Afghan economic meltdown would be 'gift for terrorists,' says U.N. chief

FILE PHOTO: U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a news conference before a meeting with Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, July 2, 2021. REUTERS/Susana Vera/File Photo

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed on Friday for an injection of cash into Afghanistan to avoid an economic meltdown that would spark a "catastrophic" situation for the Afghan people and be a "gift for terrorist groups."

His remarks come after his special envoy on Afghanistan, Deborah Lyons, warned https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/un-warns-afghanistan-needs-money-prevent-total-breakdown-2021-09-09 the Security Council on Thursday that the freezing of billions of dollars in international Afghan assets to keep them out of Taliban hands would inevitably spark "a severe economic downturn."