May 8, 2009

Overview

Dozens, including civilians, reportedly killed in US airstrikes in western Farah province

Dozens of people were reportedly killed in US-led coalition airstrikes in western Afghanistan on Monday (May 4), several media outlets reported. Heavy fighting erupted in Bala Baluk (also spelled Bala Boluk) district in western Farah province between Taliban militants and Afghan forces backed by foreign air support. According to provincial Governor Rohul Amin, Afghan security forces backed by air support launched a raid in Bala Baluk after Taliban militants publicly executed three former government employees to punish them for cooperating with the government. It is unclear how many civilian casualties there were, but some reports have put the civilian death toll at as many as 147, the Associated Press (AP) reported Friday (May 8). On Thursday (May 7) six people were wounded, including one with a gunshot wound, in a police crackdown against angry demonstrators protesting against the civilian deaths outside the Farah governor's office. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Wednesday (May 6) that one of its staff who was sent to Bala Baluk district has confirmed that dozens of civilians, including women and children, were killed in airstrikes, the AP reported. The US military has reportedly sent a senior official to investigate the incident. Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who was visiting the White House on Wednesday, reiterated his call to avoid civilian casualties. The US has expressed its regret over civilian casualties. According to the AP, the US military said Friday that reports that as many as 147 civilians were killed in the fighting were “extremely over-exaggerated” and investigators were still trying to analyze information at the site. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates expressed regret over any deaths. “We regret any, even one, innocent civilian casualty and will make whatever amends are necessary.  We have expressed regret regardless of how this occurred,” the AP quoted him as saying.

Afghan, Pakistani presidents discuss regional strategy with US officials

Afghan President Hamid Karzai was in Washington this week for tri-lateral meetings with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and US President Barack Obama that focused on a joint approach to defeating al-Qaeda and its allies. The meetings began Wednesday, when the two South Asian leaders also met with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, National Security Adviser James Jones and Richard Holbrooke, Obama’s special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, the New York Times (NYT) reported. While US officials vowed to support both countries’ struggles against militants by increasing troop levels in Afghanistan and boosting aid to Pakistan, analysts said the administration urged both Karzai and Zardari to do more to fight the rising Taliban and al-Qaeda threats, according to the NYT and the BBC. “We meet today as three sovereign nations joined by a common goal: to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda and its extremist allies in Pakistan and Afghanistan and to prevent their ability to operate in either country in the future,” the NYT quoted Obama as saying at a press conference Wednesday. Obama and Clinton both also vowed to do more to avoid civilian casualties in Afghanistan after an incident earlier in the week in which dozens of civilians were believed to have been killed in US airstrikes, the BBC reported. The meeting also coincided with the launch of a major Pakistani military offensive against rebels in northwestern Pakistan that so far has displaced at least 500,000 people in just four days, the UN said Friday.

Afghan president enters re-election bid

Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Monday formally entered his re-election bid for the upcoming presidential elections on August 20, several media outlets reported. Karzai also named Vice-President Karim Khalili and former Vice-President Mohammad Qasim Fahim as his running mates. Karzai's selection of Fahim has drawn international criticism. Fahim, a powerful Tajik warlord, has in the past served as the country's defense minister and interim vice president. He does not enjoy a favorable reputation within Afghanistan or internationally. Like several other Afghan leaders, Fahim is accused of serious human rights violations for his role in the killing of scores of Afghan opponents in the 1990s. Lately, he has been linked to kidnapping gangs operating in Kabul. An unnamed western diplomat close to UN Special Envoy for Afghanistan Kai Eide has called Karzai's selection of Fahim "moving the country backward," British daily The Guardian reported. Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), said Fahim is "one of the most notorious warlords in the country, with the blood of many Afghans on his hands from the civil war. He is widely believed by many Afghans to be still involved in many illegal activities, including running armed militias, as well as giving cover to criminal gangs and drug traffickers. The people of Afghanistan deserve better leadership. The President is insulting the country with his choice," The Guardian reported.

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	Seven Afghan policemen were killed in Ghazni province on Wednesday (May 6) when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb. (AFP, May 6)
Comments	Avalanches in Daykundi province killed one woman and three children during the first week of April.  (IRIN, Apr-2)

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 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	Afghan and US-led coalition forces killed 19 insurgents in an overnight operation in Kunar province on May 1.  (Reuters, May 3) In Laghman province on Monday (May 4) at least seven people, including the provincial mayor, were killed when a suicide bomber on foot blew himself up near the mayor's vehicle in the capital, Mihtarlam. Three civilians were also wounded in the attack. (The News, May-4)
Water & Sanitation	CARITAS; ICRC, UNICEF
Comments	As many as 40 people were killed in two earthquakes that struck Nangarhar province early Friday (April 17) morning.  More than 60 people were wounded and over 200 houses damaged, according to preliminary reports.  (VOA, Reuters, AFP, Apr-17)

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	A joint operation in Helmand province on May 1 left five insurgents dead.  (Reuters, May-3) A NATO-led airstrike in Maywand district in Kandahar province early on Saturday (May 2) killed seven people, including a local commander. (VOA, May 5)  Four civilians, including two children, were killed and seven others wounded when an explosives-laden motorbike parked outside a government office exploded in Gereshk district in Helmand on Sunday (May 3). (Daily Times, May-4) Afghan police and US-led coalition forces killed 12 insurgents in a series of operations in Uruzgan province, sources reported Sunday. (Reuters, May-3) On Monday (May 4), six women, four men and two children - all civilians - were killed when a roadside bomb struck their vehicle in Shamalzai district of Zabul province. (The News, May-4) Two Taliban militants were killed in Zabul's Shamalzai district on Monday when a roadside mine they were planting exploded prematurely. (The News, May-4) Near Qalat, the provincial capital of Zabul, six Afghan security guards and two civilians were killed Monday when the Taliban attacked a construction site. (The News, May-4) Two British soldiers of the NATO-led ISAF were killed in a crowded market in Gereshk district in Helmand when a suicide bomber on a motorbike detonated explosives near an ISAF vehicle on Thursday (May 7). The provincial government said the attack killed 21 people and wounded 22 others. (AFP, May-8) A British soldier was killed Thursday evening when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb.  Earlier in the day, another British soldier was killed by a gunshot wound he received during a patrol in Helmand's Musa Qala district. (CNN, May-8)
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 Saturday (May 2), a roadside bomb in Herat province killed two people, including a district police chief. (Reuters, May 2) On Sunday (May 3), about 150 Taliban militants attacked a power plant in Herat province, sparking clashes in which at least nine rebels and one policeman were killed. (The News, May-4) In Herat's Guzara district, four insurgents were killed during a joint Afghan and foreign force operation on Sunday. (The News, May-4) In Herat on Sunday, a 12-year-old Afghan girl was killed and three members of her family were wounded when foreign troops fired at their vehicle. (ReliefWeb, May-4) Dozens of people were reportedly killed in US-led coalition airstrikes in western Afghanistan on Monday (May 4) after heavy fighting erupted in Bala Baluk (also spelled Bala Boluk) district in Farah province between Taliban militants and Afghan forces backed by foreign air support.  According to provincial governor Rohul Amin, Afghan security forces backed by the air support launched a raid after Taliban militants publicly executed three former government employees to punish them for cooperating with the government.  The US military is investigating the incident. (BBC, AP, May 5, 8) Six people were wounded, including one with a gunshot wound, in a police crackdown against angry protesters outside the governor's office in Farah province on Thursday (May 7). The demonstrators were protesting against civilian casualties from a US-led airstrike on Monday. (AP, May 8)
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