scale backs its programs in the country's north.
Image: Getty Images/AFP
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The Red Cross will dramatically scale back its operations in Afghanistan amid security concerns, it announced on Monday.
The International Committee of the Red Cross will close two offices in northern Faryab and Kunduz provinces and reduce activities in northern Balkh province after several deadly attacks on its workers, it said.
Since December, six local employees and one foreign worker have been killed in attacks in the country's north, where Taliban and "Islamic State" militants have intensified their assaults on police and troops. Three other workers were abducted and later released.
Seventeen years after the US invasion of Afghanistan, the war-torn country remains in the grip of Islamist violence. A string of deadly attacks in the last year suggests militants are stronger than ever.
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Fragile security
Repeated attacks in Afghanistan in 2018 and 2019 have killed and wounded hundreds of innocent Afghans, and shown the world the fragile and worsening state of security in the conflict-stricken country. The incidents have plunged war-weary Afghan citizens into a state of despair and highlighted the limitations faced by the government in Kabul in ensuring public security.
Image: Reuters/M. Ismail
A long series of attacks
The violent incidents have made Afghanistan once again a staple of international headlines. Outfits like the Taliban and the "Islamic State" (IS) have claimed responsibility for the attacks. The Afghan government is under heavy pressure to restore security and take back territory controlled by a number of insurgent groups, including the Taliban and IS.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Hossaini
Spring offensive
In 2018, the Taliban announced the start of their annual spring offensive, dismissing an offer of peace talks by President Ashraf Ghani. The militants, fighting to restore their version of strict Islamic law to Afghanistan, said their campaign was a response to a more aggressive US military strategy adopted in 2017, which aims to force the militants into peace talks.
Image: Reuters
Trump's Afghanistan policy
US President Donald Trump unveiled a new strategy for Afghanistan in 2017, vowing to deploy more troops to train and advise Afghan security forces. Trump also pledged to support Afghan troops in their war against the Taliban and maintain US presence in the country for as long as there was a need for it. In 2019, he reversed course and promised a troop pullout.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/B. Smialowski
Afghan peace process
Despite President Ghani's offer in February 2018 for peace talks "without preconditions," the Taliban had until 2019 shown no interest, dismissing the peace overtures as a "conspiracy."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/N. Shirzad
Pakistani support
Pakistan has been under pressure from Kabul and Washington to stop offering safe havens to militants blamed for attacks in Afghanistan, a charge Islamabad denies and insists that its influence over the insurgents has been exaggerated. Kabul and Islamabad regularly trade accusations of harboring the other country's militants and the harsh language has underscored the strains between them.
Image: DW/H. Hamraz
Role of the warlords
Apart from the Taliban, Afghan warlords exercise massive influence in the country. Last year, Hizb-i-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar returned to Kabul after a 20-year exile to play an active role in Afghan politics. In September 2016, the Afghan government signed a deal with Hekmatyar in the hope that other warlords and militant groups would seek better ties with Kabul.
Image: Reuters/O.Sobhani
An inefficient government
In the midst of an endless battle for power, President Ghani's approval ratings continue to plummet. Rampant corruption in the Afghan government and a long tug-of-war within the US-brokered national unity government has had a negative impact on the government's efforts to eradicate terrorism.
Image: Reuters/K. Pempel
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"We have no choice but to drastically reduce our presence and activities in Afghanistan," Monica Zanarelli, the ICRC head in Afghanistan, told reporters.
"Exposure to risk has become our greater challenge in Afghanistan, and we know that zero risk doesn't exist and we are not aiming at that, but our security has to be guaranteed by every party," she said.
Three decades of work
The humanitarian group has been working in Afghanistan for more than three decades, employing 1,800 staff including 120 international aid workers. The charity helps wounded and disabled people, supports hospitals, visits prisons and helps prisoners maintain contact with their families.
In the country's tumultuous north they were often the only organization providing such services.
"We understand the consequences of stopping our activities in the north, but we have no choice," Zanarelli added.
Nine other ICRC offices in Afghanistan will remain open.
The US military estimates the Afghan government controls no more than 60 percent of the country, with the balance in the control of the Taliban and other insurgent groups.
