Row over Kabul security barriers

The government says barriers must go by Friday

UN and foreign missions in the Afghan capital, Kabul, have voiced concern after the government ordered them to remove security barriers.

The move came after pressure from parliament following complaints the barriers were causing traffic jams.

Under the directive, all security barriers erected along main roads to protect compounds must be removed.

Many foreigners say they are surprised - Afghanistan has seen a number of recent Iraqi-style suicide bombings.

Adrian Edwards, UN spokesman in Kabul, told the BBC's Persian and Pashto Service he was worried by the decision.

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"We have to ensure the security of our workplace. Placing security barriers along the streets has been necessary. I wish we could do without these concrete barriers," he said.

"We will talk to the government and after clarifying the decision with them we will make our own decision."

'Determined'

US military spokesman Lieutenant Mike Cody said Afghan officials had indicated they would study the situation further.

"Numerous international agencies, foreign governments, contractors and non-governmental organisations voiced their concerns regarding the government's proposal," he told the AFP news agency.

Security barriers have severely affected the flow of traffic in the city

But Afghan interior ministry spokesman Yousuf Stanizai told AFP that the government was "determined to remove these obstacles on the roads".

"The removal will take place on Friday," he said.

Correspondents say people in Kabul have been complaining that security barriers have led to road blocks causing severe traffic jams.

The issue is among the first to be taken up by the country's newly-elected parliament, which put pressure on the government to remove them.

Afghanistan has seen an increase in the number of suicide attacks in recent attacks, many of them in Kabul.

On Monday, a suicide car bomber detonated explosives near a US-led military patrol in the southern city of Kandahar.

One US solider and two Afghans, including a girl, were wounded.