Roadside bombings and assassinations in Afghanistan skyrocketed in the first four months of this year, a new UN report says, despite an ongoing surge by coalition forces against militants in the south.
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon submitted the report to the UN Security Council earlier this week. In it, he says Afghanistan's security situation "has not improved" since the last time he issued such a report in March.
According to the report, roadside bombings jumped 94 per cent in the first four months of 2010, compared to the same time period of 2009. As well, assassinations were up 45 per cent, primarily in the south. The report also indicated there were on average three suicide attacks per week, half of which occurred in the militant-dominated south.
While the report praised the Afghan government's plan to offer economic incentives to insurgents to lay down their arms, as well as efforts to prepare for parliamentary elections in September, it also found that the number of security incidents " increased significantly compared to previous years," a development linked to increased operations by coalition forces in the south.
Despite the grim data, NATO spokesperson Brig. Gen. Josef Blotz said coalition troops are making steady progress against militants.
"Tough fighting is expected to continue, but the situation is trending in our favour as more forces flow into the area," Blotz told reporters in the capital, Kabul.
According to Blotz, NATO and Afghan soldiers are improving their efforts identifying militants responsible for attacks, and are arresting every-increasing numbers of insurgent commanders. Over time, those efforts will break the chain of command that allows for the planning of attacks and bombings.
"It has to be tougher perhaps before it goes easier," Blotz said.
CTV's South Asia Bureau Chief Janis Mackey Frayer said Saturday the report is not likely to change the coalition forces' counter-insurgency strategy in the country under U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal. The strategy is designed to establish security and stability, particularly in the restive south, which in turn will allow for development projects to be completed as a sign of good faith to the Afghan people.
"The problem with the deteriorating security is that a lot of these development projects have been stalled, project managers are not able to get to these sites themselves to witness any sort of progress," Mackey Frayer told CTV News Channel in a telephone interview from Kabul. "And so what this does is that it sends the impression to Afghans that nothing is being accomplished despite billions of dollars of development money, despite vast military and diplomatic resources that are being deployed here right now."
With files from The Associated Press
