UN warns Afghanistan at risk of ‘total breakdown’

Special envoy urges Security Council to release assets frozen overseas to avoid economic and social collapse.

The United Nations has warned that Afghanistan is at risk of “total breakdown” of the international community does not find a way to keep money flowing into Afghanistan despite concerns over the Taliban government. Nearly $10bn of Afghanistan’s central bank assets are currently frozen overseas and considered key leverage over the new administration. But the UN special envoy on Afghanistan Deborah Lyons told the Security Council on Thursday that a way needed to be found to get the money into the country “to prevent a total breakdown of the economy and social order” noting that Afghanistan was facing a storm of crises including a plunging currency, a sharp rise in prices for food and fuel and a lack of cash at private banks. The authorities also do not have the funds to pay salaries, she said.