The Medecins sans Frontieres aid group announced on Wednesday it was pulling out of Afghanistan after more than 20 years due to security concerns and the lack of progress in an investigation into the killing of five staff, reports the internetsite AlertNet.
A statement from the group, called Doctors Without Borders in English, also complained of the “co-optation” of assistance work by the U.S.-led military, a reference to concerns that American forces blur the boundary between military and humanitarian work.
MSF has been in Afghanistan since 1980, shortly after the Soviet invasion, and is one of the few organisations to remain in the country through the occupation, civil war in the 1990s and the rule of the Taliban militia that was toppled in late 2001.
The decision by the Nobel prize-winning relief agency is a blow to Afghan authorities, who rely heavily on the United Nations and other aid groups for humanitarian assistance and reconstruction work.
The withdrawal is another sign of deteriorating security despite the presence of around 20.000 U.S.-led troops and 6.500 NATO-led peacekeepers. Both forces are struggling to bring stability before a landmark presidential election in October, states AlertNet.
