U.N. chief appoints former Kyrgyzstan president as Afghanistan envoy

Reuters

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday appointed a former president of Kyrgyzstan as his new special envoy for Afghanistan.

Roza Otunbayeva, who also served as foreign minister of Kyrgyzstan, replaces Deborah Lyons, who stepped down in mid-June, the United Nations said in a statement.

The humanitarian and economic situation in Afghanistan has worsened since the hardline Islamist Taliban took over a year ago as U.S.-led forces withdrew after two decades of war.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Chris Reese)