The United Nations mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on Tuesday urged the Taliban to immediately restore Internet and telecommunications services nationwide, warning that the blackout is cutting the country off from the outside world and deepening an already dire humanitarian crisis.
In a statement, UNAMA said the shutdown, which began Sept. 16 in parts of the country and expanded nationwide on Sept. 29, has “immediate and far-reaching consequences.” Among them, it said, are disruptions to banking and financial systems, aviation, medical care and remittances that many Afghan families depend on.
The mission said the blackout also restricts freedom of expression, increases the isolation of women and girls, and risks worsening one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
“Telecommunications systems are vital during times of disasters,” UNAMA said, noting that the outages come as Afghanistan reels from recent earthquakes in the east and large-scale forced returns of refugees from neighboring countries. “Internet shutdowns have been shown to put lives at risk.”
UNAMA said it continues to engage with the Taliban, as mandated by the UN Security Council, in support of the Afghan people.
Sources said the U.N. and most foreign embassies, which have backup systems, have switched to satellite links, though bandwidth remains severely limited. The U.N. has also resorted to radio communications, they said.
According to the sources, all internet access was cut at 5 p.m. local time Monday. Mobile services — including GSM, 3G and 4G — also went down. Some Etisalat users briefly retained limited connections, and a few Roshan customers reported sporadic service.
