Red Cross Resumes its Activities in Afghanistan
The leading humanitarian charity cut almost all its aid for Afghans after the Taliban group withdrew protection, leaving staff and buildings open to attack.
The leading humanitarian charity cut almost all its aid for Afghans after the Taliban group withdrew protection, leaving staff and buildings open to attack.
The group had denounced the charity for allegedly failing to ensure its own militant prisoners were not mistreated or neglected in government jails.
Red Cross officials met Taliban envoys for two days of secret talks in Qatar, capital of Doha, where the insurgent movement maintains its diplomatic office.
A Taliban statement released afterward said, its fighters should “grant access to activities of the International Committee of the Red Cross and provide security for the personnel and equipment of this organisation”.
“we welcome the acknowledgment of our humanitarian principles and the renewal of our security guarantees in Afghanistan,” said Juan-Pedro Schaerer, head of the Afghanistan delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross. According to the Telegraph.
The dispute two months ago had threatened to stop the work of the Red Cross, which employs 1,000 staff in the country and has worked for 30 years to ease the plight of those caught in its wars.
The group runs medical and rehabilitation centres for the wounded and has cultivated a reputation for impartiality.
It makes prison visits to ensure detainees are being treated well and repatriates bodies to all factions after clashes.
