Afghan crisis may lead to civil war: Russian officials

The secretary of the Russian Security Council, Nikolay Patrushev has warned of a critical situation in Afghanistan, saying that the country could pace towards an impending civil war, if it fails to find a solution to the ongoing crisis, as reported by ToloNews.

“The situation unfolding today in Afghanistan is unprecedented both in military-political and socio-economic terms. If the new authorities in Kabul fail to normalize the situation, and the international community fails to provide effective support to the Afghan people, the scenario could become catastrophic, involving a new civil war, the general impoverishment of the population and famine,” he said.  

Over 9 billion dollars of Afghan assets have remained in reserve since the collapse of the former government. The International Monetary Fund allocated $450 million of aid for Afghanistan but to date it has not been provided to the wartorn country.

“The people and Afghan government are gripped with an economic crisis and this crisis is not manageable without international aid. The international community should increase their assistance to avert the crisis,” said Asadullah Nadeem, a military analyst.  

The new Afghan government indicated that the current crisis in the country is due to funds that remain frozen by the US Treasury department.  

“Afghanistan’s assets are still in reserve. The aids that were pledged to Afghanistan are still suspended” said Inamullah Samangani.  

A spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, Zabiullah Mujahid, said on Twitter that the assistance included flour, oil and blankets. “The 108 tons of humanitarian assistance provided by Russia will be conducted in three rounds. The first shipment arrived today and the remaining two shipments will arrive in the future,” he said.  

On Thursday, three Russian aircraft loaded with 36 tons of humanitarian assistance landed in Kabul.