NEW YORK: Human Rights Watch has called on Nato to send more security forces to Afghanistan following a marked deterioration of the security situation throughout May. In the past month, Afghanistan has seen a series of political killings, violent protests, attacks on humanitarian workers, and bombings targeting foreigner civilians and troops. The flare-up is attributed partly to Taliban insurgents in the southern and eastern parts of the country after a winter lull, the HRW noted.

Afghan officials say the latest violence in Kabul — a roadside bomb blast on the main road going east from the capital — was a failed attempt to attack soldiers from the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force.

Sam Zarifi, a researcher on Afghanistan for Human Rights Watch, said there were concerns about an increase in violence across Afghanistan last month.

“We’ve seen in the last few weeks an upsurge of violence in Afghanistan,” Mr Zarifi said. “We’re not quite sure exactly what all the reasons for it are.

“But with the end of the cold season and with upcoming parliamentary elections, unfortunately, the outlook is that the violence could increase. So it’s even more important than before for the United States and its allies — Nato really, which has taken over responsibility for providing security in Afghanistan — to step up to the plate (deploy more Nato troops) and to finally fulfil their commitments to Afghanistan.”