GENEVA (Islamweb & News Agencies) - U.N. chief Kofi Annan warned on Thursday that tensions within the international ``anti-terror'' alliance could intensify the longer air strikes against Afghanistan continued. (Read photo caption below)
Annan, who was on a visit to the United Nations' European headquarters, said ``terrorism'' could only be defeated if the political, diplomatic and military alliance stitched together by Washington after the September attacks on the United States stayed together.
He also reiterated his hope that the military campaign against Afghanistan's ruling Taliban would end soon so that aid agencies could distribute enough food to the country's millions of needy people ahead of winter..
Three weeks of daily raids appear to have failed to weaken the resolve of the Taliban, who control some 90 percent of the country. At the same time there have been reports of mounting civilian casualties from the air raids.
A number of Arab countries, including long-time Washington ally Saudi Arabia, have expressed concern at the bombing and on Thursday President Megawati Sukarnoputri of Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, called for a cease-fire. Annan, who last month was awarded the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize along with the United Nations itself, said the campaign against ''terrorism'' had to be waged on many fronts, in line with Security Council resolutions.
PHOTO CAPTION:
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan addresses a news conference at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva on November 1, 2001 where he warned that tensions within the international anti-terror alliance could intensify the longer air strikes against Afghanistan continued. Annan also reiterated his hope that the military campaign against Afghanistan's ruling Taliban would end soon so that aid agencies could distribute enough food to the country's millions of needy people ahead of winter. REUTERS SUISSE/Jean-Marc Ferre