24.02.2005 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Over the past 6 months, 20 businessmen were killed and 16 kidnapped by gangs looking for ransom; continued lawlessness, lack of security and alleged official corruption are threatening to stifle economic development in the country ("Businessmen Targeted by Kidnappers") [#29246], [ID 2244]

Document(s): Open document

11.02.2004 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Long-distance travellers in the southern regions robbed by people in uniform ("Dangers Still Lurk on Improved Highways") [#19282], [ID 2245]

"While there is widespread praise for recent reconstruction work on Afghanistan’s main arterial highway, long-distance travelers say that a lack of security still makes for a nerve-wracking drive.
[...]
Indeed, many of those interviewed by IWPR at a rest stop for long-distance drivers in the capital said they had been robbed by people in uniform.

Central government authority remains weak in many of the southern regions of the country. With numerous unofficial checkpoints along the route controlled by various local police units and commanders, no one is quite sure whose men these are.

Armed with Kalashnikovs or even rocket launchers, the bandits speed along on motorbikes or cars. Victims say such robberies are a terrifying experience.
[...]"

Document(s): Open document

07.08.2002 - Source:

UNAMA: Recent increase of crime in Kabul ("07/08/2002 - UNAMA: Inter-Agency Meeting Central Area") [ID 2246]

"Crime, and in particular theft from cars, has increased recently in Kabul. Three incidents of theft from UN vehicles were reported during the past 10 days."

Document(s): 07/08/2002 - UNAMA: Inter-Agency Meeting Central Area

05.04.2002 - Source:

Washington Post: Crime returning to Afghan cities ("05/04/2002 - WP: Crime Returning to Afghan City") [ID 2248]

"There are no statistics to prove that crime is up in Kandahar, but residents' reports of petty thefts and scattered shootings suggest it is. The former Taliban stronghold was said to be safer than other Afghan cities because virtually all residents belong to the same ethnic group, the majority Pashtuns."

Document(s): 05/04/2002 - WP: Crime Returning to Afghan City

03.04.2002 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Violent crime plagues Kabul suburbs ("Violent Crime Plagues Kabul Suburbs") [#30818], [ID 2249]

"The suburbs of Kabul and main roads into the capital have become a hotbed of violent crime in recent months. After the formation of the interim authority and the arrival of international peacekeepers, the security situation in the city centre improved. But only a short distance away, armed bands operate with virtual impunity. Police departments in areas like Parwan to the north and Hoddkhail to the east of Kabul no longer function, or are unreliable. Main roads leading into the city are also extremely unsafe."

Document(s): Open document

18.03.2002 - Source: UN Security Council

UN Secretary-General: Banditry developed in absence of proper security and system of enforceable law ("The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security S/2002/278") [#6057], [ID 2247]

"Unlike in Kabul — where the efforts of the Interior Ministry and the presence of the International Security Assistance Force, led by the United Kingdom, have pushed the crime rate down and improved stability — the situation across the rest of the country, especially outside the main towns, has remained volatile and unpredictable.
In general, insecurity remains the prime cause of concern for Afghans across the country for three reasons in particular. First, although al-Qa`idah and Taliban forces have been routed, pockets of resistance remain. Second, factional clashes are taking place between rival Afghan political and military actors seeking regional influence, which has led to both inter and intra-ethnic violence. Third, banditry continues as a lingering manifestation of the war economy that has developed over the past two decades in the absence of proper security and a system of enforceable law."

Document(s): 02216afgh.pdf

25.01.2002 - Source:

Agence France-Presse: Murders, robberies and hijackings widespread in Kabul ("25/01/2002 - AFP via Hindustan Times: We Felt Safer Under Taliban, Say Kabul Residents") [ID 2251]

"Just 10 weeks after the Taliban fled Kabul city, Afghans are already starting to say they felt safer under the now-defeated hardline militia than under the power-sharing interim administration that has replaced it.
Murders, robberies and hijackings in the capital, factional clashes in the north and south of the country, instability in Kandahar and banditry on roads linking main centres are beginning to erode the optimism that greeted the inauguration of the interim administration on December 22."

Document(s): 25/01/2002 - AFP via Hindustan Times: We Felt Safer Under Taliban, Say Kabul Residents

07.01.2002 - Source:

The News: Threats, extortions and corruption common in the streets of Jalalabad and Kandahar ("07/01/2002 - The News: Jalalabad, Kandahar Return to Rule of the Thieves") [ID 2252]

"The corruption runs unchecked through what counts as local government, which is essentially a group of ill-tempered guerrilla brigades.
The guerrilla welcome outsiders with threats and extortion, steal food from aid convoys and simultaneously insist that they are helping Green Berets gather intelligences materials in the mountains while trying to sell the same items on the streets, "Everywhere people are trying to sell these Al Qaeeda things," said Abdul Ghaffar, 44, the city's newly appointed interim mayor. "Some of it is real, some of it is fake. It is all a great shame."

Document(s): 07/01/2002 - The News: Jalalabad, Kandahar Return to Rule of the Thieves