January 25, 2008

Overview

More than 20 people, including civilians, killed in violence across Afghanistan

More than 20 people, including civilians, were killed in separate security incidents across Afghanistan this week. Four Afghan soldiers working with the US-led coalition forces were killed Friday (January 25) in the southeastern province of Khost when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb. Also Friday, one coalition soldier was killed in a clash with Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan's eastern Kunar province. Ground troops called in airstrikes during the clash in Kunar's Nari district. An unknown number of suspected militants were reportedly killed in the operation that also left three coalition soldiers, one Afghan interpreter and a local security official wounded. The nationalities of the dead and wounded coalition soldiers have not been released. At least 11 people, including nine Afghan policemen and two civilians, were reportedly killed in a US-led ground and air assault aimed at Taliban insurgents in the southeastern province of Ghazni on Thursday (January 24). One British soldier was killed and five others wounded Sunday (January 20) when their vehicle was struck by a landmine some two miles northeast of Musa Qala in Helmand province. Five civilians were killed and three others wounded in Panjwayi district in southern Kandahar province of Saturday (January 19) when their taxi ran over a landmine.

UN-Afghan appeal seeks US$80 million to avert food insecurity

The UN and the Afghan government are seeking US$80 million to fund some 89,000 metric tons of food to assist nearly 2.55 million Afghans affected by rising commodity prices, especially wheat flour -- a staple food. The appeal, "Humanitarian Consequences of the Rise in Food Prices," launched Thursday jointly by the Government of Afghanistan, the World Food Program (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), aims to assist some 425,000 extremely poor families in the country's rural and urban areas over the next five months who otherwise would not be able to meet their food needs. It will also provide additional nutritional supplements to those most at risk and help those who are already suffering from severe malnutrition. Speaking to donor representatives and reporters in the Afghan capital, Kabul, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's acting special representative to Afghanistan Bo Asplund said, "This joint appeal is on behalf of 425,000 extremely poor Afghan families, who otherwise will be unable to meet their most basic need -- that of food -- especially during the current harsh winter months. I urge all donors to respond generously to the appeal, to ensure that these families can feed themselves." According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), food prices, particularly those of wheat and wheat flour, have increased by 60-80 percent across Afghanistan in the past few months, pushing some 1.41 million people in rural areas and 1.14 million people in urban areas into high-risk food insecurity. US$77 million of the requested funds will be used by WFP to procure wheat, pulses, cooking oil and iodized salt that will be distributed among the targeted population under food-for-work and similar schemes implemented through government and non-government organizations and agencies.

Afghan cold wave death toll climbs to over 320

The death toll from the recent cold wave across Afghanistan has reportedly climbed to over 320 people. Citing figures from Afghanistan's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported Tuesday (January 22) that remote mountainous regions of the western provinces of Herat, Farah, Badghis and Nimroz along the border with Iran have been the hardest-hit. According to NDMA, more than 83,000 farm animals have died over the past month due to freezing temperatures. The snowfalls have been the heaviest in 15 years with some areas under up to two meters (seven feet) of snow. Due to heavy snowfalls many roads have been cut off from major cities and supply hubs. NDMA, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and other national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and UN agencies are working to get relief supplies to affected communities. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) working in support of the Afghan National Army (ANA) and UNAMA delivered one and a half tons of food and non-food items to Aft Chan village in Ghoryan district in Herat on Saturday. Nearly seven tons of food and non-food items were also air dropped to three other villages in Ghoryan.

UN, press watchdog groups condemn death sentence for Afghan journalist

The UN and international press freedom groups condemned the death sentencing of an Afghan journalist by a provincial court earlier Tuesday, calling it a violation of freedom of expression. Reporters Without Borders and the National Journalists Union of Afghanistan called upon President Hamid Karzai to intervene to overturn the ruling handed down by a court in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif to a young Afghan journalist for alleged blasphemy. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s acting special representative to Afghanistan Bo Asplund also urged the Afghan government on Friday to review the sentencing. Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, 23, a reporter and a journalism student at Balkh University, was arrested in October for distributing material from the Internet found to be blasphemous by an Afghan court. Kambakhsh, who did not author the document but merely downloaded it off the Internet and shared it with his fellow students at Balkh University, was charged with distributing anti-Islamic propaganda. According to the prosecutors, the document contained comments on verses in the Quran (also spelled Koran) relating to women's role that they deemed offensive to Islam. The court decision was handed down on Tuesday by a panel of three judges during a trial behind closed doors. Kambakhsh reportedly did not have a lawyer to defend him. The judges cited Article 130 of the Afghan constitution, which calls for "judicial discretion" when there is no provision in the constitution or other national laws to deal with a certain matter.

Movement

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% of returnees from Pakistan were from cities and 30% from camps. Over a third returned to Kabul, another 10% went to other central provinces, and just over 20% returned to each of the north and east. The Southern region received 6% and the Western region 4%. 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% were from urban areas; only 3% 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

An avalanche in the Murgab area in central Ghor killed at least 16

people. On March 19 floods killed 30 people in Uruzgan

province.

IDP Movement

Food

On December 26 a landslide had blocked access to Kehmard district in Bamiyan province, leaving an estimated 40,000 vulnerable to food shortages as prices of food rose sharply. (IRIN, Dec-27)

A rapid food needs assessment by USAID’s Famine Early Warning System (FEWS) suggests that due to failed wheat crops, unfavorable weather and higher food prices, Ghor province would need in the short-term (December-April) some 14,231 metric tons of food assistance to feed its vulnerable population. (ReliefWeb, Oct-18)

According to local officials, thousands of students attending 40 schools in Ghazni province have not received WFP food assistance for over a month due to insecurity. FAO on July 5 said that 6.5 million Afghans suffer from chronic food insecurity. (IRIN, July-8)

Health

UN agencies and the local provincial government raise funds to build a new maternity wing in the Bamiyan main hospital. The new facility is expected to provide essential healthcare for expectant mothers in central Bamiyan province and to reduce the risk of both maternal and child mortality. (UNAMA, July-17).

At least 20 children have died in several districts of central Daikundi and northern Balkh provinces over the past five weeks due to water contamination from floods. (IRIN, July-12)

Typhoid fever has claimed five lives and infected some 200 others in the Charsada district of central Ghor province. (People’s Daily Online, Feb-15)

NFIs -Shelter

IOM, UNICEF, UNOCHA, & OXFAM

Water & Sanitation

UNICEF

Security

Two Dutch and two Afghan soldiers died in separate friendly fire incidents on January 12 in Dehrawud district of Uruzgan province. (Reuters, Jan-13)

Two civilians were killed and five others wounded in a clash between NATO troops and Taliban insurgents in the provincial capital, Tirin Kot, in Uruzgan province on January 4. (ABC, Jan-7)

Four Afghan policemen were killed in a landmine explosion on December 30 in Uruzgan province. (ABC, KT, Jan-1)

Comments

East Central Region

Location	East Central Region
Coordination	UNHCR
Population
IDP Movement	UN; Government encouraging refugees to return to home provinces to limit burden on Kabul—government land distribution program only in province of origin;
Food	ISAF troops carried out a two-day food donation near the village of Gulbagh in Chahar Asiab district, (NATO, Feb-11) IRC, Action Contra la Faim; WFP
Health	President Karzai helped inaugurate the new hospital of the National Department of Security on September 14. (GOA, Sep-14) More than 10,000 people, mostly children, have been affected by diarrhea in flood-stricken provinces across the country, including Kabul. (IRIN, July-12) Kabul is home to the world’s worst outbreak of leishmaniasis, thought to have spread to hundreds of thousands of people. The sandflies that spread the parasites causing the disease are present in all Afghan cities, but more prominently in poor, crowded areas where they breed on waste land and in trash. (Reuters, May-7) UNICEF, CARITAS, MSF, IFRC, IRC, ICRC
Non-Food Items - Shelter	UNHCR, ACTED, MSF, IRC, ICRC, IOM
Security	*One US-led coalition soldier was killed and three others wounded Friday (January 25) in Nari district in Kunar province in a clash with Afghan insurgents. (ABC, MSNBC, Jan-25)* Seven people, including five foreigners, were killed in an attack on Kabul’s five-star Serena hotel on January 14. (KT, BBC, Jan-14)
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	The Mine Action Program for Afghanistan (MAPA) says it has completed demining the community of Karte Sakhi in Kabul. (UNAMA, Sep-15)

Eastern Region

Location	Eastern Region
Coordination	UNHCR, International Islamic Relief Organization;
Population
IDP Movement	UNHCR
Food	IRC NATO-led ISAF PRT transported water pipes for a nearly seven-mile-long planned water supply project in Baghlan province. (NATO, Aug-23)
Health	Provincial officials in southern Khost, Kandahar and eastern Nangarhar provinces have confirmed hundreds of diarrhea cases due to water contamination from floods. (IRIN, July-11) FAO confirmed cases of the H5N1 subtype of avian influenza (bird flu) virus in poultry in the eastern city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province and in Sawki district in Kunar province. (FAO, Feb-26)
Non-Food Items - Shelter	CWS, UNICEF
Security	*Four Afghan soldiers working with the US-led coalition forces were killed when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb in Khost on Friday (January 25). (ABC, MSNBC, Jan-25)* Eleven people, including nine policemen and two civilians, were reportedly killed in US-led coalition airstrikes aimed at Taliban insurgents in Ghazni on Thursday (January 24). (BBC, ABC, Jan-24) Afghan security forces killed a Taliban commander and his bodyguard in a clash in Gelan district in Kunar province on December 23. (KT, CNN, Dec-24) Afghan authorities arrested a 55-year-old female carrying an explosives belt near Jalalabad city in Nangarhar province on December 24. (KT, Dec-24) Two children were killed in an accidental blast in Bati Kot district in eastern Nangarhar province on December 20 when an explosive device they brought into their home exploded. (TNI, Dec-21)
Water & Sanitation	CARITAS; ICRC, UNICEF
Comments

Northeastern Region

Location	Northeastern Region
Coordination
Population	9,000 active IDPs in North and Northeast
Movement IDPs
Food	On December 27, heavy snowfall had blocked access to at least 10 districts in Badakhshan province, leaving some 200,000 people in need of food assistance. (IRIN, Dec-27)
Health	WHO, Merlin, UNICEF, MSF; ICRC
Non-Food Items (NFIs) -Shelter	UNICEF, ACTED, Refugees Int’l, Mercy Corps
Security	Taliban insurgents ambushed and killed two Afghan policemen and abducted a police commander in Nuristan province. (BBC, Oct-7) Twelve people, including five government employees and seven policemen, were killed on September 23 when unidentified gunmen opened fire on their vehicle as it traveled through northeastern Badakhshan province. (CNN, Sep-24)
Water & Sanitation
Comments	At least 13 people were killed in an avalanche in Baharak district in northeastern Badakhshan province on December 11. Fifteen others were rescued. (IRIN, Dec-12)

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	IOM
Food
Health	MSF, ICRC, UNICEF At least 20 children have died in several districts of northern Balkh and central Daikundi provinces over the past five weeks due to water contamination from floods. (IRIN, July-12)
NFIs –Shelter	IOM, ACTED, Mercy Corps
Security	More than 65 people, including six members of Afghanistan’s lower house of the parliament and 59 schoolchildren, were killed and more than 100 others wounded in a suicide bomb attack near a sugar factory in northern Baghlan province on November 6. (ABC, BBC, Reuters, Nov 6-8) Four people, including a district police chief, his brother and two other policemen, were killed in a roadside bomb blast in northern Baghlan province on September 24. (The News, Sep-25)
Water & Sanitation	UNICEF, ICRC, DACAAR
Comments	ISAF PRT helps flood-affected families in Khamyab and Qarqin districts in Jowzjan province at the request of provincial authorities. (Frontier Post, Aug-12)

Southern Region

Location	Southern Region
Coordination	UNHCR
Population	IFRC says that flash floods and avalanches in early March have affected 2,200 families in Helmand/Sangreen Grishk, Musa Qala, and Nowzad districts; and 400 families in Uruzgan/Dehraud district. (IFRC, Mar-23).
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) UNOCHA reports that over 2,500 families have left their homes in different districts of Helmand, Uruzgan and Kandahar provinces over the past two months, according to provincial officials. Many of the displaced say they are leaving because of forced recruitment attempts by the Taliban and air strikes by international forces. Many have sought shelter in Kandahar city. (UNOCHA, Sep-27) In Uruzgan province, 880 families affected by conflict in Chora district have been settled in Tirin Kot and Dehrawud districts with the help of UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP and UNICEF. (ReliefWeb, July-30) About 2,000 people, mostly women and children, have fled their homes in several parts of Helmand province due to heavy fighting between Taliban insurgents and NATO-led forces. (IRIN, July-9)
Food	WFP says it could not deliver 50 tons of mixed food to Geeti district in Daykundi province due to security concerns. WFP plans to deliver food as soon as safe passage is guaranteed. (IRIN, Nov-14) The World Food Program (WFP) delivered 500 metric tons of food to the provincial capital Lashkargah, in southern Helmand province for some 4,500 families affected by fighting in Musa Qala, Sangin, Kajakiand Nawzad districts. (ReliefWeb, Sep-3) WFP also distributed 300 tons of food to some 37,000 beneficiaries in Kandahar and Helmand under food-for-work and literacy programs. (ReliefWeb, Sep-3) UNICEF; Mercy Corps; CARITAS; WFP
Health	A UNICEF-led Polio vaccination campaign was suspended in Musa Qala due to military operations. The campaign was also suspended in parts of five other districts. (ReliefWeb, Dec-20) Afghan and US-led coalition forces treated some 700 Afghans during a two-day outreach operation in Kandahar on December 7 and 8. (Reliefweb, Dec-12) The Australian Reconstruction Task Force (RTF), part of the Dutch-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Regional Command South, has completed the redevelopment of the Tarin Kowt Hospital and the construction of the Yaklengah Comprehensive Health Clinic. (NATO, Sep-17) The Afghan Ministry of Public Health and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) signed a memorandum of understanding under which the ICRC will significantly increase its support for the 390-bed regional referral Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar for the next two years. The hospital formerly run by Italian NGO Emergency provides essential care for thousands of patients, including men, women and children wounded in hostilities in the neighboring provinces of Zabul, Helmand and Uruzgan. (ICRC, July-26)
NFIs - Shelter	UNHCR, Mercy Corps
Security	*One British solder was killed and five others wounded when their vehicle was struck by a landmine some two miles northeast of Musa Qala in Helmand Sunday (January 20). (ABC, KT, Jan-22)* *Five civilians were killed and three others wounded in Panjwayi district in Kandahar Saturday (January 19) when their taxi ran over a landmine. (ABC, KT, Jan-22)* Eight policemen were killed in Kandahar province’s Maywand district on January 13 when dozens of Taliban fighters attacked a police post. (Reuters, Jan-13) One policeman was killed and six were wounded on January 13 when a suicide bomber blew himself up when a policeman grabbed him as he tried to enter the home of a senior police official in Helmand’s provincial capital, Lashkar Gah. (Reuters, Jan-13)
Water & Sanitation	UNICEF
Comments	Some 2,500 families (roughly 13,000 people) who fled ongoing violence in Helmand, Uruzgan and Kandahar are staying around Kandahar city in urgent need of temporary shelter. (IRIN, Oct-3) UNICEF estimates some 262 of the 740 schools in the southern provinces of Helmand, Kandahar, Uruzgan and Zabul are currently unable to provide education. (UNNS, July-30)

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
Food	WFP
Health	UNICEF, MSF
NFIs – Shelter
Security
Water & Sanitation	UNICEF
Comments	Support for Spin Boldak camps terminated in 2004.

Western Region

Location	Western Region
Coordination	UNHCR; ICMC
Population	According to the IFRC, flash floods and avalanches in early March affected some 200 families in Herat city; 918 families in Gulran district; 35 families in Cheshte Sharif district; 150 families in Shindand district, 6,500 families in Badghis/Jawand and Murghab districts, and 20 families in Gour district. (IFRC, Mar-23) 12,000 IDPs, mostly in Maslakh camp
Movement IDPs	IOM
Food	IRC, CARITAS, UNICEF, World Vision, IOM, Action Contre la Faim; WFP Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees (DACAAR) is providing safe drinking water to the drought-affected western Afghan provinces of Farah and Herat. Some 7,000 families, or 42,000 individuals, will be provided safe water and hygiene training. (DACAAR, Aug-22) WFP said July 11 that it has resumed some food deliveries along the southern ring road, allowing it to deliver food to the western region. Normal operations moving 1,500 to 1,200 tons of food each week are planned. In late May, WFP suspended some of its deliveries to parts of southern, eastern and western Afghanistan due to insecurity. (WFP, July-11)
Health	Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), with the help of US-led coalition forces, carried out a Medical Civic Action Program (MEDCAP) in Shewan, western Farah province on August 30 and treated more than 811 people, including 576 women and children. (USG, Sep-2)
Non-Food Items (NFIs) – Shelter	UNHCR, Iranian Red Crescent, UNICEF, IOM, Ockenden Int’l, MSF, IMC
Security	Six Afghan policemen and an Indian engineer were killed and 10 others wounded in a suicide attack in southwestern Nimroz province on January 3. (KT, BBC, ABC, Jan-3) A German national married to an Afghan female was abducted by unidentified armed assailants on December 16 in western Herat province. Authorities have arrested four of his wife’s relatives on suspicion of their involvement in the abduction. (BBC, AFP, Dec-20)
Water & Sanitation	UNICEF
Comments	By Friday (January 18), a cold-wave sweeping through the western and central highlands had killed more than 200 people, including 105 in Herat province, 53 in Badghis, 20 in Farah and 27 in Ghor. Heavy snowfall has also blocked many roads, hindering food delivery. (ReliefWeb, UNOCHA, Jan-17) Eight members of a family were killed when their mud-brick house collapsed under the weight of snow in western Herat province on January 8. Eight people, including six shepherds, were killed elsewhere in Herat. (Reliefweb, TNI, Jan-8) In Ghor province, three people were killed when an avalanche buried their home on January 8. (Reliefweb, TNI, Jan-8)

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) The Kacha Garhi Afghan refugee camp was officially closed on July 26. Kacha Garhi, set up in 1980 and located in Hayatabad in NWFP, had 64,000 registered Afghans. The closure followed two years of negotiations, as many refugees initially did not want to repatriate. By the camp's closure, some 37,000 refugees had been repatriated by the UNHCR. Most refugees were originally from Afghanistan's eastern and central provinces of Nangarhar, Laghman, Kabul, and Logar. (UNHCR, July-27)
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) Pakistan has extended the camp closure deadline until March 2008. (IRIN, Sep-4) Girdi Jungle (Balochistan): 17,844, scheduled to close August 31. (IRIN, June-14)
Refugee Movement	Pakistan wants some 2 million Afghan refugees to return home by 2009. (AP, June-14) UNHCR temporarily suspends Afghan voluntary repatriation campaign in Pakistan until March 2008 due to seasonal slowdown. (IRIN, Nov-2).
Food	UNHCR in coordination with local and international organizations is helping some 4,000 Afghans in five flood-affected Afghan refugee camps in Balochistan province. The assistance mainly included non-food items such as tents and tarpaulins. (IRIN, July-26). WFP, CRS, ARC
Health	UNICEF, MSF
Non-Food Items (NFIs) - Shelter	CRS
Security	At least three Pakistani villagers and an Afghan refugee were killed when hundreds of villagers and refugees living in and near the Jungle Pir Alizai camp in Balochistan province clashed with police sent to demolish their homes. (AP, June-14)
Water & Sanitation	IFRC, MDM
Comments