Brahimi: Countries should not kid themselves about security

Lakhdar Brahimi told the AP news agency that his team could not stay if violence blamed on the Taleban continued to worsen.

Mr Brahimi urged the international community to supply more troops.

Attacks in the south and east of the country have killed at least 11 aid workers since March.

Mr Brahimi said: "Countries that are committed to supporting Afghanistan cannot kid themselves and cannot go on expecting us to work in unacceptable security conditions.

"They seem to think that our presence is important here. Well, if they do, they have got to make sure that the conditions for us to be here are there. If not, we will go away."

US extension

The world body scaled back its operations in large parts of the country last month after the killing in October of a French refugee worker in the eastern city of Ghazni.

Unfortunately commanders are strong... and you cannot have a representative loya jirga without them Lakhdar Brahimi

Mr Brahimi welcomed news that Turkey was considering sending more troops.

But he said a meeting on Friday with French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie had drawn a blank.

In a separate interview with the BBC's Newshour programme, Mr Brahimi commented on the constitutional grand assembly, or loya jirga, that is due to begin on Sunday.

He dismissed criticism that the meeting will be dominated by the warlords who continue to hold sway over most of Afghanistan.

"Unfortunately commanders are strong, have authority, they have support they buy support and you cannot have a representative loya jirga without them," Mr Brahimi said.

Deployments

Mr Brahimi's comments came after US-led forces in Afghanistan said they were expanding peacekeeping operations outside Kabul.

Kabul is Nato's first major assignment outside Europe

The move is an attempt to improve security ahead of elections next year.

Soldiers and development workers have been sent to the southern region of Kandahar - the former Taleban stronghold - to extend the authority of President Hamid Karzai.

It is the eighth such peacekeeping group - or Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) - to be deployed.

Other PRTs have been already sent to the south-eastern city of Gardez, Bamiyan in central Afghanistan, and Mazar-e-Sharif and Kunduz in the north.

Four more PRTs are expected to be sent to the south and east Afghanistan next year to counter suspected Taleban forces attacking the US-led troops.

Restricted mandate

The advantage of PRTs is that they are area-specific, and can bring some security to a district, says a BBC correspondent.

They also allow development agencies to respond to the particular needs of a region

However, in practice, PRTs are small and have to operate within very limited guidelines.