Afghans face hunger crisis, adding to Taliban's challenges

KABUL – Food stocks successful Afghanistan could tally retired this month, a elder U.N. authoritative warned Wednesday, threatening to adhd a hunger situation to the challenges facing the country's caller Taliban rulers arsenic they endeavor to reconstruct stableness aft decades of war.

About 1 3rd of the country's colonisation of 38 cardinal is facing “emergency” oregon “crisis” levels of nutrient insecurity, according to Ramiz Alakbarov, the section U.N. humanitarian coordinator. With wintertime coming and a terrible drought ongoing, much wealth is needed to provender the population, helium said.

The U.N.'s World Food Program has brought successful nutrient and distributed it to tens of thousands of radical successful caller weeks. But of the $1.3 cardinal needed for assistance efforts, lone 39% has been received, helium said.

“The thin wintertime play is accelerated approaching, and without further funding, nutrient stocks volition tally retired astatine the extremity of September,” Alakbarov said.

The Taliban, who seized power of the state up of the withdrawal of American forces this week, now indispensable govern a federation that relies heavy connected planetary aid and is successful the midst of a worsening economical crisis. In summation to the concerns astir nutrient supplies, civilian servants haven’t been paid successful months and the section currency is losing value. Most of Afghanistan’s overseas reserves are held overseas and presently frozen.

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In the aftermath of the U.S. pullout, galore Afghans are anxiously waiting to spot however the Taliban volition rule. When they were past successful power, earlier being driven retired by the U.S.-led penetration successful 2001, they imposed draconian restrictions, refusing to let girls to spell to school, mostly confining women to their homes and banning television, euphony and adjacent photography.

But much recently, their leaders person sought to task a much mean image. Schools person reopened to boys and girls, though Taliban officials person said they volition survey separately. Women are retired connected the streets wearing Islamic headscarves — arsenic they ever person — alternatively than the all-encompassing burqa the Taliban required successful the past.

While galore Afghans fearfulness a instrumentality to the Taliban's brutal rule, they are besides acrophobic that the country's economical concern holds small accidental — and tens of thousands sought to fly the state in a harrowing airlift.

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Thousands who had worked with the U.S. and its allies, arsenic good arsenic up to 200 Americans, remained successful the country aft the efforts ended with the past U.S. troops flying retired of Kabul planetary airdrome conscionable earlier midnight Monday. President Joe Biden defended his handling of the withdrawal a time later.

The challenges the Taliban look successful reviving the system could springiness Western nations leverage arsenic they propulsion the radical to fulfill a pledge to let escaped travel, signifier an inclusive authorities and warrant women’s rights. The Taliban accidental they privation to person bully relations with different countries, including the United States.

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Faiez reported from Istanbul.

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