UNITED NATIONS (AP)— The United Nations chief will convene a ministerial meeting in Geneva on Sept. 13 to seek a swift scale-up in funding to address the growing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, where nearly half the country’s 38 million people need assistance.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric made the announcement Friday and said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will also appeal “for full and unimpeded humanitarian access to make sure Afghans continue to get the essential services they need.”
Dujarric said the U.N. appeal for $1.3 billion for 2021 to help more than 18 million people is just 40% funded, leaving a $766 million deficit.
“Afghanistan faces a looming humanitarian catastrophe,” the U.N. spokesman said. “One in three Afghans do not know where their next meal will come from. Nearly half of all children under the age of 5 are predicted to be acutely malnourished in the next 12 months.”
Earlier Friday, Dujarric said the secretary-general is “very grateful for the generosity” of Denmark, Kazakhstan, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Poland, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the United States for making available facilities and transport for the temporary relocation of U.N. staff in Afghanistan.
Dujarric announced Aug. 18 that about 100 of the U.N.’s 300 international staff were being moved to Kazakhstan to work remotely because of security concerns.
HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
Syria says it has shot down Israeli missiles near capital
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria says it shot down Israeli missiles as they approached the capital Damascus on Friday, saying it had countered an “aggression” from its longtime adversary with its own air defenses.
State news agency SANA said Syria shot down most of the missiles, which were launched from the area southeast of neighboring Lebanon and targeted areas near Damascus. It provided no further details. The Russian military, which provides air-defense systems to Syria, said later Friday that Syria had shot down more than 20 missiles launched from Israeli F-15 fighter jets from Lebanon’s airspace. The claims could not be immediately verified.
The Israeli military, which rarely speaks of its operations in the war-ravaged country, did not acknowledge that they carried out any airstrikes.
It said only that a surface-to-air missile launched from Syrian territory towards Israeli air space exploded over the Mediterranean Sea on Friday, and that residents in central Israel had located several missile fragments on the ground.
Israel has launched hundreds of strikes against Iran-linked military targets in Syria over the years. but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.
Israel views Iranian entrenchment on its northern frontier as a red line, and it has repeatedly struck what it says are Iran-linked facilities and weapons convoys destined for Lebanese Hezbollah. The Iran-backed militant group is fighting alongside Syrian government forces in the country’s long-running civil war.
Russia has waged a military campaign in Syria since 2015, helping President Bashar Assad’s government reclaim control over most of the country after a devastating civil war. Moscow also has helped modernize Syria’s military, including providing Assad with air defense systems, and trained its personnel.
Rear Adm. Vadim Kulit, head of the Russian military’s Reconciliation Center in Syria, said Syrian air defense units downed 21 of the 24 guided missiles launched by the Israeli aircraft with Russia-supplied air defense systems. He didn’t specify what Syrian facilities were targeted by Israeli jets and whether they inflicted any casualties or damage.
UN chief: mercenaries and foreign fighters must leave Libya
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is again urging countries to withdraw all foreign fighters and mercenaries from Libya, saying they continue to operate throughout the conflict-stricken North African country in violation of last October’s cease-fire agreement “with no discernible abatement of their activities.”
The U.N. chief also urged countries supplying arms and military equipment to the foreign fighters to stop violating the U.N. arms embargo, saying, the movement of aircraft providing logistical support “also continued unabated” at airbases in central Libya in the strategic city of Sirte and nearby Jufra area.
In a report to the U.N. Security Council circulated Friday, Guterres called for implementation of “a comprehensive plan for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all mercenaries and foreign forces from Libya, with clear timelines.”
He also urged Libyan parties “to exert every effort to ensure” that parliamentary and presidential elections are held on Dec. 24 in accordance with the political road map that ended hostilities last year.
Libya has been wracked by chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011 and split the country between a U.N.-supported government in the capital, Tripoli, and rival authorities loyal to commander Khalifa Hifter in the east. Each have been backed by different armed groups and foreign governments.
Hifter launched a military offensive in 2019 to capture the capital, a campaign backed by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Russia and France. But his march on Tripoli ultimately failed in June 2020 after Turkey sent troops to support the government, which also had the backing of Qatar and Italy.
Subsequent U.N.-sponsored peace talks brought about a cease-fire last October and installed an interim government that is expected to lead the country into December elections, but the Libyan parliament has so far failed to agree on a legal framework to hold elections.
Guterres cited initial differences over whether presidential elections should be carried out by direct voting or indirectly by the elected parliament, whether a referendum on the draft permanent constitution should be held first, and eligibility criteria for candidates including military personnel and dual citizens.
The U.N. chief urged the parties and institutions to clarify the constitutional basis for elections and to adopt the necessary electoral laws.
“The political process is now reaching a critical stage and the gains achieved in early 2021 are under threat,” Guterres warned. “It is imperative that the political process fulfills the aspirations of the Libyan people for representative governance brought about through democratic elections.”
In July, the U.N. special envoy for Libya, Jan Kubis, accused “spoilers” of trying to obstruct the holding of December’s crucial elections to unify the divided nation. He told the Security Council that many key players in Libya reiterated their commitment to the elections, but “I am afraid many of them are not ready to walk the talk.”
The Security Council has warned that any individual or group undermining the electoral process could face U.N. sanctions.
Guterres quoted Kubis’ warning that the continued presence of thousands of mercenaries and numerous foreign fighters remains a significant threat not only to the security of Libya but to the region.
The U.N. chief also warned that the presence and activities of violent extremist organizations including affiliates of al-Qaida and the Islamic State “were reported in all regions, including in the form of direct threats against civilians and United Nations personnel and attacks against security forces.”
The 16-page report details ongoing human rights abuses by armed groups and units affiliated with the government, including killings, enforced disappearances and conflict-related sexual violence.
Guterres called for an end to those abuses and to “the continued arbitrary detention of migrants in inhumane conditions in formal detention centers and informal smuggler-operated sites.”
WARSAW, Poland – A government official says that Poland will temporarily host some 500 Afghan evacuees who had worked for NATO in Afghanistan.
Michal Dworczyk said Friday that the Afghans will remain in Poland for up to three months before moving on to other countries. Depending on their choice, up to 50 persons will be able to settle in Poland. However, Poland has not been a popular destination in Europe for migrants.
Dworczyk, a top aide to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, said on Radio RMF FM that the first group of some 250 persons would arrive Friday from the NATO air base in Ramstein, Germany.
Separately, Poland has evacuated some 1,300 people from Kabul, mostly Afghanis, who had worked with Poland’s military and diplomatic mission, and their families and said it is taking responsibility for them.
KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban say Western Union will resume its operations in Afghanistan, opening a rare conduit for foreign funds to flow into the cash-strapped country.
The group’s ’s cultural commission spokesman, Ahmadullah Muttaqi, announced the move Friday. The American financial services giant had halted operations in Afghanistan when the Taliban took power in the capital on Aug. 15.
The opening will be especially welcomed by Afghans with foreign relatives abroad. Hundreds of people have been lining up daily outside Afghan banks to withdraw cash. Withdrawals have been limited to $200 per week and cash machines aren’t working. The overcrowding means that not everyone manages to obtain money on a given day.
____
Newsroom | theworldmail.co.uk
Source/Contribution/Photo Credit by Associated Press