UN and Afghan officials set up commission to defuse tensions in north

United Nations and Afghan officials have jointly set up a Security Commission for Mazar – an area in northern Afghanistan which has seen increasing friction in recent weeks, a UN spokesman said today.

Manoel de Almeida e Silva told reporters in Kabul that the decision to form the commission came in response to escalating tensions in Mazar-I-Sharif and fighting in Sholgarah district, and Sari Pul province. He said the new body would deal comprehensively with security issues. There was also agreement to establish a 600-man police force comprised of members of each of the parties to the recent clashes – Jamiat, Jumbish and Hizb-e-Wahdat.

The new effort to control violence in the area will draw lessons from previous attempts, the spokesman said. “Back in February, as a result of tensions in the area, there was an agreement between the parties and a security commission was established, but it did not work out,” he said. Now, he added, “the key leaders are agreed on setting up a new Commission and this time it will have a higher level of representation.”

In another development, the spokesman reported that a forensics team yesterday wrapped up its investigation of alleged mass grave sites in Bamiyan. The team then moved on to Mazar-i-Sharif to visit “a number of sites” in the area before returning to the capital to finalize their report.