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US watchdog: Peace with Taliban won't resolve Afghan crises

Associated Press
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In this Wednesday, Mar. 27, 2019 photo, construction projects can be seen in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction monitors billions of dollars in U.S. aid to the country. It issued a new report on Thursday identifying main high-risk areas for Afghanistan. They said concerns include widespread insecurity, underdeveloped civil policing capability, endemic corruption, sluggish economy, the Taliban-run narcotics trade, threats to women's rights and the reintegration of as many as 60,000 heavily armed Taliban fighters. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

FILE - In this March 6, 2019 file photo, Afghan security personnel man a checkpoint at the airport after a suicide attack, in Jalalabad province, east of Kabul, Afghanistan. In a Thursday, March 28, 2019 report the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction, a U.S. watchdog, said that Afghanistan will remain dependent on international donors and foreign help even after a peace deal with the Taliban is reached. The report identified main high-risk areas including widespread insecurity. (AP Photo/Mohammad Anwar Danishyar)

A U.S. watchdog says Afghanistan will remain dependent on international donors and foreign help even after a peace deal with the Taliban is reached.

The Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, monitors billions of dollars in U.S. aid to the country. It issued a new report on Thursday identifying main high-risk areas for Afghanistan.

SIGAR chief John F. Sopko urged policymakers to plan for the "day after," saying a peace agreement won't automatically resolve Afghanistan's many crises.

The report says concerns include widespread insecurity, underdeveloped civil policing capability, endemic corruption, sluggish economy, the Taliban-run narcotics trade and threats to women's rights.

SIGAR says the reintegration of as many as 60,000 heavily armed Taliban fighters and their families back into Afghan society would also be a key concern.