GOAL wants peacekeepers outside Kabul

The Irish charity GOAL has urged the United Nations to put peacekeepers on the ground throughout Afghanistan as soon as possible.

A small number of British peacekeepers have already arrived in the country, but their mission is confined to the capital, Kabul.

GOAL has humanitarian workers in many other areas, including the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, and said they will be unable to adequately distribute aid without UN protection.

Reports from the area say Afghan warlords are hijacking aid shipments and putting the lives of aid workers in danger.