'No more aid while warlords rule'

Afghanistan should not get a penny of £4.5 billion foreign aid while warlords remain in control, Northern Alliance foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah said today.

Dr Abdullah said: "(Afghan warlords) should be told, 'If there is not a civilian authority in your area then you won't get anything at all.' The donors should be constructive by helping to ensure that there is a civilian authority and that bureaucracy is functioning. If not, then they should not give a thing."

An estimated 1.5 million people, mostly Hazaras in the central highlands, face starvation but food aid is held up at the Uzbekistan border controlled by Afghan Uzbek warlord General Abdul Rashid Dostum, who wants control of it.

"Foreign money and aid given to the political and military leaders in control of separate parts of the country will mean that they are able to establish themselves as separate emirates and fighting will resume," Dr Abdullah said. "At this time, the international community should make it very clear they will not support warlordism any more."