The United Nations (UN) Security Council will meet today to hear a briefing from the top UN envoy for Afghanistan on the formation of a new government for the country.
|
|
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan (L) with Mr Lakhdar Brahimi (R) following meeting at UN headquarters in New York yesterday.
|
Mr Lakhdar Brahimi has expressed hope that a representative sampling of the Afghan population could meet in days to work out a post-Taliban government.
Northern Alliance forces have begun moving into Kabul after Taliban soldiers deserted the capital.
This comes despite the fact the US had been urging the opposition Northern Alliance, which is dominated by ethnic Tajiks and Uzbeks, to avoid Kabul, whose population is mainly Pashtun, in its current military offensive.
It wanted a multi-ethnic government acceptable to all Afghan parties in the capital first, to provide stability and prevent revenge killings.
Foreign ministers from eight key nations have already met and agreed to accelerate efforts "on an urgent basis" to get the country's disparate ethnic, tribal and political groups to form a broad-based government.
The ministers from Afghanistan's six neighbours, plus the United States and Russia, want a "multi-ethnic, politically balanced, freely chosen" government that would take charge in Kabul. Mr Brahimi didn't rule out Taliban participation.
Likely participants with Turkey in a combined peacekeeping force from Muslim and non-Muslim countries include Indonesia, Bangladesh and Jordan, US officials said.
Officials also said the UN might take immediate control of the capital.
AP