Bloodshed is spreading across Afghanistan, warn aid workers - Independent Online Edition > Asia

Bloodshed is spreading across Afghanistan, warn aid workers - Independent Online Edition > Asia: "Bloodshed is spreading to previously stable provinces of Afghanistan, threatening aid efforts as humanitarian workers contend with growing numbers of attacks from insurgents and criminals.

Aid workers involved in redevelopment are not only worried that the rising insecurity is jeopardising projects, but fear it is pushing disgruntled Afghans into the hands of the Taliban and adding fuel to a guerrilla war that now rages across much of the country.

In the past two months, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has suffered 12 attacks on trucks transporting goods, compared with 12 in the 10 months before that. Hundreds of thousands of dollars-worth of aid has been stolen. '[The attackers] are typically stopping the vehicles that are carrying food, detaining the drivers and the vehicles for a period of time, offloading the food and usually allowing the drivers and the vehicles to go on,' Rick Corsino, the WFP's country director, said." Read complete post here.