Countrywide Conflict Displacement
From 1 January to 16 September 2017, 250,985 people have fled their homes due to conflict in Afghanistan. This is more than 21,000 people more than reported in the previous week, notably due to verification of earlier reports and assessments of displaced families.
The provinces sheltering the highest number of displaced people are Kunduz with 29,178 IDPs, Nangarhar with 27,959 IDPs and Badghis with 22,008 IPDs followed by Uruzgan with 17,062 IDPs. Central: Conflict has reportedly displaced more than 1,400 people from several villages within Tagab district, Kapisa. The security situation in Janikhel district, Paktya, remains volatile and more than 2,600 displaced people have arrived in Gardez centre, Paktya, according to authorities. Fighting in Gomal district, Paktika, reportedly displaced some 350 people to neighbouring Sarobi and Urgun districts in the same province. In 2017, a total of 13,129 people have been verified as displaced in the Central Region, just over 5 per cent of the total displacement.
Northern/North Eastern: More than 2,100 people have been displaced by conflict from Sojani village in Chardarah district, Kunduz, to Kunduz City, according to authorities. Assessments in Ghormach, Faryab, verified the number of nearly 3,900 IDPs, the assessments continue. Since January, 97,060 people have been verified as displaced in the Northern and Northeastern regions, 39 per cent of this year’s total.
Eastern: Nearly 3,000 people have been displaced from more than a dozen districts in Kunar, Nangarhar and Nuristan provinces according to authorities, due to intimidation by NSAGs and insecurity. The displaced families sheltered both in easily accessible and hard to access areas. Since January, 38,285 displaced people have been assessed in the Eastern Region, 15 per cent of the countrywide displacement in 2017.
Southern/South Eastern: Nearly 13,000 displaced people recently arrived in Tirinkot, Uruzgan, from several districts and some 7,700 people reportedly were displaced to Kandahar City from Shahwalikot and Nesh districts, Kandahar. These reports have not yet been verified. Some 54,707 people are currently displaced in the Southern and Southeastern regions, 22 per cent of the total displacements this year.
Western: No significant new displacements have been reported during the last week in Badghis, Ghor, Hirat and Farah provinces. In total, 40,804 people are currently displaced in the Western Region. They account for 19 per cent of the total displaced people across the country
Returnees and Refugees.
A total of 1,269 spontaneous returnees and 67 deportees arrived in Afghanistan from Pakistan, from 10 to 16 September, according to IOM. From Iran, 2,877 people returned spontaneously, and 15,354 were deported. This is a significant increase of returns of more than three times from Pakistan and more than double from Iran, compared to the previous week.
In the same period, 1,037 registered refugees returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan and 20 from Iran. Since January, UNHCR has assisted the return of 49,134 Afghan refugees to their home-country, more than 48,000Ongoing Response Activities (please also see page 2) During the past week, more than 26,000 displaced people, undocumented returnees and refugees received some form of humanitarian assistance across the country.
CR: In Pul-e-Alam, Logar, IRC and WFP supported 784 IDPs with cash for NFIs and food. In Khost Centre, Khost, 777 displaced people received food rations for two months from WFP and cash assistance from IRC for NFIs. In Ghazni Centre, Ghazni, DRC provided cash assistance to 588 displaced people. In Barmal district of Paktya, WFP distributed food to more than 9,400 refugees from Pakistan.
NR: On 14 September in Shiberghan city, Jawzjan, PIN, SCI, UNHCR and WFP distributed food for two months, hygiene kits, NFIs and cash assistance to more than 700 recently displaced people from Faryab and Jawzjan province.
ER: PU-AMI distributed cash assistance of AFN30,000 per family to 161 displaced people in Khaskunar, Nurgal and Sarkani, Kunar. In Nangarhar Province, WFP distributed cash for food to 3,948 people in Jalalabad City and in Surkhrod, Kama and Rodat districts, DRA and SCI distributed AFN6,000 for food to 224 undocumented returnees and WFP distributed food to 609 people from 87 families displaced to Jalalabad by flash floods. Health Cluster partners provided medical consultations to nearly 6,400 returnees or IDPs and vaccinated 1,300 children. The number of consultations has nearly tripled, in line with the peak of returnees from Pakistan.
SR: UNICEF, UNHCR and WFP distributed food rations, NFI kits and WASH items to 511 displaced people in Tirinkot City, Uruzgan, the first of more than 3,600 IDPs who will receive assistance in this distribution. In Kandahar, 250 IDPs received food, hygiene kits, WASH items, and cash from WFP, UNICEF and NRC.
WR: In Hirat City, Hirat, UNHCR distributed NFIs and hygiene kits to 623 people displaced in July and August and DRC-DDG will cover their food needs in the coming days. In Qala-e-Naw, Badghis, NRC provided AFN14,000 cash assistance to each 42 displaced people of 8 families, UNICEF added NFIs and hygiene kits and IRC provided them with WASH services and tents. The families had been displaced within Badghis in September.
Security Incidents and Access Constraints
NR: A physiotherapist of the ICRC was fatally shot by a patient at the organization’s orthopedic rehabilitation centre in Mazar-e-Sharif on 11 September. This year, a total of 15 aid workers have been killed in Afghanistan.
WR: NRC has managed to negotiate access with the NSAG in control of the area to conduct assessments of displaced families in Balamurghab district, Badghis, where 14,000 people have reportedly been displaced mid-August.