ASIA/AFGHANISTAN - The Italian military contingent leaves the country: the future is uncertain

Wednesday, 9 June 2021 military   solidarity   development  

Kabul (Agenzia Fides) - "The Italian contingent, which today leaves Afghanistan after twenty years of presence in the country, has played a significant role from a social as well as a security point of view. Our soldiers have earned the affection and esteem of the people, making progress especially in the field of education. What is worrying is the future: I hope that what has been done remains, that there is no going back as is feared. In recent months, people who have collaborated in the development of the country, professional women or young students have been killed". This is the comment released to Agenzia Fides by the Barnabite, Fr. Giuseppe Moretti, missionary in Afghanistan from 1990 to 2015 and Superior of the Missio sui iuris in Kabul since 2002.
Italy has initiated the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan twenty years after the attacks on the Twin Towers: in fact, it was on December 30, 2001 when the Italian military arrived in the area entrusted to them, the quadrant of Herat, in the northwest of the country. The number of soldiers killed since the beginning of the war is 52. On the other hand, 895 men left the country yesterday. According to Fr Moretti, "it is a historical fact that the Afghan people can find unity only in wanting to send away the foreign military presence: let's think of the Anglo-Afghan wars, the Soviet invasion and the presence of NATO. Today, however, the departure of these soldiers, instead of leaving a legacy of security, leaves the fear of a return to the past. We can only pray that things evolve in a positive way".
A concern also shared by the population, as Abdurahman Qaderi, lawyer and member of the Council of the Paktia Province, in Afghanistan, tells Fides: "Many people are happy about the departure of foreign military forces, but most o are worried, because the situation is really uncertain. What is most feared is the risk of a new civil war. We are also frightened by the risk of interference from neighboring countries that might be interested in fostering war. That is why we ask the President of the United States and all other countries to listen to our concerns. We need international guarantees for our future".
It was April 1978 when a coup d'état overthrew the government of Mohammed Daud Khan, starting a condition of war that has been going on for over forty years in Afghanistan. In fact, that coup was followed by the Soviet occupation from 1979 to 1989 and, from the beginning of the 1990s, by a bloody civil war that later favored the rise of the Taliban. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan they had established remained until 2001, when the US attacked the country in response to the 9/11 attacks. (LF-PA) (Agenzia Fides, 9/6/2021)


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