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| UN concerned about security in Afghan election |
| | www.chinaview.cn 2004-08-08 16:38:53 |
KABUL, Aug. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- The United Nations is concerned over the security situation in Afghanistan as the post-Taliban nation is approaching the first-ever presidential election, the spokesman of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said Sunday.
"We have been saying that security is a major area of concern. From the beginning we say that," Manoel de Almeida e Silva told journalists here.
His comments came amid increasing insurgency and Taliban's threat to disrupt the forthcoming elections by any possible means.
"It has been a concern during the registration period. We just had two colleagues killed on Friday, bringing the number of people working with electoral secretariat to 12 that includes 10 Afghans and two expatriates," the spokesman added.
The fugitive leader of the ousted Taliban regime, Mullah Mohammad Omar, who terms the election as a drama to "legitimize the US occupation of Afghanistan," has vowed to derail any political or rebuilding activities run under US clout in the war-battered country.
"Providing security for voters' registration sites is certainly much easier than providing security on the day of voting," the spokesman noted.
However, he said he was hopeful about the security arrangements for the election, saying, "There is a very close coordination of the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Defense with the ISAF and the US-led coalition and they are designing the plan for security for the day of voting."
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has announced it will increase its strength of these two battalions by 10,000 in Afghanistan, which will be deployed ahead of election to help ensure security for the landmark day.
Over 9 million out of some 9.5 million eligible Afghans have registered to vote for the election slated for Oct. 9, which has 23 candidates including the incumbent president Hamid Karzai. Enditem |
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