Key issues
• In the past week, more than 11,000 people have reportedly been displaced by conflict.
• Damaged telecommunication towers in Uruzgan hamper assessment of displaced families.
• The GBV Sub-Cluster reached more than 8,000 people with services and health education.
Countrywide conflict displacement
A total of 54,063 people have been displaced by conflict since the beginning of the year, according to OCHA’s Displacement Tracking System (DTS). The provinces hosting the highest number of displaced families are Kunduz with 13,615 IDPs and Takhar with 5,740 IDPs. The DTS tracks displacement based on humanitarian assessments.
Latest Displacements (see map)
Latest displacement alerts are shared based on initial information from authorities or partners on the ground. Numbers can change as information becomes available.
Central Region: Nearly 1,500 people arrived in Ghazni centre from within Ghazni Province, and from Uruzgan and Wardak provinces, according to authorities, due to ongoing armed clashes. Since mid-March, more than 1,200 displaced people arrived in Kabul City from Logar, Nangarhar, Jawzjan and Faryab provinces.
North & North-Eastern Region: Some 4,200 people were reportedly displaced in Baharak and Jorm districts of Badakhshan, according to sources on the ground, due to a military operation that commenced on 30 March. From Kunduz, airstrikes were reported from Emamsaheb district.
Humanitarian partners in Kunduz City are ready to assess displaced families who could arrive shortly.
Eastern Region: Clashes between armed groups in Alingar District reportedly displaced nearly 2,000 people to Mehtarlam City, Laghman. More than 200 people reportedly arrived in Parun from four districts within Nuristan, fleeing intimidation by members of armed groups.
Southern & South-Eastern Region: More than 1,700 IDPs reportedly arrived in Tirinkot City, Uruzgan, due to military operations in Chora / Chinarto, Khasuruzgan and Tirinkot district. More than 350 people were displaced to Zaranj City, Nimroz, from Anardara, Farah, and Ghormach Badghis.
Control over Anardara district recently shifted to an NSAG.
Western Region: Nearly 800 people reportedly arrived in Farah City, from six districts within Farah province, following clashes between armed groups and security forces.
Returns to Afghanistan
Since the beginning of the year, more than 11,000 Afghans have returned to their home country. From 25 March to 31 March, 574 refugees returned from Pakistan, 20 from Iran and 2 from other countries, according to UNHCR.
Security Incidents and Humanitarian Access
Several mobile network towers were reportedly damaged outside Tirinkot City, Uruzgan, by members of an NSAG, according to information from the ground. Communication with partners in Uruzgan is currently hampered, which has slowed the assessment of recently displaced families in Tirinkot and made it more difficult for aid workers to reach displaced families outside the city.
As a result of negotiations that yielded security guarantees, an NGO implementing mine risk education and spot clearance of Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) in Uruzgan, resumed operations one week after suspending activities following threats.
Cluster Updates
Partners of the Health Cluster in Nangarhar Province provided consultations for nearly 3,500 returnees from Pakistan or IDPs and vaccinated some 780 children. The Polio vaccination campaign that had been suspended due to insecurity in two districts of Farah resumed and all children were reached.
The Sub-Cluster Gender Based Violence (GBV) led by UNFPA reached more than 8,000 people in the past week in in four regions with GBV-services and health education.
Ongoing Response Activities (see page 2 for details)
During the past week, more than 28,000 displaced people, returnees, refugees, people affected by natural disasters and members of vulnerable host families received some form of humanitarian assistance.
Distributions and activities were reported to OCHA from following provinces in four regions: Hilmand, Hirat, Kabul, Khost, Kunar, Laghman, Nangarhar, Paktika, Paktya, Takhar and Uruzgan. Humanitarian organisations conducting activities included ARCS, DACAAR, DRCDDG, HRDA, IFRC, IMC, IOM, IRC, PU-AMI, RI, UNHCR and WFP. Assistance provided included multipurpose cash (MPC), food rations, NFIs, tents and emergency shelter material, hygiene kits and WASH packages and WASH services like emergency latrines built in informal displacement settlements.