By Judy Aita Washington File United Nations Correspondent United Nations -- Security problems are "casting a long shadow" over the peace process in Afghanistan, threatening the rebuilding of the country, the head of the U.N. operation in Kabul told the Security Council May 6. U.N. Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi told the council that Afghanistan "is challenged by the deterioration of the security environment which stems from daily harassment and intimidation, inter-ethnic and inter-factional strife, increases in the activity of elements linked to the Taliban and Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, and the drugs economy. The process is also challenged by the fact that national security institutions are perceived by many Afghans, perhaps the majority, as not serving the broad national interests of all the people of Afghanistan." Brahimi reported that forces believed to be associated with the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and Hekmatyar have been stepping up operations against coalition forces as well as Afghan targets in the south, southeast, and east of the country. "The benefits of peace are still largely centered on Kabul and a peace dividend still eludes the vast majority of Afghans," he said. Brahimi gave his assessment at a public meeting of the Security Council. He discussed the situation in Afghanistan and the status of the so-called Bonn process under which Afghans and the international community are working for national reconciliation, building security structures and reconstruction of the country. Hesitation, doubt, frustration and setbacks are to be expected in such an enormous undertaking, he said, "but we must now be careful not to let the current threats to the peace process and the growth in the number of Afghans who are becoming disaffected with the state of their nation" undermine the considerable progress that has been made thus far. The special envoy said that security issues arise in all major activities from the drafting of the new constitution to reconstruction and human rights. "The security situation has been a constant theme in my briefings to the council and unfortunately I must inform you that throughout much of Afghanistan it remains unstable and insufficient. Rivalries between factions and local commanders, impunity for human rights violations, and the daily harassment of ordinary Afghan citizens by both commanders and local security forces are all too common," he said. "There is a real but still avoidable risk that the Bonn Process will stall if security is not extended to the regions and that Afghans will lose confidence in the central government if it cannot protect them. Further progress cannot be achieved in a security vacuum and, if it is not, dissatisfaction will grow," Brahimi said. As he has done at all his previous Security Council briefings, Brahimi said that the international security force in Afghanistan should be expanded beyond the capital to the provinces. "Reconstruction and recovery are also being hampered by insecurity in the south and elsewhere and this will contribute, in a vicious cycle, to further disaffection, increased crime, and in turn, further insecurity," he said. The Karzai Government, the Security Council, Afghanistan's neighbors, and the international community as a whole must "fully contribute our respective shares (to the peace process) at this critical time," he said. Members of demining operations have been targets and one deminer was killed in an attack. In addition, a growing number of attacks have been directed against foreign aid organizations and the United Nations, he noted. And as the attacks have become more threatening, the United Nations and other aid organization are reviewing their operations and security procedures. The United Nations will continue operations in all areas where possible, "but we, of course, cannot guarantee that U.N. and other civilian aid organizations will maintain current operation levels if the security of our personnel cannot be assured," Brahimi said.