|TOP|The bodies of two men working for a Christian Aid partner in Afghanistan have been uncovered in Farah province, indicating the worsening security situation in the country and the need for greater action to ensure the safety of those working on behalf of the Afghan people, says Christian Aid.

The men were kidnapped in July 2005 whilst working on a health project run by the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (CHA), with no more news of them until 4 December when their bodies were discovered by their families.

A report issued by CHA cited evidence which shows ‘that the robbers had killed them with gunfire before putting their bodies in the ground’.

The discovery of the bodies follows the murder of another CHA staff member, with three other colleagues wounded, by suspected Taliban guerrillas in the north-western province of Faryab on 20 October 2005.

“These security incidents are preventing us reaching the poorest people and cutting our involvement with a community whom we have been seeking to serve for a long time," said Dr Mohammed Fareed Waqfi, the head of CHA. "The roots we have built with local communities are slowly being cut.”

|QUOTE|Christian Aid has urged the Afghan government to redouble its efforts to guarantee basic security and the rule of law with the help of support from donors, “not only for the benefit of non-governmental organisations (NGO) such as CHA, but for the Afghan people as a whole”, read a Christian Aid statement.

According the Christian Aid, around 1,400 Afghans are reported to have been killed in militia-linked violence in 2005 alone, with 33 NGO staff also having lost their lives in the country this year – the second year in which these figures have seen a rise.

Christian Aid added the concern that there has been only an inadequate investigation of the CHA deaths which “threatens to send a message to would-be attackers that NGO staff can be targeted without consequence”.

"If the situation continues to deteriorate or worsen, then it will have serious implications on the quality of our work," said Sultan Maqsood Fazil of Christian Aid in Afghanistan.

"A CHA member of staff told me that whenever he goes to the field he turns to his colleagues in the office and asks them to forgive him if he does not return alive."

Christian Aid joined in the call from other British NGOs working in Afghanistan for the UK Government to increase the amount of aid money going to the improvement of security in the country for Afghans such as the police and justice which remain very weak.