By empty (11/2/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
A high-level United Nations delegation is in Afghanistan to underline support for the country\'s leader, Hamid Karzai. The team - including representatives from all 15 members of the UN Security Council - has met Mr Karzai at the beginning of the trip. They are due to travel to key cities to urge powerful provincial commanders to co-operate with the government.
A high-level United Nations delegation is in Afghanistan to underline support for the country\'s leader, Hamid Karzai. The team - including representatives from all 15 members of the UN Security Council - has met Mr Karzai at the beginning of the trip. They are due to travel to key cities to urge powerful provincial commanders to co-operate with the government. Increasing violence and a rise in drug production are posing strong challenges to Mr Karzai\'s administration. Two civilians were killed on Sunday in clashes between rival militias. The woman and child died during fighting in the northern Sari Pul province, said General Abdul Sabor, a commander under Tajik warlord General Atta Mohammed. At least five fighters were also killed - two from the Tajik faction, and three from ethnic Uzbek warlord General Abdul Rashid Dostum\'s forces. There have been repeated outbreaks of factional fighting between soldiers loyal to the two leaders. The UN delegation plans to meet both commanders, to impress upon them the international community\'s support for President Karzai\'s transitional administration. There has also been a resurgence of the Taleban in the largely Pashtun south. More than 300 people, including Taleban fighters, have been killed in violence across the country since the beginning of August. The UN trip takes place after the UN Security Council unanimously voted to expand the more than 5,000-strong Nato-led peacekeeping force beyond the capital, Kabul. Mr Karzai\'s government has tried to curb the influence of regional warlords, but has little authority outside the capital. Ten aid workers have been killed since March and half of Afghanistan\'s 32 provinces have zones deemed high risk for aid organizations (BBC)