[R-G] Afghanistan sliding ever further into war: ICRC

[Anthony Fenton]

Copyright 2007 Agence France Presse
All Rights Reserved
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Agence France Presse -- English

September 13, 2007 Thursday 2:58 PM GMT

LENGTH: 287 words

HEADLINE: Afghanistan sliding ever further into war: ICRC

DATELINE: GENEVA, Sept 13 2007

BODY:


Afghanistan is sliding ever further into conflict with more than half  
of the country affected and several regions out of reach of  
humanitarian aid, a senior international Red Cross official warned on  
Thursday.

"The conflict is clearly spreading and in certain areas also  
intensifying," said Reto Stocker, head of the Afghan delegation of  
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

"Today, more than half of Afghanistan is mildly to very strongly  
affected by the conflict," he added.

Increasing numbers of people are being displaced from their homes as  
a result of the conflict between the Afghan government and  
international allies one one side, and the Islamist Taliban militia  
on the other. Stocker said that security was so bad that many parts  
of the country are "no-go areas" for aid workers.

"There are lots of districts that have not seen for a prolonged  
period of time representatives of national or international NGOs,"  
including the United Nations and the ICRC, he said.

The ICRC is continuing its work in visiting prisoners held by either  
the Afghan government or multinational forces, in particular the  
United States, which are holding "an important number of detainees"  
at the Bagram air force base, Stocker said.

The Afghan government is estimated to be holding some 12,000 people  
prisoner, up from 5,000 two years ago, he added.

The ICRC played a key role in liberating several South Korean  
hostages last month who had been held by the Taliban, and Stocker  
stressed that the organisation was viewed as impartial by all parties.

"The ICRC has gained the trust of all the parties to the conflict and  
the mandate is -- despite the worsening security situation --  
respected by all parties to the conflict," he said.