Afghan Districts Call For Troops

12 September 2005 (RFE/RL) -- A UN official today said that some districts of Afghanistan are still waiting for troops ahead of parliamentary elections on 18 September.
Peter Erben, head of the joint UN-Afghan Electoral Management Body, said there are several districts where security forces had not yet been deployed to defend polling stations.

Meanwhile, one district in the remote northeastern province of Nuristan says it will have to cancel polling unless the government sends troops.

The Nuristan governor's spokesman, Abdul Wakil Atak, says the security situation in Kamdesh district needs to improve before the poll can be held.

The Taliban militia has vowed to disrupt the parliamentary and provincial council elections with violence.

(AFP)

For RFE/RL's full coverage of the 18 September elections in Afghanistan, see "Afghanistan Votes"