Arabs contribute to increasing lawlessness in Afghanistan: UN
ISLAMABAD, Oct 16 (AFP) -
Armed Arabs broke into aid agency offices and clashed violently with the ruling Taliban in a dramatic breakdown of law and order in southern Afghanistan, the United Nations said Tuesday.
The Taliban, which was welcomed to power by many Afghans in 1996 because it restored order to a lawless nation ravaged by civil war, had lost control in some areas around their spiritual southern homeland of Kandahar, the UN said.
"The law and order situation in Kandahar appears to be breaking down," UN spokeswoman Stephanie Bunker told reporters in Islamabad.
"(Aid) agencies are still operating there but every day it is looking a little worse really."
In one of the most significant incidents, Bunker said about 20 armed Arabs broke into the offices of a British-based Muslim aid agency, Islamic Relief, in Kandahar on Saturday, prompting a violent clash with Taliban police.
After Islamic Relief staff called in the Taliban, Bunker said "fighting broke out," although it was not clear if there had been any shooting or whether the office was looted.
Bunker said the Taliban later warned Islamic Relief it did not have the capabilities to protect the agency from the Arabs.
"The Taliban authorities said they were not in a position to guarantee their safety because fighting had broken out between non-Afghan armed elements and the Taliban police," Bunker said.
She said a UN office in Kandahar was also ransacked by "armed elements," although it was not clear whether they were Arabs.
Bunker added that following the launch of US-led air strikes on Afghanistan on October 7, some of the Arabs living on the outskirts of Kandahar, where the bombing has been heaviest, had begun moving into residential areas and taking over people's houses.
There are thousands of Arabs in Afghanistan who volunteered to help the Taliban in their pursuit of a pure Islamic state, or link up with other followers of Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden.
- Article added at 1:39 PM (CST) on 10/16/2001.
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