UNITED NATIONS, Aug 06 (APP):The UN Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Deborah Lyons, on Friday told the UN Security Council that the war in the country had entered a “deadlier and more destructive phase”, as most members of the 15-member body called for a political settlement, saying there was no military solution to the conflict.
The Council met in an urgent session at the request of Afghanistan.
Speaking virtually from Kabul, Ms Lyons called on the Taliban to cease attacks on major cities immediately as she warned the conflict-torn country was heading for “catastrophe.”
She said more than 1,000 civilians were killed in the past month during an escalating Taliban offensive as the US and NATO troops complete their withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“A party that was genuinely committed to a negotiated settlement would not risk so many civilian casualties, because it would understand that the process of reconciliation will be more challenging, the more blood is shed,” Ms Lyons said.
“This is now a different kind of war, reminiscent of Syria, recently, or Sarajevo, in the not-so-distant past,” the UN envoy said.
“To attack urban areas is to knowingly inflict enormous harm and cause massive civilian casualties. Nonetheless, the threatening of large urban areas appears to be a strategic decision by the Taliban, who have accepted the likely carnage that will ensue,” she said.
Peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban negotiators started last year in the Qatari capital of Doha, but have not made any substantive progress. Pakistan had facilitated the holding of the Doha talks.
Afghanistan’s UN Ambassador Ghulam Isaczai urged the Security Council to act to “prevent a catastrophic situation”.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN, Munir Akram , has scheduled a press conference later today about the Afghan situation.
Deputy US Ambassador to the United Nations Richard Mills urged the Taliban to halt their offensive, pursue a political settlement and protect Afghanistan’s infrastructure and people.
“The Taliban must hear from the international community that we will not accept a military takeover of Afghanistan or a return of the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate,” he said.