Humanitarian Assistance for Afghan Refugees and IDPs

January 9, 2009

Overview

At least 76 killed across Afghanistan

At least 76 people were killed in security incidents in Afghanistan this week, mostly in the southern and eastern regions where the Taliban insurgency has been most active. The deadliest incident occurred Tuesday (January 6), when US-led forces said they killed 32 insurgents in Alishang district of Laghman province while targeting a roadside bomb-making cell. The US military said troops also destroyed two huge caches of bomb-making materials and weapons, but first moved civilians to safety. However, local officials have said about 22 civilians were killed when the buildings collapsed, while Afghan President Hamid Karzai said 17 were killed, according to the Associated Press (AP). Civilian casualties have caused tension between the Afghan government and the foreign forces that have been fighting the Taliban there since 2001. In a separate incident in southern Uruzgan province, the government says at least eight civilians were killed by a rocket during clashes between NATO forces and insurgents on Sunday (January 4) and Monday (January 5). Authorities are investigating the incident. In other major incidents, a suicide bomber killed at least 10 people in southern Nimroz province on Friday (January 9), according to Reuters and the AP. In southern Kandahar province, a suicide bomber killed three civilians and two US soldiers in Maywand district on Thursday (January 8), the AP reported. Three other US soldiers were killed Friday when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb in neighboring Zabul province, according to Reuters. A Canadian soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in Kandahar on Wednesday (January 7), while another NATO soldier died in the south on Tuesday and an Australian soldier was killed by a rocket in Uruzgan on Saturday (January 3). Three Afghan policemen were killed Monday when insurgents ambushed a police post in Kandahar, according to Xinhua news agency. Also in Kandahar, two unidentified gunmen killed a Muslim cleric in a mosque on Monday. Afghan and coalition forces killed five militants in Zabul on Thursday and six in the western province of Farah on Wednesday, the AP reported.

Defense ministry says violence in Afghanistan likely to remain at similar level this year

Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said Monday that Afghanistan is likely to see a similar level of violence from the insurgency this year as in 2008.  However, the ministry says that security troops will be in a better position to fight back against insurgents.  “No doubt there will be more fierce battles in 2009 and it will not be very different in terms of violence from last year,” Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted defense ministry spokesperson Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi as saying.  He said that an increase in Afghan security troops and an expected 20,000 to 30,000 extra US troops to be deployed this year “puts us in an even better position compared to 2008” he said.  He added that efforts to improve governance, fight corruption and boost regional cooperation would also improve security in the country.  The US Ambassador to Afghanistan, William Wood, said last week that the number of insurgent bomb attacks had doubled in 2008 over 2007 to around 2,000.  According to AFP, the UN and non-governmental organizations have also said that attacks in 2008 reached a level not seen since the Taliban was ousted in late 2001.  According to estimates, more than 290 foreign soldiers and more than 1,000 Afghan security troops were killed last year, mostly by bombings.  According to Reuters, in 2007 169 foreign soldiers were killed.  However, according to the AP, the Taliban claimed Monday (January 5) that its forces last year killed 5,220 foreign troops, as well as downed 31 aircraft, destroyed 2,818 NATO and Afghan vehicles and killed 7,552 Afghan soldiers and police.  However, these figures are widely seen as being exaggerated. In 2008, the AP recorded 3,800 militant deaths based on claims from Afghan officials and the US coalition.  According to AFP, NATO said that around 5,000 militants were killed in 2008.  In September, the UN said that 1,445 civilians were killed in the first eight months of the year, which was an increase of 39 percent from the same period in 2007.  According to AFP, NATO said that 1,000 civilians were killed during all of 2008.  Around 70,000 foreign troops, including almost 30,000 Americans, currently serve under NATO and the US military command in Afghanistan. 

Pakistani president makes first official visit to Afghanistan

In his first official visit to Afghanistan since taking office in September, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari met Tuesday with President Hamid Karzai in the capital, Kabul. The two vowed to work together to develop trade and fight the drug trade and the Taliban insurgency that threatens the stability of both countries. “We hope this friendship, this new relationship achieves what is desired by both nations, which means a strong fight against terrorism, terrorism is defeated and is forced out, extremism is defeated,” the BBC quoted Karzai as saying in a joint news conference. Analysts say tension between the neighbors has faded in the last few months and Tuesday’s meeting may indicate that Karzai is more comfortable working with Zardari than with previous administrations, Reuters and the BBC reported. Karzai had joined the US and NATO in accusing Pakistan of not doing enough to fight the Taliban- and al-Qaeda-linked militants based in its northwestern tribal areas who carry out attacks in both countries. But since Zardari took office, Pakistani security forces have launched several large operations against militants in the tribal areas, killing hundreds of rebels. Officials from both countries signed a joint declaration on bilateral cooperation this week, agreeing to cooperate in the war on terror, economic development and the eradication of regional drug production and trafficking, Xinhua reported. Neither president offered details on what the cooperation will entail.
Movement

2008: The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) held a press conference in Kabul on Monday (December-15). Nilab Mobarez from the UNAMA Spokesperson’s Office reported that the Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation and UNHCR just published the first national IDP profiling report. Findings of the report include that the various conflicts and natural disasters in Afghanistan in the last decade have uprooted about 1.2 million people. Currently, about 235,000 people are estimated to be displaced within Afghanistan. According to the report, aid agencies and the Afghan government must focus on local integration to help bring long-term displacement to an end. (UNAMA, December-15)

According to UNHCR, fewer Afghan refugees are returning home, while more people are leaving the country for better jobs and security, a trend that may increase regional tension. More than 5 million of 8 million Afghan refugees have returned home since 2002, but the number of those returning is falling, according to UNHCR. Amid pressure from Iran and Pakistan to send home millions of refugees, representatives from UNHCR, about 30 countries and international organizations met in Kabul in mid-November to mobilize support for the sustained return and reintegration of the refugees. (AFP, BBC, Nov-19)

UNHCR said in the first week of October that some 251,800 registered Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Iran had returned to their homes so far in 2008. Most of those repatriated (248,951) under the UN-assisted voluntary repatriation campaign came from Pakistan, while Iran accounted for 2,929 returns. (UNHCR, Oct-7)

Some 2,800 Pakistani families crossed the border into northeastern Afghanistan over the past two months to escape fighting between militants and Pakistani security forces in Bajur region.  Most of the people are reportedly in Kunar province.  (AFP, Sept-19)

UNHCR is asking Pakistan to revise its Afghan refugee repatriation plan, as the current plan to repatriate some 2.4 million refugees by the end of next year (2009) is “unworkable” due to persistent insecurity and lack of economic opportunities.  (BBC, Apr-18).

2007: UNHCR temporarily suspends the Afghan voluntary repatriation campaign in Pakistan until March 2008 due to seasonal slowdown.  (IRIN, Nov-2).  Pakistan has reportedly extended the deadline to close Jalozai camp until March 2008.  (IRIN, Sep-4).  The UNHCR has asked Pakistan to temporarily suspend closure of Jalozai refugee camp in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) that was originally scheduled to be closed on August 31.  UNHCR said due to the fast approaching Muslim holy month of Ramadan and winter season, conditions were not conducive for the return of some 100,000 camp residents.  UNHCR said any forceful return of these refugees could lead to secondary displacement. 

Pakistan is to close all Afghan refugee camps by December 2009 and to repatriate all refugees living in the country.  UNHCR says it has repatriated over 306,000 Afghan refugees from Pakistan so far this year under its voluntary repatriation campaign.  (UNHCR, Aug-10)

4.2 million refugees have returned to Afghanistan, and 500,000 IDPs returned home since early 2002.  Close to 3 million of the refugees returned from Pakistan. 2.6 million Afghans remain in Pakistan, including one million in 74 long-term camps. About 1.5 million Afghans returned from Iran. Taking into account unassisted returns, perhaps 600,000 to 700,000 Afghans remain in Iran—up to 30,000 are in seven camps.

Iran deported some 85,000 unregistered refugees to Afghanistan during April 21 - May 14, 2007.  Iranian officials say they plan to initially send back 500,000 of over a million illegal refugees in the country.  Earlier this week, Iran said it has reached an agreement with the Afghan government to slow down the pace of expulsions for illegal Afghans living in the country. 

Some 200,000 Afghan refugees in Pakistan have returned to their homes under the UN-assisted voluntary Afghan refugee repatriation program since it resumed on March 1, 2007, following a seasonal winter suspension.  Pakistani authorities said voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan that are without proof of registration (PoR) ended in April, and refugees remaining in the country without PoR are now considered illegal and subject to government action.  Repatriation campaign for Afghan refugees with PoR.

2006: UNHCR expects to assist 550,000 returnees—400,000 from Pakistan and 150,000 from Iran.  However, so far this year only some 60,000 Afghan refugees have repatriated from Pakistan.  Unassisted returns are a factor from Pakistan and have been a major contributor to returns from Iran. The tripartite arrangement among UNHCR-Afghanistan-Pakistan is good through 2006.  The UNHCR-Afghanistan-Iran Joint Program has been extended into 2007.  Repatriation from Pakistan, halted for the winter, recommenced on March 1.  UNHCR assisted nearly 9,000 refugees in returning from Pakistan and over 500 from Iran during March.  In April 2006, Pakistan closed two long-term camps in NWFP, and two in Baluchistan Province with 250,000 long-term residents.  Refugees in Baluchistan can either return to Afghanistan or relocate to Mohammad Kheil camp near Quetta. Refugees in NWFP are moving to Afghanistan or one of ten camps in NWFP—refugees are pushing for a one-year delay. 

2005 plans called for 400,000 Afghan refugees to return home from Pakistan and 200,000 from Iran, down from an earlier 350,000 estimated from Iran. 453,000 returned from Pakistan.  67,000 from Iran were assisted and over 210,000 returned on their own to Iran for a total of nearly 280,000, and a combined Pakistan and Iran total of 733,000—close to the original projection.

2004 plans were for one million to return.  Actual returnees were around 850,000, with 385,000 from Pakistan and 460,000 from Iran, including 80,000 spontaneous returns.  Pakistan closed camps in South Waziristan and all new camps, with remaining new refugees going to Mohamed Kheil camp in Baluchistan Province. 

Emphasis in 2003 was on repatriation from old camps and cities in Pakistan to rural areas in Afghanistan.  70 percent of returnees from Pakistan were from cities and 30 percent from camps. Over a third returned to Kabul, another 10 percent went to other central provinces, and just over 20 percent returned to each of the north and east.  The Southern region received 6 percent and the Western region 4 percent. The 2003 peak months were June and July.

In 2002 over 2.3 million Afghan refugees returned with 2 million assisted by UNHCR.  UNHCR repatriated 1.53 million Afghan refugees from Pakistan, including 125,000 from Baluchistan and 1.4 million from the North West Frontier Province.  82 percent were from urban areas; only 3 percent were from new camps.  265,000 refugees were assisted in returning from Iran; and 10,000 refugees from the central Asian republics. 

Afghanistan Relief Efforts:  United Nations Coordination Regions

Central Region

Location	Central Region
Coordination
Population
IDP Movement	No New Information
Food	There have been at least six attacks on World Food Program (WFP) food convoys in 2008, and WFP has temporarily suspended food delivery to Daikundi province.(IRIN, May-28)
Health	No New Information
NFIs -Shelter	No New Information IOM, UNICEF, UNOCHA, & OXFAM
Water & Sanitation	No New Information UNICEF
Security	In Ghazni province, a car bomb with two attackers killed one civilian and wounded seven others on Monday (December-22), when the bomb exploded near the governor’s compound in Ghazni City. Both attackers were also killed. (Reuters, Dec-22)
Comments	No New Information

East Central Region

Location	East Central Region
Coordination	UNHCR
Population
IDP Movement	The Afghan Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) agreed to work together towards creating sustainable livelihoods for 2,000 recent Afghan returnees from neighboring countries. About 640,000 Afghans have returned from Iran and Pakistan this year. (IOM, Dec-16)
Food	The German Federal Foreign Office is giving another US$1.3 million (1 million Euros) to the UN World Food Program (WFP) to provide basic necessities to people in particularly remote areas of Afghanistan during the winter. Germany’s winter aid for Afghanistan amounts to US$8.45 million (6.5 million Euros). (Government of Germany, Dec-4) The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported on December 9 that increasing attacks on food convoys by insurgents are leading to a food crisis. The attacks force convoys to take longer routes, thus increasing the cost of transportation and the food itself. Most food prices are already far beyond the reach of ordinary people. Aid agencies fear that the food crisis could exacerbate child malnutrition throughout the country. (UNICEF, Dec-9)
Health	No New Information UNICEF, CARITAS, MSF, IFRC, IRC, ICRC
Non-Food Items - Shelter	No New Information UNHCR, ACTED, MSF, IRC, ICRC, IOM
Security
Water & Sanitation	An agreement has been signed between the UNHCR and the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) to provide safe drinking water for Afghan returnees from Pakistan and Iran, as well as IDPs.  (UNHCR, Sep. 24) ICRC
Comments	NATO entered talks with Afghanistan’s northern neighbors to allow the shipment of more supplies through those countries. The move comes as Taliban attacks on NATO supply lines through Pakistan increase and the local transport association suspended any convoys to Afghanistan beginning December-15. At least 75 percent of supplies to foreign troops travels through Pakistan. (BBC, Dec-15)

Eastern Region

Location	Eastern Region
Coordination	UNHCR, International Islamic Relief Organization;
Population
IDP Movement	UNHCR
Food	NATO-led ISAF PRT transported water pipes for a nearly seven-mile-long planned water supply project in Baghlan province.  (NATO, Aug-23) IRC
Health	No New Information
Non-Food Items - Shelter	No New Information CWS, UNICEF
Security	US-led forces said they killed 32 insurgents Tuesday (January 6) in Alishang district of Laghman province, about 62 miles (100 km) northeast of Kabul. The rebels belonged to a roadside bomb-making cell the security forces were targeting. While the US military said it moved civilians to a safe location before destroying two caches of bomb-making supplies, local officials said 22 civilians were killed when the buildings collapsed and the Afghan president said 17 died. (AP, AFP, Jan-7-8)
Water & Sanitation	CARITAS; ICRC, UNICEF
Comments	No New Information

Northeastern Region

Location	Northeastern Region
Coordination
Population
Movement IDPs	9,000 active IDPs in North and Northeast
Food	No New Information
Health	Afghan officials and the medical team assigned to the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Panjshir province coordinated with local leaders in two districts to augment health care to 563 people. (GoUSA, Oct. 23) WHO, Merlin, UNICEF, MSF; ICRC
Non-Food Items (NFIs) -Shelter	UNICEF, ACTED, Refugees Int’l, Mercy Corps
Security	No New Information
Water & Sanitation	No New Information
Comments	The Mine Detection Center (MDC), an Afghan NGO, has cleared 1 million square meters of landmines in Afghanistan’s northeastern region since January. According to UNAMA, 165 people have been killed and more than 1100 people have been injured in mine accidents in the four northeastern provinces of Kunduz, Baghlan, Takhar and Badakhshan. (UNAMA, Oct-21)

Northern Region

Location	Northern Region
Coordination	UNHCR, IOM
Population	9,000 active IDPs in North and Northeast; 60,000 IDPs from North elsewhere in country.
Movement IDPs	No New Information IOM
Food	No New Information
Health	No New Information MSF, ICRC, UNICEF
NFIs –Shelter	No New Information IOM, ACTED, Mercy Corps
Security
Water & Sanitation	No New Information UNICEF, ICRC, DACAAR
Comments	The European Commission’s Humanitarian aid Office and the NGO ActionAid launched a cash for work program in northern Afghanistan on October 22 aimed at providing about 5,000 families with enough food to cover half of their daily requirements through the winter. The program is active in 40 villages in Jawzjan Province’s Darzab and Qushtepa districts, and in Balkh province’s Dawlatabad and Kaldar districts. (ActionAid, Oct-22)

Southern Region

Location	Southern Region
Coordination	UNHCR
Population
Movement of IDPs	Intense military operations against Afghan insurgents in southern Helmand province, especially in Musa Qala district, have caused hundreds of families to flee their homes to neighboring districts and the provincial capital, Lashkargah. (IRIN, Dec-6)
Food	No New Information UNICEF; Mercy Corps; CARITAS; WFP
Health	NATO reported on December-14 that hundreds of people received medical care and humanitarian assistance in Zabul province. Members of the Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), the Afghan Army and coalition forces participated in the operation. (NATO, Dec-14) Members of the Zabul PRT and of the Kentucky Army National Guard delivered four pre-fabricated medical containers to the Atgar district center. The delivery will help to improve the health care capacity in the province that has only one health care provider so far. (NATO, Dec-6)
NFIs - Shelter	No New Information UNHCR, Mercy Corps
Security	A suicide bomber killed 10 people and wounded 20 others when he detonated his explosive belt in a fruit market in Ziranj, the capital of Nimroz province, on Friday (January 9). The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which appeared to target a police official who was shopping in the market and was killed in the blast. (IHT, Reuters, AP, Jan-9) In Tarnak va Jaldak district of Zabul province, three US soldiers were killed Friday when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb while driving on the main road that links Kandahar province to Kabul. (IHT, Reuters, Jan-9) On Thursday (January 8), coalition forces killed five militants involved in a bomb-making network in Zabul and captured three others. (AP, Jan-9) A suicide bomber blew himself up on a busy street in Kandahar’s Maywand district on Thursday, killing at least three civilians and two US troops. At least nine civilians were wounded. One report said the attack targeted NATO-led Canadian forces and attributed a Taliban spokesperson as claiming 15 Canadian troops were killed. (AP, DPA, Jan-8) In Shah Walikot district of Kandahar, a roadside bomb killed a Canadian soldier and wounded three others on Wednesday (January 7). (DPA, AP, Jan-8) NATO said an ISAF soldier was killed in a hostile incident in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday (January 6), but it gave no details. (AP, Jan-6) On Sunday (January 4) and Monday (January 5), a rocket explosion killed at least eight women during a battle between troops and militants near Tirin Kot, the capital of Uruzgan province. Police are trying to determine who fired the rocket, which wounded nine civilians. NATO said it was aware of the incident but confirmed only the nine wounded and no deaths. The Australian Defense Force said it is investigating whether its troops were responsible for the deaths. (AP, BBC, Jan-7-8) In Kandahar on Monday, two unidentified gunmen entered a mosque and shot dead a Muslim cleric. It was unclear whether the attack was linked to the Taliban. (Xinhua, Jan-6) Three Afghan policemen were killed and another was wounded Monday when insurgents ambushed a police post in Kandahar’s Dand district, near Kandahar City. Three soldiers were missing after the attack. (Xinhua, Jan-6) An Australian soldier was killed in Uruzgan on Saturday (January 3) when a rocket launched by militants landed on a military compound. (BBC, Bloomberg, Jan-5) Suspected insurgents blew up a clinic in Kandahar on Saturday that had provided services to about 20,000 families in Arghandab district. No casualties were reported. (Xinhua, Jan-5)
Water & Sanitation	No New Information UNICEF
Comments	British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on December-13, that Britain will help Afghanistan with upcoming elections and has also offered to set up a task force to fight corruption. Britain plans to give Afghanistan US$10 million to register voters for next year’s elections. (CNN, Dec-15) On December-19 Tooryalai Wesa, an Afghan-Canadian academic, accepted the post of governor in the volatile southern province of Kandahar. He will be officially sworn in on December-20. (AP, Dec-19)

Southern Region IDP camps

Location	Zhare Dasht - South of Kandahar – 6 camps
Type	IDP Camp
Coordination	UNHCR
Camp Capacity	30,000; expandable to 60,000
Population	125,000 IDPs in south; 48,500 at Zhare Dasht
Movement IDP	No New Information
Food	No New Information WFP
Health	No New Information UNICEF, MSF
NFIs – Shelter	No New Information
Security	No New Information
Water & Sanitation	No New Information UNICEF
Comments	Support for Spin Boldak camps terminated in 2004.

Western Region

Location	Western Region
Coordination	UNHCR; ICMC
Population	No New Information
Movement IDPs	12,000 IDPs, mostly in Maslakh camp IOM
Food	No New Information IRC, CARITAS, UNICEF, World Vision, IOM, Action Contre la Faim; WFP
Health	At least three people were killed in an outbreak of highly contagious Viral Hemorrhagic Fever in Herat city that was first reported on August 25, according to the Ministry of Public Health. Officials confirmed 10 suspected cases as of August 27 and said most of the infected were butchers, shepherds or others involved with animals. The patients were put in quarantine. (IRIN, Aug-27)
Non-Food Items (NFIs) – Shelter	No New Information
Security	On Wednesday (January 7), Afghan and coalition troops killed six militants in a raid in Farah province targeting rebels who had carried out attacks on security forces. (AP, Jan-7)
Water & Sanitation	No New Information UNICEF
Comments	The International Organization for Migration (IOM) inaugurated an upgraded Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) radio station and a media center in Qal-i-Naw district in the province of Badghis. IOM installed an AM transmitter and studio, with funding from the Spanish government. The new equipment has allowed the station to broadcast to every district in the province. (IOM, Oct. 24)

Refugee Camps in Pakistan

Location	Long-term camps in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), NWFP, Baluchistan Province, and by capital, Islamabad; Mohamed Kheil 1 & 2 camps (85 km southwest of Quetta)
Type	Refugee Camps
Coordination	Afghanistan, Pakistan and UNHCR on August 2 extended the tripartite agreement governing the voluntary repatriation of registered Afghans from Pakistan through December 2009. The agreement provides a legal and operational framework for the process. To date, more than 3 million Afghans have returned from Pakistan under the voluntary repatriation program since 2002. This year, more than 300,000 Afghans have returned. (UNHCR, GOP, Aug-2)
Camp Capacity	About one million mostly long term Afghans in 74 camps—down from about 200 camps.
Population	2.05 million registered Afghans remaining in Pakistan; 63 camps in NWFP, 12 in Baluchistan; and one million elsewhere; Many occupants are long-term residents or were born in Pakistan; (UNHCR, Aug-2) Jungle Pir Alizai (Balochistan): 36,000, originally scheduled to close June 15. Kacha Gari (NWFP): original population of 64,811, officially closed July 26 – 37,000 repatriated. (UNHCR, July-27) Jalozai (NWFP): 109,934, originally scheduled to close August 31.  UNHCR on August 22 requested Pakistan to temporarily suspend the camp’s closure due to insufficient time for some 100,000 people to move and settle into new places in the face of the fast approaching Ramadan and winter season. (UNHCR, Aug-22)  The deadline was extended to April 15 due to the impending winter. According to IRIN, at least 352 have left Jalozai so far in March.  (IRIN, Mar-20) Girdi Jungle (Balochistan): 17,844, scheduled to close August 31. (IRIN, June-14)
Refugee Movement	No New Information
Food	No New Information WFP, CRS, ARC
Health	No New Information UNICEF, MSF
Non-Food Items (NFIs) - Shelter	No New Information CRS
Security	No New Information
Water & Sanitation	No New Information IFRC, MDM
Comments	No New Information