Food shortage spoils truce in Afghanistan

Food shortage spoils truce in Afghanistan
REUTERS

KABUL, DECEMBER 14: The guns have temporarily fallen silent in war-torn Afghanistan, but millions of Afghans now face the threat of hunger because of wheat flour shortages.

Flour prices have risen by up to 100 per cent and gone beyond the reach of many Afghans impoverished by the prolonged civil war.

Forces of the ruling Taliban movement and their opponents based in the northeast stopped fighting at the start the Moslem fasting month of Ramadan last week. Now, the high price of scarce flour is the talk of the town.

A bad harvest and an anti-smuggling crackdown by the military government in neighbouring Pakistan two months ago have contributed to shortages of wheat, the staple Afghan food.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said last week that because of the flour price increase, millions of Afghans could face hunger this winter.