Spiralling violence unnerves Afghanistan before vote

[undeterred]

Source: AFP (Agence France-Presse)

By Charlotte McDonald-Gibson (AFP)

KABUL — Spiralling Taliban attacks and record Western military deaths have put Afghanistan on edge less than four weeks before key elections that many fear could be overshadowed by violence.

The August 20 presidential vote, only the second in Afghan history, is seen as a crucial test in the nearly eight-year effort led by the United States and NATO to stabilise Afghanistan since the 2001 overthrow of the Taliban.

Thousands of newly deployed foreign troops have flooded into southern Afghanistan to try to wrest back Taliban strongholds, but the resulting surge in soldiers' deaths has created a backlash in Western nations. Violence has spread in the east and north, while coordinated suicide attacks in three Afghan cities killed six people last week, underscoring the vulnerability of the government as the clock ticks to nationwide polls.

"There are major security issues again in southern Afghanistan, in eastern Afghanistan," said Haroun Mir, analyst from the Afghanistan Centre for Research and Policy Studies in Kabul. "Suicide bombs which happened in Paktia and in Jalalabad, these are indications that indeed there are some elements either from Al-Qaeda or the Taliban that want to disrupt the elections."


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[Flaneur]

1. It's turning into a very long, hot summer over there.

[ohio2007]

2. But those "women voters" won't be taking off the burkas before going in to cast votes over there.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/07/25/afghanistan.wrap/

[Flaneur]

4. Probably not. I was there in 2005, burkas everywhere.

And this was at the height of the Karzai regime when the insurgency was weakest. Wearing burkas seems to be the custom there no matter who is in power.

I saw burka-clad women reaming out men at public meetings about the poppy problem.

I also saw burka-clad women buying sexy lingerie at a market stall in Jalalabad. Made me look at them differently after that.

[undeterred]

3. I wouldn't risk my life to vote, would you?

There are currently about 90,000 foreign troops -- mainly US, British and Canadian -- deployed in Afghanistan on a mission to stabilise the country, and more are flooding in to try and secure restive areas ahead of the polls.

About 4,000 US Marines and 3,000 British troops, backed by hundreds of Afghan forces, have battled behind Taliban lines in the south for weeks.

But even in districts recently secured by foreign forces, officials worry there is little time to prepare for voting in the presidential and provincial elections held together on August 20.

"For a long time this area was under the control of the Taliban," Afghanistan's counter-narcotics minister General Khodaidad told AFP on a trip to southern Helmand province's Garmsir district. "We have very little time. We should have started this operation one year ago... I think it will be difficult to have people take part at the polling stations, especially in volatile parts of the country."