UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Insurgents in Afghanistan are preparing "spectacular attacks" to erase perceptions that things are improving, a top U.N. official told the Security Council.
Staffan de Mistura, the U.N. special envoy to Afghanistan, told members of the Security Council that things in the war-torn country might get worse before they improve.
"We are detecting from the anti-government elements an attempt to show some spectacular attacks in order to diversify the feeling of a change of momentum," he said in his statements. "What does it mean? That we should be ready, I'm afraid, for the next few months for some tense security environment."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon struck a positive tone in his assessment of Afghanistan. In his latest report to the Security Council, Ban said several "armed groups" have approached authorities to express a willingness to disarm and join the political process. An Afghan peace and reintegration program, the secretary-general said, reported that around 800 militants have come forward to take part in reconciling with the government.
De Mistura in his address to the Security Council acknowledged that reconciliation was gaining momentum in Afghanistan, noting the conditions were ripe for some modest political dialogue.
Kabul is pushing ahead with a reintegration and reconciliation program with members of the Taliban who renounce al-Qaida and embrace the rule of law. A 70-member committee led by former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani is tasked with steering the effort.
