Aid groups push for expanded peacekeeping force in Afghanistan to deal with increasing violence

? International aid groups pleaded Saturday for peacekeepers in northern Afghanistan to end violent assaults on aid workers, who have become victims of rampant lawlessness in the region.

Unchecked, the violence will threaten the work of aid groups, undermine the stability of a newly elected government, and ultimately jeopardize billions of dollars in foreign aid needed to rebuild Afghanistan after two decades of war, the aid workers said.

“It is becoming almost impossible for (non-governmental organizations) to work effectively in the north,” said Ian Purves, executive coordinator for the Agency Coordinating Body for Afghanistan, an umbrella group that represents 66 local and international aid groups.

Three times in the past month, international aid groups have been targeted in attacks in northern Balkh province.

On June 6, an international clinic in Sholgara was attacked by rival gunmen. Two days later, an international female aid worker was gang-raped while her Afghan driver was severely beaten en route to their work. On June 14, a food supply truck heading for a refugee camp outside the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif was fired upon.

There have also been other reports of intimidation of local aid staff, as well as robberies and looting of agency offices.

Sending international peacekeepers into the major northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif would “send a strong message that the international community won’t tolerate insecurity throughout the country,” Purves said.

The 19-nation force of more than 4,000 international peacekeepers _ known as the International Security Assistance Force _ is currently confined to securing the capital, Kabul.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, as well as Afghanistan’s leadership, has called on the Security Council to expand the force to other cities.

But the Security Council has repeatedly balked at the request, rejecting an expanded international force in favor of quickly training a national Afghan army and police force. That process has started, with U.S. troops taking the lead in training, but it is not expected to be completed for 18 months.

There also is considerable worry over warlords in the hinterlands who continue to maintain armies of their own.

Aid groups argue that the country’s immediate security concerns are directly tied to its prospects for development as well as the stability of the newly installed government.

Last week’s historic grand council meeting, or loya jirga, elected a new president and approved an 18-month transitional government for Afghanistan.

The presence of Afghan warlords at the loya jirga was criticized by delegates, and their integration into the new government was assailed by international agencies, including the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch.

“We’re at a critical juncture now. Without security, we won’t get development aid, and that’s necessary for stability,” said John Ambler, regional director for CARE, a humanitarian development group with 600 staffers in Afghanistan.

During a Tokyo reconstruction conference in January, international donors pledged dlrs 4.5 billion. Only a fraction of that _ an estimated dlrs 100 million _ has actually been given. That will continue to be the case as long as Afghanistan is seen as an unstable nation.

“Donors will be reluctant to commit large sums of money if they think it’s going to go down the drain,” Ambler said

International aid groups say their request for peacekeepers is only meant to be a temporary solution to the increasing lawlessness that threatens their operations.

“We all recognize that security is ultimately the responsibility of the Afghans…but we also know that’s asking a lot of a government that’s just come into being. We do feel it’s important for the international community to support the government,” said Lisa Laumann, director for Afghanistan of the program Save the Children U.S.

Her aid group has slightly fewer than 200 staff members, working primarily in Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif as well as the northern provinces of Jozjan and Faryab. With the recent attacks, Laumann said she is reevaluating security procedures and even reviewing evacuation plans.

“We haven’t gotten to that point yet, but our expats know what they need to do to evacuate. If things don’t get better, we might have to consider it,” she said.