Afghanistan “is now at a dangerous turning point”- United Nations Security Council Briefing

The top United Nations official in Afghanistan today (6 Aug) told the Security Council that Afghanistan “is now at a dangerous turning point,” stressing that “ahead lies either a genuine peace negotiation or a tragically intertwined set of crises.” Briefing via video teleconference from Afghanistan, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in the country, Deborah Lyons, “this is now a different kind of war, reminiscent of Syria recently or Sarajevo in the not-so-distant past. To attack urban areas is to knowingly inflict enormous harm and cause massive civilian casualties. Nonetheless, the threatening of large urban areas appears to be a strategic decision by the Taliban, who have accepted the likely carnage that will ensue. Afghanistan National Security and Defense Forces are defending these cities. But this defense will also undoubtedly cause civilian casualties.” Lyons said, the Security Council has an opportunity “to prevent Afghanistan from descending into a situation of catastrophe s