UN Presence in Afghanistan To Remain Amid US, NATO Withdrawal

By Staff, Agencies

The United Nations [UN] will retain its political and humanitarian mission to Afghanistan after the United States and NATO withdraw troops later in 2021, a spokesman for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday.

The withdrawal of US troops, announced on Wednesday, “will have an impact on the country as a whole,” Stephane Dujarric said. “We will continue to study the situation, but our work in Afghanistan will continue.”

“The UN has been present on the humanitarian development end in Afghanistan for a long, long time, and we will continue to be there to help the Afghan people,” he said.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan [UNAMA] is made up of some 1,200 employees, most of whom are Afghan nationals.

US President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that all US forces would be withdrawn from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021, 20 years after the deadly attack on American soil.

The withdrawal will begin on May 1. NATO, which maintains some 9,600 soldiers in the country, will leave at the same time. Thousands of US troops are deployed in Afghanistan as part of NATO, with 2,500 more as part of the Pentagon’s presence in the country.