Halt worsening Afghan crisis: UN

GENEVA, Mar 31 (AFP): The United Nations urged the world to stand by Afghanistan at a pledging conference on Thursday where it is seeking a record $4.4 billion in humanitarian assistance to the broken country.
The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on August 15 amid the hasty withdrawal of US-led foreign forces, and the country's humanitarian crisis has rapidly worsened since.
The donor conference comes a week after the hardline Islamists closed down girls' schools, to widespread international dismay, despite promising a softer version of their previous harsh regime, from 1996 until 2001.
While condemning the closures, the UN, Britain, Germany and Qatar, which are co-hosting the virtual pledging event, insisted the international community must not abandon the Afghan people, with 60 percent of the population needing aid to stay afloat.
And they also urged donors not to fall into the trap of neglecting the crisis in Afghanistan while seized by Russia's war in Ukraine.