July 10, 2009

Overview

US General says more Afghan troops needed in fight against militants

US Marine Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson said Wednesday (July 8) that more Afghan troops were needed in the fight against Taliban militants in Afghanistan. "I'm not going to sugarcoat it. The fact of the matter is, we don't have enough Afghan forces... And I'd like more," the Associated Press (AP) quoted Nicholson as saying. He said that a number of Taliban militants have fled from southern Helmand since the US launched a major offensive last week, but said that some may try and return for the lucrative poppy crop in the province. Around 650 Afghan police and soldiers have joined 4,000 US marines in the offensive, dubbed “Operation Khanjar,” which began on July 2. According to the AP, Nicholson said that while there is a plan to send more Afghan troops to the south, "they're just not available right now." Nicholson said that he'd like all his Marine battalions to be paired with Afghan battalions, but predicted it would take several months. There are an estimated 57,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, and that number is expected to rise to at least 68,000 by the end of the year after US President Barack Obama ordered an additional 21,000 troops to the country earlier this year. Another senior US military leader, Gen. John Craddock, said NATO allies should send more troops and specialized help, such as medical helicopters, the AP reported. "Certainly I'd like to see more U.K. forces," the AP quoted Craddock as saying, as British forces have had the lead in Helmand. Craddock, who recently left his post as the top commander of NATO forces and will retire next month, said NATO allies are too quick to come up with reasons they cannot contribute more, according to the AP. Separately, Joint Chiefs of Staff chair Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said Wednesday that whether more troops will be required is part of an ongoing assessment due in mid-August by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the new head of US Forces Afghanistan and commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). "I think all of us are concerned about having the right level of footprint but not getting to a point where it looks like we're an occupying force. If we get to that point, it isn't going to work," the American Forces Press Service quoted Mullen as saying.

President Karzai calls for assistance for displaced in restive south

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is calling on aid agencies and government bodies to assist people displaced by the recent military operation against Taliban insurgents in southern Helmand province, the UN Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN) reported Thursday (July 9). In a statement issued on Wednesday, Karzai said, “All government bodies in Helmand province and in the neighboring provinces are hereby instructed to provide emergency assistance, including temporary settlement and emergency food aid, to people who are displaced as a result of the recent joint military operation.” Gholam Mohammad, a spokesman for the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) said displacement is a common trend in Helmand. He said he did not have the exact numbers for those displaced.

UN report says violence an everyday occurrence in lives of Afghan women

A new UN report released Wednesday (July 9), titled "Silence is Violence," says that "violence, in the public and private spheres, is an everyday occurrence in the lives of a huge proportion of Afghan women." The 32-page report was issued jointly by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). According to the OHCHR, the report focuses on two principal issues: the "growing trend" of violence and threats against women in public life, and rape and sexual violence. The report also discusses so-called "honor" killings, the exchange of women and girls as a form of dispute-resolution, trafficking and abduction, early and forced marriages and domestic violence. According to the OHCHR, women participating in nearly all sectors of public life have been targeted, and cited killings of professional women, as well as discrimination, threats, intimidation and harassment. The report also details attacks on girls' schools, and on girl students by "anti-government elements." "Developments such as these threaten to have a devastating long-term impact on the involvement of women in Afghan society," United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay was quoted as saying by the OHCHR. The report's researchers note that preliminary data "suggests that rape is a widespread occurrence in all parts of Afghanistan and in all communities, and all social groups." The OHCHR says that one of the main problems is a culture of impunity. The report concludes that "the government must meet its responsibilities to protect, respect and fulfill women's rights, including its responsibility to end impunity through prosecuting perpetrators of violence against women and girls in Afghanistan."

Bomb blasts leave dozens dead across Afghanistan

Bomb attacks over the past week have left dozens dead or wounded across the country. On Thursday (July 9), at least 25 people, including 15 students and four police officers, were killed by a bomb blast in central Logar province. According to Reuters and the AP, the explosives were hidden in a truck which overturned near a school overnight and detonated as police were checking the truck. The explosion happened on a main road from southern and eastern Afghanistan that leads into Kabul, the BBC reported. Police said they suspect the truck may have been headed for a target in the capital. In another major attack, on Monday (July 6), a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden minivan near a major NATO base in southern Afghanistan. The bombing occurred at a checkpoint outside Kandahar airfield on the outskirts of Kandahar city. Two people were reported killed and around 13 others wounded, all reportedly Afghans, according to the BBC and Agence France-Presse (AFP). The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, AFP reported. Separately, according to the AP, citing US defense department figures as of Wednesday, at least 647 members of the US military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the US invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001. Of the deaths, the military reports 480 were killed by hostile action. 

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	At least 25 people, including 15 school students and five policemen, were killed in a blast in central Logar province on Thursday (July 9) when explosives in an overturned truck near a school exploded. According to reports, the truck had been overturned purposely near the school. Police were checking the truck when the explosives went off. (Reuters, DPA, Jul-9) On Monday (June 29) the Taliban claimed responsibility for the killing of four foreign soldiers in a roadside bomb attack in Wardak province, just outside Kabul. (DPA, June 29)
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	Three soldiers from NATO-led forces were wounded in a roadside bomb blast on the outskirts of the capital, Kabul, on Monday (June 22).  (Reuters, June-22) On Sunday (June 21), two US soldiers were killed and six others were wounded when several rockets were fired at the Bagram Air Base.  (AP, June-21)
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)
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 several Taliban insurgents and detained four during an overnight raid Thursday at a compound in Ghazni. (Reuters, Jul-10) Six Taliban were killed and a policeman was wounded when Taliban attacked a building in Ghazni’s Arjestan district overnight Thursday. (Reuters, Jul-10) Two policemen were killed and five wounded when a roadside bomb struck their vehicle in Giro district in Ghazni province on Thursday (July 9). (Reuters, Jul-10) Taliban insurgents killed eight Afghan police and abducted another eight in an attack on a district headquarters in Nuristan province on Tuesday (July 7). (Reuters, Jul-8) Afghan and US-led forces killed several armed insurgents during search operations overnight Tuesday in Ghazni. One female civilian was killed by a ricocheting bullet. (Reuters, Jul-8) One Afghan civilian was killed and 34 others wounded, including four policemen, in a grenade attack on a police convoy in Khost province on Tuesday (July 7). (Reuters, Jul-7) A US soldier died of his injuries sustained in a clash with insurgents in Paktia province on Monday (July 6). (Reuters, Jul-6) Sixteen Afghans working for an UN-sponsored demining agency who were abducted on Saturday (July 4) by unidentified gunmen in Paktia were released unharmed on Monday.  (Reuters, Jul-6) Two Afghan soldiers were killed and seven wounded in a landmine blast in Paktia on Sunday (Jul-5).  (Reuters, Jul-6) Four members of a family were killed and seven others wounded when insurgents attacked a burial ceremony of a village elder in Khogyani district in Nangarhar province.  (Reuters, Jul-5) Afghan and foreign forces detained three insurgents found carrying explosives in Sharan district in Paktika province on Saturday (July 4). (Reuters, Jul-4) Two US soldiers were killed and seven US soldiers and two Afghan troops were wounded during a complex attack on a combat outpost in Zirok district in Paktika on Saturday. US troops called in airstrikes that killed up to 30 Taliban insurgents.  (Reuters, Jul-4) Afghan security forces killed two insurgents and detained two others during an operation in Ghazni province on Friday (July 3).  (Reuters, Jul-4) A helicopter operated by a contractor carrying food and other supplies for US-led coalition forces was destroyed after making an emergency landing in eastern Paktika province on Friday (July 3). The crew was unhurt and rescued by another helicopter. The grounded helicopter burst into flames shortly after unidentified people were seen taking items from it. (Reuters, Jul-3) Five security guards, four Afghans and a foreigner working for an Indian road construction company were killed and seven others wounded in a roadside bomb attack in Waze Khan district in Khost province on Friday. (Reuters, Jul-3)
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	Three soldiers from US-led coalition forces were killed on Thursday (June 4) in Kapisa province when insurgents attacked their vehicle with a bomb and small-arms fire.  (AP, June-4)
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	Taliban insurgents abducted two truck drivers and set 12 trucks on fire in Kunduz province on Wednesday (July 8). The trucks belonged to a construction company.  (Reuters, Jul-8) Four US soldiers were killed in a roadside bomb attack in northern province of Kunduz on Monday (July 6).  (CNN, Jul-6) Taliban insurgents gunned down an electoral official in Balkh province on Monday.  (Reuters, Jul-6) An off-duty policeman was gunned down by Taliban insurgents outside his home in the Qadis district in northwestern Badghis province on Sunday (July 5). (Reuters, Jul-5) A roadside bomb killed one civilian and wounded another in northern Jawzjan province on Saturday (July 4). (Reuters, Jul-4) A suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden car in the provincial capital Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Balkh province on Friday (July 3). There were no reports of casualties.  (Reuters, Jul-3)
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	Two civilians were wounded in Zabul province when a shell exploded at a scrap metal shop on Friday (July 10). (Reuters, Jul-10) Two Afghan policemen were killed and five others wounded in a roadside bomb explosion in southern Kandahar province on Thursday (July 9). (AP, Jul-10) Two British soldiers were killed in separate security incidents in southern Helmand province on Thursday. (Reuters, Jul-10) A civilian was killed in a roadside bomb explosion in Helmand’s Gereshk district on Thursday. (Reuters, Jul-10) Afghan security forces claim to have killed nearly 30 Taliban fighters during an operation overnight in Zabul province. (Reuters, Jul-9) Two soldiers from NATO-led force were killed in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday (July 8). No further details were provided by NATO. (Reuters, Jul-9) A British soldier was killed in an explosion during a security operation in Helmand on Tuesday (July 7). (Reuters, Jul-8) Two Canadian and one British soldier were killed in a helicopter crash in southern Zabul province. Two Canadian troops were also wounded in the incident which took place on Monday (July 6).  (Reuters, Jul-7) Two US soldiers were killed in an explosion in southern Zabul province on Monday. (Reuters, Jul-6) Four members of a family, including three children were killed when a rocket hit a house in Nad Ali district in Helmand province on Monday (July 6). It remains unclear who fired the rocket. (Reuters, Jul-6) Two Afghan truck drivers were killed and at 10 others wounded when a suicide car bomber blew himself up outside Kandahar Air field on Monday.  (Reuters, Jul-6) Afghan forces killed seven Taliban insurgents in a clash in Uruzgan province on Monday.  (Reuters, Jul-6) A British soldier was killed in an explosion in Helmand’s Gereshk district on Sunday (July 5). (Reuters, Jul-6) Six Taliban fighters and four policemen were killed in a gun battle during a funeral for a slain police commander in Helmand’s Musa Qala district on Sunday. (Reuters, Jul-6) Two British soldiers were killed in a clash with Taliban insurgents on Saturday (July 4) in Gereshk.  (Reuters, Jul-6) An Afghan soldier was killed in Helmand on Saturday in a landmine explosion.  (Reuters, Jul-5) Two soldiers from the NATO-led force were killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan on Saturday. NATO did not give further details about the attack.  (Reuters, Jul-5) Seven Afghan policemen were killed and four wounded when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Registan district in southern Kandahar province on Saturday.  (Reuters, Jul-4) Afghan and foreign forces killed 15 Taliban insurgents in an operation in southern Helmand province on Saturday. Two Afghan police were also killed in the clash.  (Reuters, Jul-5) Afghan police fatally shot a suicide bomber dressed in military uniform in an attempted attack on a border checkpoint in Kandahar on Saturday. (Reuters, Jul-5) Two Taliban insurgents were killed when a roadside bomb they were planting exploded in the Delaram district in southwestern Nimroz province on Saturday. (Reuters, Jul-4) Two Afghan soldiers were killed and four wounded when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Musa Qala district in southern Helmand province on Friday. (July 3)  (Reuters, Jul-4) A roadside bomb killed one Afghan policeman and wounded one in Uruzgan province on Thursday (July 2). (Reuters, Jul-4) 20 Taliban militants and an Afghan army officer were killed in a clash in Shinkai district in southern Zabul province on Thursday. (Reuters, Jul-3) On Thursday (July 2), US Marines and Afghan troops captured the remote southern district of Khanishin in the south of Helmand during Operation Khanjar. (AFP, July 2) NATO said an explosion Wednesday (July 1) in southern Afghanistan left two of its troops dead and six others injured. NATO did not reveal the troops’ nationalities or the location of the blast. (AP, July 1)
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	A US soldier was killed in a clash with the insurgents in western Farah province on Wednesday (July 8). (AFP, Jul-8) Two soldiers from NATO-led forces were wounded when a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden motorbike into an Italian military vehicle in Shindad region in western Herat province.  (Reuters, Jul-3) Three Taliban insurgents and an Afghan policeman were killed in a clash at a security checkpoint in Farah City in western Farah province last Thursday (July 2).  (Reuters, Jul-3) On Wednesday (July 1) one security guard was killed and two wounded when gunmen attacked their vehicle in Ghoryian district near the Iranian border.  The guards were working at a construction site.  (Reuters, July 1) On Tuesday (June 30), at least one police officer was killed and three others wounded after the Taliban attacked a UN World Food Program (WFP) convoy in Herat.  Police said the aid convoy was carrying food from Herat city to the Kush-e-Kuhna district.  The Taliban claimed they killed seven police officers.  (DPA, July 1) On Tuesday night, one police officer was killed and three wounded when their checkpoint was attacked by insurgents in Rabaat Sangee district.  A spokesperson for Harakut-ul-Mujahedin, a new Herat-based militant group, said they killed six police officers and captured six more.  (Reuters, July 1)
Water & Sanitation	No New Information UNICEF
Comments

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