Afghanistan could slide back under the control of warlords if it fails to receive the aid it urgently needs, a top UN official warned today.
Mr Kenzo Oshima, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said that $777 million was needed up to the end of this year to finance requirements including food and shelter for returning refugees, as well as police and army salaries.
He was speaking to a meeting in Geneva of UN officials and representatives from 15 donor countries less than a week after the assassination of Vice-President Haji Abdul Qadir, a warlord businessman shot dead after his first morning's work as public works minister.
Mr Nigel Fisher, deputy to the UN's special representative to Afghanistan, told the meeting of donor countries, including the US that Afghanistan is at a "critical juncture" in its transition.
"It is important that we continue to help it meet ongoing humanitarian needs and its efforts towards recovery. Afghans do not deserve to slip back into the control of warlords," he said.
Mr Lakhdar Brahimi, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special representative for Afghanistan, told the one-day talks that he hoped the inquiry into Mr Qadir's killing would be "diligent and efficient".
The United Nations appealed in February for $1.6 billion for Afghanistan, emerging from decades of war compounded by several years of drought. The crisis has left almost one-third of the population dependent on emergency aid and resulted in "high rates of chronic malnutrition among children" according to the UN.
Mr Oshima said that of the $777 million required through year-end, nearly $400 million was urgently needed to meet requirements in the third quarter of this year.
Some areas are turning towards opium poppy production - which had been banned by the Taliban authorities - and making use of child labour, according to the UN.