UN, March 9. /TASS/. Russia is seriously concerned by the situation in Afghanistan, including by intensified activities of the Islamic State terrorist group in the north of the country, Russia’s UN envoy, Vasily Nebenzya, told the UN Security Council.
"The security situation in Afghanistan still causes our serious concern," he said. "The fact that the situation in this area remains difficult was confirmed by a UN Security Council mission in Kabul. Unfortunately, the country was rocked by a series of bloody terrorist attacks in late January, which claimed the lives of more than 200 civilians and left over 400 Afghanis injured."
"A serious factor in the deteriorating situation remains the activity of the Islamic State," he continued. "Jihadists consistently boost the number of militants in the north of the country and turn it into the outpost for advancing to other regions, including Central Asia."
"Our special concern is the Islamic State’s move to create an impressive network of camps to train militants, where people from Central Asian states and Russia are among those trained," Russia’s UN envoy said.
The diplomat added that cases of weapons deliveries to Islamic State in northern Afghanistan, carried out by helicopters without identification marks, remain uninvestigated.
"This problem must not be hushed up," he said. "The situation needs to be thoroughly investigated and this practice must be stopped immediately.".