No military solution in Afghanistan: UN chief

KABUL: There is no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan that is forcing record numbers of people from their homes, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday, during an unannounced visit to the war-torn country.

Guterres’ first visit as secretary-general comes as the Afghan government faces internal turmoil, insurgents make gains nationwide and the international military coalition mulls plans to send thousands more troops to help struggling Afghan forces.

The crisis can only be solved by ending the war, said Guterres, standing in a makeshift camp on the outskirts of Kabul that accommodates Afghans displaced by fighting. “Peace is the solution for the problem,” said Guterres. At least 126,000 Afghans have been forced to flee their homes, the United Nations says. More than 218,000 Afghan refugees have also returned this year from Iran and Pakistan, many citing pressure from authorities there.

The International Organization for Migration estimates that at least 600,000 refugees could return this year, piling strain on aid groups struggling to help the newly displaced.

Khumri, a 30-year-old Afghan woman who met Guterres, said she had lived in the squalid camp for the last two years with her family after their home was destroyed and her husband killed by government forces battling Taliban occupying their village in Kapisa.

“We need everything,” she recounting the struggle for clean food, and hygiene materials that some to beg.” said, water, drives