Countrywide Conflict Displacement
From 1 January to 24 September 2017, 257,881 people have fled their homes due to conflict in Afghanistan, up by 6,800 people from the previous week. The provinces sheltering the highest number of displaced people are Kunduz (29,451), Nangarhar (27,959), Badghis (22,008) and Uruzgan (17,062). Nearly one fifth of all displaced people have sought shelter and safety in hard to reach areas across the country.
Central: Some 450 displaced people from Achin, Nangarhar, and 350 from Alingar and Alishang, Laghman, have reportedly arrived in Kabul City. The number of IDPs from Gomal district, Paktika, in Sarobi and Urgun districts nearly doubled to 600 from the previous week due to continued fighting. In 2017, a total of 12,679 people have been verified as displaced in the Central Region, 5 per cent of the total displacement.
Northern/North Eastern: In Sar-e-Pul Province, more than 2,000 people have reportedly been displaced from Sar-e-Pul and Sayyad districts to Sar-e-Pul City. Heavy fighting in Pul-e-Khumri district, Baghlan, resulted in 700 people being displaced to Pul-e-Khumri City, according to authorities. In Badakhshan, more than 2,500 people were displaced from Fayzabad, Keshem, Raghestan and Fayzabad City, due to conflict, according to unverified reports. In Faryab, some 1,700 people reportedly have been displaced from Pashtunkot to Maymana City. Since January, 99,866 people have displaced in the Northern and Northeastern regions, 38 per cent of this year’s total. Eastern: Military operations continued across Kunar, Laghman, Nangarhar and Nuristan provinces, without significant displacements being reported in the past week. 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: No significant displacements have been reported in the past week from the Southern Region. In Tirinkot, Uruzgan, some 2,800 petitions of displaced families have been submitted in the past three weeks alone. This puts considerable strain on the few humanitarian partners present to screen, verify, assess and respond to the needs identified. 56,983 people are currently displaced in the Southern and Southeastern regions, 22 per cent of the total displacements this year.
Western: Intensified conflict in Chaghcharan district, Ghor, reportedly displaced several hundred families within the district and to Chaghcharan City, where so far 173 displaced people have been assessed as in need of humanitarian assistance. In total, 50,618 people are currently displaced in the Western Region, 20 per cent of the total displacements in 2017.
Returnees and Refugees
From 17 to 23 September, a total of 1,228 spontaneous returnees and 79 deportees arrived in Afghanistan from Pakistan, according to IOM. From Iran, 4,121 people returned spontaneously, and 7,426 were deported. In total this year, 86,801 people have returned from Pakistan to Afghanistan and 274,768 from Iran.
In the past week, 1,452 refugees returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan and 13 from Iran, according to UNHCR. Since January, 50,465 Afghan refugees have returned to their home-country, just 38 per cent of the more than 130,000 refugees who had returned from January to September of last year. Ongoing Response Activities (please also see page 2) During the past week, more than 40,000 displaced people, undocumented returnees and refugees received some form of humanitarian assistance across the country.
CR: In Kabul, DRC-DDG provided AFN30,000 to 259 people displaced from several provinces. In Gardez, Paktya, IRC and WFP provided nearly 1,000 IDPs with AFN6,000 cash and food for two months, 65 of these families received hygiene kits and 50 tents. In Sarobi and Urgun districts, Paktika, ANDMA assisted 588 IDPs from Gomal with food and NFIs. In Khost City, Khost, SI commenced distributing AFN6,000 to more than 3,500 prolonged IDPs to buy food. Some 17,500 refugees from Pakistan received food from WFP across Khost Province.
NR: In Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh, 910 IDPs from Jawzjan and Faryab received cash assistance from PIN, food from WFP, NFIs from UNHCR and hygiene kits from DACAAR. In Kunduz City, Chardara, Aliabad and Dasht-e-Archi districts, more than 1,000 IDPs received cash from ACTED or NRC, food from WFP, NFIs from UNHCR and hygiene kits or WASH supplies from DACAAR. In Sar-e-Pul City, nearly 500 IDPs received cash from PIN, food from WFP and NFIs from UNHCR. In Maymana, Faryab, some 1,260 displaced people received cash from ACTED, food from WFP and NFIs from UNHCR.
ER: Some 480 IDPs received AFN30,000 from PU-AMI and NRC in Nangarhar and Kunar provinces, 175 IDPs received AFN6,000 via DRA/SCI in Nangarhar and UNHCR distributed NFIs to 112 people in Nuristan. More than 1,200 undocumented returnees received AFN6,000 for food from DRA/SCI in Nangarhar, and more than 1,000 of them received NFIs. IRC distributed AFN15,000 cash for rent for three months to 210 undocumented returnees in the Eastern Region. More than 6,000 returnees or IDPs received health consultations, notably at the border crossing, and 1,500 children were vaccinated by Health Cluster partners. IMC conducted emergency response training for 20 medical staff of the Asadabad Hospital, Kunar.
WR: In Hirat City, Hirat, DRC-DDG distributed AFN18,000 to 623 IDPs and nearly 600 IDPs received AFN26,000 from NRC and NFIs from UNHCR. In Chaghcharan, Ghor, 173 IDPs received cash from ACF, food from WFP and NFIs from UNHCR and ANDMA distributed food and NFIs to 1,400 people displaced from the Ghalmin area, Chaghcharan. In Farah City, Farah, 840 IDPs received NFIs and hygiene kits from UNHCR and DRC-DDG distributed AFN18,000 to 440 IDPs.
Security Incidents and Access Constraints
SR: Members of an NSAG reportedly issued warnings to health facilities in Uruzgan to close down. Some 30 clinics run by an NGO suspended their activities, according to first reports, and the provincial hospital in Tirinkot reportedly limited its activities to emergency services. The situation on the ground remains fluid.