A month after Kabul’s fall, Taliban stares at humanitarian crisis

Daunting problems for the group as it seeks to convert its lightning military victory into a peacetime government.

A month after seizing Kabul, the Taliban is facing daunting problems as it seeks to convert its lightning military victory into a durable peacetime government.

After four decades of war and the deaths of tens of thousands of people, security has largely improved but Afghanistan’s economy is in ruins despite hundreds of billions of dollars in development spending over the past 20 years.

Drought and famine are driving thousands from the country to the cities, and the World Food Programme fears its food supplies could start running out by the end of the month, pushing the 14 million food-insecure Afghans to the brink of starvation.