Western diplomats seek urgent aid for Afghanistan, assurances on girls' education

FILE PHOTO: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres gestures as he attends a news conference in Beirut, Lebanon December 21, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo

OSLO (Reuters) - Western diplomats said on Thursday they would expand their Afghan relief operations while continuing to pressure the country's Islamist Taliban rulers to respect human rights and allow girls to go to school.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council on Wednesday that Afghanistan was "hanging by a thread" and called for countries to authorise all transactions needed to carry out humanitarian aid.