The UN Security Council has extended sanctions against the Taliban for 18 months in a resolution that warned of the increasing presence and potential growth of Islamic State affiliates in Afghanistan. The council expressed serious concern about the ongoing violent and terrorist activities by the Taliban, al-Qaida and other violent extremist groups in Afghanistan. The resolution was passed unanimously yesterday.
Nicholas Haysom, the U.N. envoy for Afghanistan, told media after briefing the council that the security situation in Afghanistan is extremely challenging with the most significant threat coming from the Taliban insurgency. But he noted that while the Islamic State group has only a limited presence at the moment, primarily in Nangahar province in the east, it should not be underestimated.
Haysom told the council that Afghanistan is grappling with an intensified conflict with much reduced international military support but has made it through the first year of political transition an achievement in itself. Afghanistan’s U.N. Ambassador Mahmoud Saikal said the country will not be defeated by extremist elements.