March 13, 2009

Overview

Obama appoints new ambassador to Afghanistan

US President Barack Obama named Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry as his new ambassador to Afghanistan on Wednesday (March 11), the Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported. Eikenberry has served in Afghanistan twice, including an 18-month tour as commanding general, in addition to being an expert in East Asia, once serving as Defense Attaché at the US embassy in Beijing, China. News of Eikenberry's nomination came as Obama awaited the results of his review of Pakistan and Afghanistan policy, which is scheduled to end by the time he heads to the NATO summit in early April.  On Tuesday (March 10) US Vice President Joe Biden also backed up statements by Obama over the weekend that the US would consider engaging in talks with moderate members of the Taliban, AFP reported. The idea has received praise from Afghan President Hamid Karzai, but Reuters attributed a purported Taliban spokesperson as saying Tuesday that the Taliban is a united group with no moderate members. He said that the exit of foreign troops from Afghanistan is the only way to end the war, according to Reuters.

International conference on Afghanistan to be held at end of March

The Government of the Netherlands announced Tuesday that a high-level international conference on Afghanistan's future will be held in The Hague on March 31, chaired by the UN with support from Afghanistan and the Netherlands. The announcement came after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for such a conference at a meeting with NATO foreign ministers in Belgium on March 5. The Dutch government said attendees will include foreign ministers and representatives of international organizations involved in security and reconstruction, as well as delegates from neighboring countries, countries with forces in Afghanistan and others involved in reconstruction. In other news, the presidents of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed Tuesday to have their foreign ministers hold monthly meetings to discuss regional issues. The three leaders themselves will also meet quarterly to discuss terrorism, trade, development and other issues, a spokesperson for Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari told CNN. Separately, on Tuesday, Pakistan-based The News reported that the EU's foreign police chief, Javier Solana, said that while EU nations are willing to help through civilian reconstruction, providing assistance during the August elections and improving relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, they are not likely to increase the number of troops they have deployed to Afghanistan. NATO currently has about 25,000 non-US troops in Afghanistan, while the US has 38,000 and has ordered 17,000 more to arrive later this year, the AP reported.

Dozens killed in Afghan violence

In the latest violence in the eastern province of Khost, a roadside bomb killed seven members of an Afghan militia group allied with foreign troops on Wednesday, according to Reuters. In the central province of Ghazni, Afghan police killed two Taliban insurgents during fighting on Tuesday night, Reuters reported. Also late Tuesday, unidentified gunmen shot and killed an Afghan journalist as he was driving through the center of Kandahar city in southern Kandahar province. Jawed Ahmad, who worked for Canadian and Iranian television stations, was detained by the US military in Kandahar in 2007 for being "an unlawful enemy combatant" but was released in September 2008, according to AFP and Reuters. A Taliban spokesperson denied responsibility for the killing, which was condemned by the Afghan government and several journalism rights groups. Additionally on Tuesday, four civilians were killed and six were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded beneath their vehicle in the southern province of Helmand. The incident occurred in Helmand's Nad Ali district on a road used by government drug-eradication forces and after the blast police found five other bombs that had been planted along the road, the AP attributed a spokesperson for the provincial governor as saying. The drug eradication team temporarily suspended its operations in Nad Ali and the government blamed the Taliban and drug mafia for planting the bomb, according to the AP. Helmand is the largest producer of opium - the main ingredient in heroin - in the world. Over the weekend, at least 32 people were killed in violence on Saturday (March 7) and Sunday (March 8). On Saturday, US-led coalition and Afghan forces killed four militants in an operation in the eastern province of Khost, about 90 miles (150 km) southeast of Kabul, Reuters reported. In the southern province of Kandahar, US-led and Afghan forces killed three militants in two separate operations Saturday in Maywand district. Also in the south, police killed a would-be suicide bomber Saturday in Nimroz city of Nimroz province as he entered a police compound, according to Reuters. The shooting caused the bomber's explosives to detonate, killing two policemen. In the southern province of Helmand, Afghan and foreign forces killed and wounded an unspecified number of insurgents in Naad Ali district on Saturday, according to Reuters. In the south-central province of Uruzgan, US-led soldiers and Afghan police killed five insurgents while on patrol in Tirin Kot district Saturday. On Sunday, Reuters reported that a roadside bomb killed a NATO-led soldier and wounded three others. In central Ghazni province on Sunday, a roadside bomb killed three Afghan policemen and wounded three others in Dah Yak district, Reuters attributed the Afghan Interior Ministry as saying. Afghan soldiers said they inflicted heavy casualties on militants in Alah Say district of east-central Kapisa province on Sunday, according to Reuters. No casualty figures were available for militants, but the Afghan Defense Ministry said two soldiers were killed and one was wounded during the fighting. Also in Kapisa Sunday, two Afghan policemen were killed in a friendly fire incident in Tagab district. A Canadian soldier was killed and four others were wounded Sunday when a roadside bomb exploded in Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province, the AP reported. Pakistan-based The News reported that Afghan soldiers killed eight suspected Taliban insurgents on Sunday in Helmand's Garmser district. On Sunday, the top US general in Afghanistan, Gen. David McKiernan, said that coalition forces are not winning in Afghanistan's south and parts of the east, although progress is being made in the north and west. He attributed the struggle in the south and east partially to a lack of a sufficient sustained security presence that would allow for governance to improve, the AP reported. McKiernan said he expects the situation to improve as 17,000 more US troops are deployed to Afghanistan later this year.

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 Uruzgan province, US-led soldiers and Afghan police killed five insurgents while on patrol in Tirin Kot district on Saturday (March 7). (Reuters, Mar-8) On Sunday (March 8), a roadside bomb killed three Afghan policemen and wounded three others in Dah Yak district of Ghazni province. (Reuters, Mar-8) In Ghazni, Afghan police killed two Taliban insurgents during fighting on Tuesday (March 10) night. (Reuters, Mar-10)
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	A roadside bomb killed a NATO soldier and wounded three others on Sunday (March 8), but the location of the incident and the soldiers’ nationalities were not disclosed. (Reuters, Mar-8) In Kapisa province on Sunday Afghan soldiers said they inflicted heavy casualties on militants in Alah Say district. No casualty figures were available for militants, but the Afghan Defense Ministry said two soldiers were killed and one was wounded. (Reuters, Mar-8) Two Afghan policemen were killed in a friendly fire incident in Tagab district of Kapisa on Sunday. (CNN, Reuters, Mar-8)
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 coalition and Afghan forces killed four militants and detained five others in an operation in Khost province on Saturday (March 7). (Reuters, Mar-7) In Khost, a roadside bomb killed seven members of an Afghan militia group allied with foreign troops on Wednesday (March 11). (Reuters, Mar–11)
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
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	On Saturday (March 7), US-led and Afghan forces killed three militants in two separate operations in Maywand district of Kandahar province. (Reuters, Mar-7) Police killed a would-be suicide bomber in Nimroz city of Nimroz province on Saturday as he entered a police compound. The shooting caused the bomber’s explosives to detonate, killing two policemen. (Reuters, Mar-7) In Helmand province, Afghan and foreign forces killed and wounded an unspecified number of insurgents in Naad Ali district on Saturday. (Reuters, Mar-7) A Canadian soldier was killed and four others were wounded Sunday (March 8) when a roadside bomb exploded in Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar. (AP, Mar-8) In Garmser district of Helmand, Afghan soldiers killed eight suspected Taliban insurgents on Sunday. (The News, Mar-8) Four civilians were killed and six were wounded Tuesday (March 10) when a roadside bomb exploded beneath their vehicle in Helmand. The incident occurred in Nad Ali district on a road used by government drug-eradication forces and after the blast police found five other bombs that had been planted along the road. (AP, Mar-10) Late Tuesday unidentified gunmen shot and killed an Afghan journalist as he was driving through the center of Kandahar city. Jawed Ahmad, who worked for Canadian and Iranian television stations, was detained by the US military in Kandahar in 2007 for being "an unlawful enemy combatant" but was released in September 2008. A Taliban spokesperson denied responsibility for the killing, which was condemned by the Afghan government and several journalism rights groups. (AFP, Reuters, Mar-10)
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
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