Countrywide Conflict Displacement
According to OCHA’s Displacement Tracking System (DTS), a total of 42,214 people have been displaced by conflict since the beginning of the year in 25 out of 34 provinces. This number is up by more than 7,300 compared to the previous week, notably due to triangulation of information and verification of displaced families through assessments and not due to new displacements.
The province with the highest number of displaced people remains Kunduz with 13,615 IDPs, followed by neighbouring Takhar with 5,362 IDPs.
Eastern Region: Renewed cross-border shelling into Kunar Province has reportedly displaced some 3,000 people in Dangam District. The majority of them have found shelter in the district centre, 250 IDPs have reportedly moved to Barkunar district and some 100 to Shegal district. According to assessments of interagency partners, the families fled their homes with only few belongings and are unable to return to their homes as the shelling reportedly continues.
Southern Region: According to yet unconfirmed reports from the ground, military operations have displaced around 700 people inside Chora and Dehrawud districts, Hilmand, and around 1,400 people displaced to Tirinkot City, Uruzgan. Military operations in Nad-e-Ali/Marja district in the south of Hilmand Province reportedly caused the temporary displacement of a limited number of families within the district.
Returns to Afghanistan
From 19 to 25 March, more than 8,600 Afghan citizens have returned to their home country. According to IOM, 701 people returned spontaneously and 19 were deported from Pakistan and 4,158 returned spontaneously from Iran from where another 3,388 were deported. As part of UNHCR’s voluntary repatriation programme, 338 refugees returned from Pakistan, Iran and other countries in the past week.
Gaps
Authorities in Kandahar called on humanitarian partners working in food security to prepare for the possible impact on the Southern Region of the ongoing dry spell. Authorities have currently stocked 16,000 metric tons of wheat donated by the Government of India in Kandahar City but lack adequate longterm storage capacity. The Ministry of Agriculture Irrigation and Livestock suggested to distribute the stocks amongst vulnerable IDPs, host communities or families affected by the dry spell, before the food perishes.