Security constraints are hampering humanitarian operations across much of Afghanistan, where violence has spread to more areas this year, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Tuesday. More than 4,000 people, around a third of them civilians, scores of foreign troops and around 30 aid workers have been killed this year as Afghan and foreign troops battle to contain the deepening and widening Taliban insurgency, Reuters reported. "The security situation in Afghanistan has worsened over the last year and a half, and the armed conflict has remained intense in 2008," the ICRC said in a statement. "Regular fighting between armed groups and national and international forces has continued in more than half of the country ... access to remote areas remains a major problem in most parts of the country," it said. The ICRC continued to respond to the needs of those affected by the armed conflict, but security constraints still hamper humanitarian operations "in many areas", it added.
