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UN says Afghan war has entered ‘deadlier, more destructive phase’
The U.N. special envoy for Afghanistan on Friday questioned the Taliban’s commitment to a political settlement, telling the U.N. Security Council the war has entered a “deadlier and more destructive phase” with more than 1,000 civilians killed in the past month during a Taliban offensive.
“A party that was genuinely committed to a negotiated settlement would not risk so many civilian casualties, because it would understand that the process of reconciliation will be more challenging, the more blood is shed,” Deborah Lyons said.
The Taliban have stepped up their campaign to defeat the U.S.-backed government since April as foreign forces complete their withdrawal after 20 years of war. The Taliban captured an Afghan provincial capital and assassinated the government’s top media officer in Kabul on Friday.
“This is now a different kind of war, reminiscent of Syria, recently, or Sarajevo, in the not-so-distant past,” Lyons said.
“To attack urban areas is to knowingly inflict enormous harm and cause massive civilian casualties. Nonetheless, the threatening of large urban areas appears to be a strategic decision by the Taliban, who have accepted the likely carnage that will ensue,” she said.
Peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban negotiators started last year in the Qatari capital of Doha, but have not made any substantive progress.
Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the council that the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan was of increasing concern and “with the withdrawal of foreign forces, the outlook looks grim.
“It is clear that there is no military solution to the Afghan situation, but in the current situation – given the absence of progress on the negotiation track – the prospects of Afghanistan slipping into full scale and protracted civil war, unfortunately, is a stark reality,” he said.
Senior U.S. diplomat Jeffrey DeLaurentis urged the Taliban to halt their offensive, pursue a political settlement and protect Afghanistan‘s infrastructure and people.
“The Taliban must hear from the international community that we will not accept a military takeover of Afghanistan or a return of the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate,” he said.
Afghanistan‘s U.N. Ambassador Ghulam Isaczai urged the Security Council to act to “prevent a catastrophic situation.”
“We’re alarmed by reports and incidents of gross human rights violation by the Taliban and their foreign terrorist associates in almost half of our country and we are extremely concerned about the safety and security of people in cities under Taliban attacks,” he said.
Children recovering from malnutrition in Afghanistan often return to households that lack the resources to provide the nutritious food they need to fully recover and grow, Action Against Hunger has warned.
The organization said recurrent drought, poverty, food insecurity and limited household incomes are making it difficult for families to prevent children from falling back into malnutrition after completing treatment.
However, repeated drought and other climate-related shocks have reduced harvests and household income, leaving families struggling to provide adequate nutrition for their children.
Action Against Hunger said the situation highlights the need to go beyond treating malnutrition and address the underlying causes of hunger and poverty.
The warning comes as malnutrition cases continue to rise across Afghanistan. In June 2026, the Therapeutic Feeding Unit in Kabul recorded 142 new admissions, a 149 percent increase compared with the same period in 2025.
Similar increases have been reported in other provinces where Action Against Hunger operates. In Lashkar Gah, Helmand province, the organization expanded the capacity of its therapeutic feeding unit from 45 beds to 72 and then to 118 within a matter of weeks due to the sharp rise in cases.
Action Against Hunger said climate-related shocks, including severe winter conditions, drought and water shortages, have further weakened food security across the country. Water shortages have damaged agricultural production in rural areas, forcing some families to leave their homes in search of livelihoods and basic necessities.
The organization stressed that sustained investment in both emergency nutrition services and longer-term livelihood programmes is needed to help families break the cycle of poverty and recurrent malnutrition.
Cobi Rietveld, Afghanistan Country Director at Action Against Hunger, said addressing the root causes of hunger is essential for achieving lasting progress against malnutrition.
“When families have the means to earn a living and provide for their children, the benefits extend far beyond nutrition,” Rietveld said, adding that livelihood support can help families meet their needs with dignity, protect children’s futures and build resilience against future crises.
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UNESCO: 2.4 million Afghan girls denied education since 2021
UNESCO estimates that the ban could force around 600,000 Afghan women out of the workforce by 2066 and cause $9.6 billion in lost income. It could also increase the risk of early marriage.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said on Tuesday around 2.4 million Afghan girls have been denied secondary education since the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) returned to power in 2021.
In a statement on Tuesday, UNESCO said Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls and women are officially barred from secondary and higher education.
The organization warned that the restrictions could increase poverty, reduce employment opportunities and cause long-term damage to Afghanistan’s future.
UNESCO estimates that the ban could force around 600,000 Afghan women out of the workforce by 2066 and cause $9.6 billion in lost income. It could also increase the risk of early marriage.
Girls’ secondary schools were closed in March 2022, followed by a ban on women attending universities in December of the same year. The IEA initially described the restrictions as temporary, but they remain in place.
UNESCO also warned that the restrictions could worsen Afghanistan’s shortage of female teachers. It estimates the country could face a shortage of more than 11,000 qualified female teachers by 2030.
The organization said more than 90% of 10-year-old children in Afghanistan cannot read a simple text, while the national literacy rate is around 37%.
Nearly half of the country’s schools also lack adequate access to water, sanitation or heating, UNESCO said.
According to the report, around three million people returned to Afghanistan in 2025, putting further pressure on the education system. Since 2021, earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters have also forced around 1,000 schools to close.
Russia’s Power Machines Company is interested in investing in the rehabilitation and modernization of Afghanistan’s power plants, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) said on Tuesday.
DABS Chief Executive Officer Abdul Haq Hamkar discussed the potential investment with technical officials from Power Machines, with talks focusing on rehabilitating existing power plants, modernizing equipment and expanding power-generation capacity.
According to DABS, Hamkar said the company would cooperate in facilitating preliminary technical assessments of Afghanistan’s power plants and in exploring investment opportunities in the sector.
Denis Rudakov, head of Power Machines’ commercial department, said the Russian company plans to conduct preliminary technical assessments of existing power plants in Afghanistan.
Based on the findings, Power Machines will prepare proposals for rehabilitating facilities, modernizing equipment and increasing electricity-generation capacity, DABS said.
Afghanistan currently has several operational power plants, while efforts are underway to increase their generation capacity and upgrade their equipment, according to DABS.
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