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Government map shows dire Afghan security picture
Wed Aug 5, 2009 10:55am EDT
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By Paul Tait
KABUL (Reuters) - Almost half of Afghanistan is at a high risk of attack by the Taliban and other insurgents or is under "enemy control," a secret Afghan government map shows, painting a dire security picture before presidential elections.
The threat assessment map, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, shows 133 of Afghanistan's 356 districts are regarded as high-risk areas with at least 13 under "enemy control."
The map, which bears the logos of Afghanistan's Interior Ministry and the army as well as the United Nations Department of Safety and Security, was produced in April 2009, before a dramatic escalation of violence ahead of the August 20 ballot.
The Interior Ministry was not immediately available for comment despite several telephone calls and emails on Wednesday.
The map shows virtually the entire south of the country under extreme risk of attack, a vast swathe stretching from Farah in the west through Helmand province in the south and east toward provinces such as Paktia and Nangarhar near the Pakistan border.
The Taliban have vowed to disrupt the poll and have called on Afghans to boycott the vote. Their traditional strongholds have been in the south and east but their influence has steadily spread to the west and north, even to the outskirts of Kabul. It shows at-risk areas on three sides of the capital.
In a dramatic attack demonstrating their new reach, Islamist insurgents fired up to nine rockets into the capital early on Tuesday, the first attack of its kind in several years.
Attacks across the country this year had already reached their worst level since the Taliban were toppled by U.S.-backed Afghan forces in 2001 and escalated further after thousands of U.S. Marines launched a new offensive in Helmand last month.
The offensive, and a similar British thrust in Helmand, were the first under U.S. President Barack Obama's new regional strategy to defeat the Taliban and its Islamist allies and stabilize Afghanistan.
For a link to the map, click here
CRUCIAL TEST
Escalating violence threatens to overshadow the ballot, which in turn is seen as a crucial test of Obama's new strategy and of Kabul's ability to stage a credible and legitimate ballot.
"The Afghan National Security Forces and the International Security Assistance Force are ready to secure the upcoming elections and we expect that no major security incident will take place during the elections," said Ministry of Defense spokesman General Zaher Azimy.
The United Nations confirmed the map's authenticity but said it had merely played an oversight role, helping with graphics.
"The map is an Afghan government map," said U.N. spokesman Aleem Siddique in Kabul. "It's certainly not for us to speak publicly on it or comment on it or define it," he said. Continued...
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