UN scales back after three bomb blasts rock city ahead of key Nato campaign

[laststeamtrain]

Source: The Independent

UN scales back after three bomb blasts rock city ahead of key Nato campaign

By Julius Cavendish in Kabul
Tuesday, 27 April 2010

In the latest sign that Kandahar City is sliding deeper into violence ahead of a massive Nato campaign there, the UN yesterday announced it was scaling back its operations hours after three bomb blasts rocked the city.

Two of the attacks seemed to target the deputy provincial police chief, Fazel Ahmad Sherzad, detonating within a minute of each other in downtown Kandahar as a convoy carrying Mr Sherzad passed by. "They were targeting the car I normally use, but luckily I was not in it at the time," he said.

<snip>

The wave of attacks suggests the Taliban is making good on a promise to increase violence in the city in response to Nato's plans to restore Afghan sovereignty. In as much as it is controlled by anyone, Kandahar City is in the hands of a murky nexus of powerbrokers and mafiosi.

The violence prompted the UN to order 200 Afghan staff working in the city to stay at home. A spokesman conceded that "several" non-Afghans had been moved from the city to the capital, Kabul. "There is always a balance to be struck to ensure the safety of our staff and ensure that we can deliver our programmes and humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan," Dan McNorton said.

Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/un-scales-back-after-three-bomb-blasts-rock-city-ahead-of-key-nato-campaign-1955140.html

[Rapier09]

1. 9 years for this

So detrimental to see this over and over again.

I might just deploy over there to see if I can change the situation.

[laststeamtrain]

2. CNN: Kandahar official slams U.N. withdrawal move

Kandahar official slams U.N. withdrawal move

KABUL, Afghanistan — The head of Kandahar's provincial council slammed the U.N. decision to pull its local staff out of the southern Afghan region and is hoping the move will be reconsidered.

Ahmad Wali Karzai told reporters Tuesday the decision wasn't "necessary" since the situation in Kandahar province and the city of the same name is "not that bad."

"Everyone knows that people are going about their business and the kids are going to school," he said. "Pulling U.N. staff out of Kandahar will have negative effect on the morale of people in Kandahar and on humanitarian work here and in the area."

Unspecified "threats" have forced the United Nations in Kandahar city to order its local staff to stay home until further notice. ... http://afghanistan.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/27/kandahar-official-slams-u-n-withdrawal-move/