Taliban threaten to kill remaining UN workers in Afghanistan
( 2001-09-25 10:49 ) (7 )

The Taliban have threatened to execute any UN workers who use key equipment in their offices in Afghanistan, a move that has nearly shut down the remaining relief work being done in the country, UN officials said on Monday.

The militia began raiding UN offices in cities such as Kabul, the capital, and Kandahar, where Taliban leadership is based, over the weekend and sealing their satellite telephones, walkie-talkies, computers and vehicles to bar them from further use, said Stephanie Bunker, the chief UN spokeswoman said in Islamabad.

"They warned our staff that if they use these things they will face execution," said Gordon Weiss, the spokesman for UNICEF in Islamabad.

After the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, the United Nations removed its foreign staffers in Afghanistan for their safety but left behind local Afghan employees to continue their crucial relief agency work and mine-clearing operations. The UN workers are one of the last providers of subsidized food and health care to the impoverished and war-ravaged country.

"We are worried about the safety of our remaining workers there and concerned about the fate of our programs," Weiss said. "Life will become more miserable for the more than 1 million people displaced because of drought and civil war."

US forces have begun mobilizing in the Gulf for an expected attack on Afghanistan to punish the hard-line Taliban government for refusing to extradite Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the deadly suicide attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington.

Tens of thousands of Afghans have fled their homes in areas that could be targeted by US forces and have been stranded along the country's borders with Pakistan, Iran and Tajikistan, which were recently closed at the request of Washington.

With few international relief agencies left in the country, the refugees have little access to food, water and medical care, prompting relief agencies to warn of a serious crisis.