Central and South Asia

UN condemns Taliban attack

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The UN has condemned a Taliban raid on a guest house in Kabul that killed six of its employees and vowed it would not deter its work in Afghanistan. The head of the UN mission, Kai Eide, said this was a “very dark day” but the UN remained “committed to Afghanistan”. The three attackers were also killed, along with two Afghan security personnel and a civilian. The Taliban said they carried out the attack and vowed there would be more in the run-up to the second round of the presidential elections scheduled for November 7th. The World’s Aaron Schachter has stayed in the Kabul neighborhood in which the attack took place.

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KATY CLARK: I’m Katy Clark. This is The World. There was a brazen attack early this morning on a guesthouse in Kabul. Gunmen stormed into a compound housing staff from the United Nations. The Taliban claimed responsibility. Several people were killed including six UN employees. The attack lasted for two hours and sent people jumping out of windows and hopping from roof to roof to escape a fire that engulfed part of the three-story building. The World’s Aaron Schachter has stayed in the Kabul neighborhood in which the attack took place, Shar-e-now. Aaron, describe what the neighborhood is like, what these guesthouses are like.

AARON SCHACHTER: Well the guesthouses are basically compounds with steel and metal gates; guards out in front generally carrying automatic weapons, AK-47s. You drive up and get escorted into the compound. And generally, especially at places like the UN, they ask for identification. Even if you work for the United Nations you have to sign in and out. It certainly seems like a very secure place.

CLARK: So are these attacks … ? Do they suggest an escalation in the Taliban’s tactics?

SCHACHTER: Well I spoke with  a bunch of security firms today that protect journalists and diplomats and so on and the answers were mixed. One guy said this is definitely a move from attacking you know coalition forces to attacking regular folks going about their daily life. Others say no. The situation has been definitely getting worse over the past three months to a year and what has happened though is that targeting has become much more specific. So people haven’t noticed the degree of attacks. This is Crispian Cuss. He works with the Olive Group. That’s a security firm that’s in Afghanistan now.

CRISPIAN CUSS: So rather than there being just a lot of attacks against policemen and security forces there have been deliberate attacks against individuals in key institutions. And I think today’s attacks have really reminded everyone that the security situation in Kabul is still very dangerous. Less [INDISCERNIBLE] but certainly far more aware of who they’re targeting.

SCHAHCTER: So again that was Crispian Cuss. He works for the Olive Group that’s a security firm working now in Afghanistan and other places around the world.

CLARK: Now there was a rocket attack as well on the five-star Serena Hotel in downtown Kabul. No one died in that incident but two attacks today. What does this mean Aaron? Do people pull their aid workers out? Do they pull their diplomats out now?

SCHACHTER: Well everyone is saying no, that won’t happen including the United Nations. But there’s definitely a feeling of a bunker mentality right now in Kabul. The UN is hunkering down. They’re not letting people out of those compounds. News organizations are scaling back including hours. And this despite elections that are coming up. These attacks are designed to scare the regular people who work for these organizations as well as the organizations themselves. This is a man who works for US AID – the Agency for International Development. He says there’s definitely a lot more fear in Kabul now then there was yesterday.

MAN FROM US AID: Right now we’re waiting to see what develops. A big factor is what’s going to happen tomorrow. People are taking the threats from the Taliban very seriously but you never know what’s going to happen or when it’s going to happen. You just have to limit your exposure to the risk as best as you possibly can.

SCHACHTER: Again this affects the regular worker – the volunteers, the people who work for the NGOs, the people who work for the United Nations and other organizations. The security firms say what they’re doing hasn’t changed and won’t change all that much. But there is certainly a heightened vigilance.

CLARK: The World’s Middle East correspondent Aaron Schachter. Thank you Aaron.

SCHACHTER: You’re welcome Katy.

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