August 28, 2009

Overview

Incumbent President Hamid Karzai leads elections while accusations of voter fraud increase

Partial results from last week’s presidential elections in Afghanistan so far show incumbent President Hamid Karzai leading with 44.8 percent of the votes counted thus far, while his nearest competitor, Abdullah Abdullah, accumulated 35.1 percent of the votes, according to Reuters on Friday (August 28). If no candidate wins 50 percent of the vote, a run-off will be held between the top two candidates. According to Reuters, the results are from just 17 percent of polling stations. Complete preliminary results are due on Thursday, September 3, and another two weeks will be allowed for complaints to be investigated before final results are announced.  Reuters said the initial tallies suggest that only around 5.5 million Afghans voted out of an estimated 15 million eligible voters. A second round should be held some two weeks later. Reuters reports that it is still too early to predict an outcome, as many southern provinces, where Karzai has much support, have not yet been tallied.  However, the area was reportedly the most affected by threats from the Taliban to disrupt the election, as well as where there were widespread allegations of fraud. According to Reuters, Afghanistan’s Electoral Complaints Commission has received 2,207 complaints of fraud or abuse in the election, with 270 now listed as serious enough to affect results. Abdullah has complained about fraud and said he would not accept the results if large-scale abuse was found to have played a decisive role, Reuters reported. Both Karzai and Abdullah have denied that their supporters committed systematic fraud, according to the Washington Post. 

US and foreign troop deaths hit record highs

The US military said Friday (August 28) that after the death of a US service member by a bomb blast on Friday in eastern Afghanistan, August has become the deadliest month of the war for US forces. The death brought the number of US troops who died in the country this month to 45, according to the Associated Press (AP). The AP also reported that on Thursday (August 27) the US Defense Department said that as of that day, at least 726 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 that 550 were killed by hostile action, the AP reported. Earlier this week, MSNBC reported that after the deaths of four US troops by a roadside bomb on Tuesday (August 25), 2009 had become the deadliest year for foreign troops in Afghanistan. Those deaths bring the number of foreign troops who died in Afghanistan this year to 295, according to Web site icasualties.org. Last year was the previous deadliest year with 294 foreign troops killed. However, according to AP figures, the number of NATO deaths was at 292, while 286 died in 2008. There are currently more than 100,000 Western troops in Afghanistan, with 63,000 of them Americans. The US troops, along with British forces already deployed in the south, have advanced into Taliban-held territory and have taken casualties mainly from roadside bombs. According to MSNBC, more Western troops have died since March than in the entire period from 2001-2004. (MSNBC, August 25)

US military commanders say troop numbers insufficient

US military commanders in Afghanistan told US President Barack Obama’s special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, that they did not have enough troops to do their jobs, according to a report by the New York Times (NYT). During a visit by Holbrooke to all four regional commands in Afghanistan over the weekend, the military commanders stressed problems in southern and eastern Afghanistan. In the south of the country, Taliban militants continue to attack areas despite a new influx of US troops, while in the east, commanders say that the so-called Haqqani network of militants have become the main attackers against US and NATO forces, the NYT reported. According to the NYT, the message from all four regional commanders was that while the additional US troops, along with small increases from NATO members, have helped a little in the south, the numbers are still below what is needed. However, according to the NYT, it was unclear if commanders told Holbrooke exactly how many more troops might be needed. On Sunday (August 23), Maj. Gen. Curtis Scaparotti, commander of US and NATO forces in eastern Afghanistan, told Holbrooke that the Haqqani network has expanded its reach, the NYT reported. The US military believes that the leaders of the network, Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son Sirajuddin, supposedly linked to al-Qaeda, are using Pakistan to launch attacks against US and Afghan troops, according to the NYT. Separately, the chair of the joint chiefs of staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, described Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” a worsening situation in Afghanistan despite the recent addition of 17,000 extra US troops announced by Obama in March. “I think it is serious and it is deteriorating … The Taliban insurgency has gotten better, more sophisticated, in their tactics.” According to the Associated Press, Mullen says the review by the top US commander in Afghanistan Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal won’t specifically address force levels.  The news comes as McChrystal has been working to complete a review of the war in Afghanistan. The number of US troops in Afghanistan currently stands at around 57,000. US troop numbers are expected to reach 68,000 by the end of the year when the rest of the extra 17,000 troops are in place.

ISAF commander issues counterinsurgency guidelines

The top commander in Afghanistan, US Gen. Stanley McChrystal, has ordered Western troops to change their mindset to win the fight against the insurgency.  McChrystal released his new guidelines on Thursday (August 27), and urged troops to put the Afghan people at the heart of the mission, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported. “Protecting the Afghan people is the mission.  The Afghan people will decide who wins this fight and we (the Afghan government and NATO troops) are in a struggle for their support … Get rid of the conventional mindset.  Focus on the people, not the militants,” AFP reported McChrystal as writing.  He also ordered that Afghan troops be treated as equal partners with US and NATO troops. He also called on troops to enable transparent government and “confront corrupt officials,” AFP reported. McChrystal took over the post in mid-June and is expected to call for more troops in a formal review of the war that is expected in the next two weeks. Separately, NATO’s Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen urged member countries on Friday (August 28) to increase the training of Afghan security forces and said NATO would stay in the country “as long as it takes,” Reuters reported. Rasmussen declined to comment on troop numbers and said he preferred to wait until McChrystal issued his review. However, he said: “the number of troops does matter.” Rasmussen said that NATO allies must increase efforts to train Afghan forces, which he says must double in size to 400,000 troops, according to Reuters.

Car bomb attack leaves over 40 dead, dozens wounded in Kandahar

At least 43 people were killed and around 75 others were wounded in a massive car bombing in southern Kandahar city on Tuesday (August 25). The attack reportedly occurred after dusk in a residential area of Kandahar where government offices, hotels, and international aid agencies and UN offices are located. According to the New York Times, the International Committee of the Red Cross, which released the updated death toll, and security officials say that almost all the casualties were civilians. A local Red Cross worker for the International Committee of the Red Cross was killed, the organization said. The bombing reportedly destroyed a wedding hall, several houses and the headquarters of a Japanese construction firm, which employs mostly Pakistani workers. Some officials believe the attack may have been directed at the construction company. Initial reports said that the attack may have involved five cars, but officials later said that the blast appeared to have come from a single truck bomb outside the construction company. According to the Voice of America, the attack was the deadliest since July last year when a suicide bomber blew up his explosives-laden car outside the Indian embassy in the capital, Kabul, killing 60 people. The attack came as officials continued to count ballots from last week’s presidential election. No one took immediate responsibility for the attack and the Taliban denied that they were behind the attack. However, NATO officials held the Taliban responsible for the bombing. President Hamid Karzai ordered the arrest of “those responsible as soon as possible” and pledged US$503,425 (25 million Afghanis) in emergency assistance to help repair damages, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported. On Wednesday (August 26), the UN Security Council condemned the attack and reiterated their concern at the threats posed by the Taliban, al-Qaida and other extremist groups to Afghans, international security forces and international assistance efforts in the country.  

Movement

2008: The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) held a press conference in Kabul on 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)

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.

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 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	Taliban fighters ambushed a convoy of Afghan counter-narcotics police, killing three and wounding 23 others on the outskirts of Ghazni city, in Ghazni province on Friday (August 28). (Reuters, Aug-28) A roadside bomb on Wednesday (August 26) killed one Afghan soldier and wounded two others in Mohammad Agha district in Logar province.  (Reuters, Aug-26) Afghan troops captured a key Taliban commander and seized a cache of 300 improvised explosives during a security sweep in central Logar province on Tuesday (August 25).  (Reuters, Aug-25) Two Afghan soldiers and four Taliban insurgents were killed in a clash in Ghazni province on August 21 after insurgents attacked a polling station overnight on August 20.  (Reuters, Aug-21) Insurgents attacked an election convoy carrying counted ballots in Logar province on the night of August 20. There were no casualties and no damage to ballot papers.  (Reuters, Aug-21) Taliban insurgents fired rocket-propelled grenades at two schools in Baraki Barak district of Logar province on Tuesday (August 18). The schools were to be used as polling stations for Thursday’s (August 20) elections. (Reuters, Aug-18) Taliban insurgents blew up a school in Qara Bagh district in Ghazni province.  The school was to be used as a polling station on Tuesday. Also a roadside bomb wounded two Afghan policemen carrying election papers in the same district.  (Reuters, Aug-18) Afghan police killed one insurgent and detained another during an operation in central Logar province on Saturday (August 15).  (Reuters, Aug-17) Twelve insurgents, including four Arabs, were killed when Afghan and foreign forces targeted a suspected militant compound in Sayed Abad district in central Wardak province on Friday (August 14). (Reuters, Aug-14)
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	A US serviceman with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was killed as a result of a non-combat-related injury on Sunday (August 23).  (Reuters, Aug-23) Two US servicemen were killed in two separate security incidents east of Kabul on August 20.  One soldier was killed by a roadside bomb, while the other died in a mortar attack.  (Reuters, Aug-21) A US service member died of his wounds suffered in a roadside bomb attack in eastern Afghanistan on August 21.  (Reuters, Aug-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	No new information

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	NATO-led forces said in a statement that a US serviceman was killed when the vehicle he was riding struck a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan on Friday (August 28). The statement gave no further details. (Reuters, Aug-28) Four Afghan police officers were killed when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb in eastern Ali Sher district of Khost on Thursday (August 27). (Reuters, Aug-28) Afghan and NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops detained seven suspected insurgents, including a Taliban commander, at a medical clinic in the Sar Hawza district in Paktika province on Wednesday (August 26), where they were being treated.  (Reuters, Aug-27) A roadside bomb killed two civilians and wounded one in Sayed Khel district of Paktika province on Wednesday.  (Reuters, Aug-27) Four civilians working for a construction company were killed in a roadside bomb explosion in Yousef Khail district Paktika province on Tuesday (August 25).  (Reuters, Aug-25) A Taliban fighter gunned down two Afghan policemen before he was shot dead in an attack on a police post on the outskirts of the provincial capital, Jalalabad, in eastern Nangarhar province on August 21.  (Reuters, Aug-22) Four civilians, including two women, were killed overnight Wednesday (August 19) in a roadside bomb blast in southeastern Paktika province. (Reuters, Aug-19) A roadside bomb killed two US service members and wounded three others with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday (August 18). NATO did not provide further details. (Reuters, Aug-18) Ten people were wounded when a rocket hit a house in the eastern city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province on Tuesday. (Reuters, Aug-18)
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	A joint force of NATO and Afghan troops killed several insurgents, including a woman, during a search of compounds in northern Chardara district of Kunduz on Thursday (August 27), NATO said in a statement. A civilian was also wounded in the fight.  The district chief claimed foreign troops also killed three members of a family. (Reuters, Aug-28) The head of the justice department for Kunduz was killed when his vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb in Kunduz city on Wednesday (August 26).  (Reuters, Aug-26) One Pakistani engineer was killed and two others wounded when unidentified gunmen attacked their vehicle as they were travelling through Baghlan province on Wednesday.  (Reuters, Aug-26) Insurgents attacked a police post in northern Takhar province on Saturday (August 22). Afghan security forces returned fire, killing one of the assailants, while others were forced to retreat.  (Reuters, Aug-24) Six Afghan policemen, including a senior officer, were killed in a roadside bomb attack on Saturday in Kook Chinar district in Baghlan province. (Reuters, AFP, Aug-22-23) Taliban insurgents attacked a vehicle carrying boxes of counted ballot papers killing an election official and setting ballot papers on fire in northern province of Balkh on August 21.  (Reuters, Aug-21) As many as 20 Taliban militants were killed in clashes with Afghan security forces in northern Baghlan province on Thursday (August 20). Clashes disrupted voting for the presidential elections in the area.  (The News, Aug-20) A roadside bomb killed four people, including three election commission employees, while they were transporting voting materials in the remote Argu district of northeastern Badakhshan province on Tuesday (August 18). (Reuters, Aug-18) Three insurgents were killed and two wounded in a clash overnight Tuesday with Afghan police in Chardara district in Kunduz province. (Reuters, Aug-18) Gunmen shot dead a provincial council candidate in the Murdian district in northern Jowzjan province Monday (August 17) evening.  (Reuters, Aug-18)
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	NATO-led forces reported that NATO-led and Afghan forces detained six militants during an operation on the southern outskirts of Kandahar city on Thursday (August 27).  (Reuters, Aug-28) Three Afghan children were killed when a mortar they were playing with exploded in Nahr Saraj district in Helmand province on Wednesday (August 26).  (Reuters, Aug-27) At least 43 people, mostly civilians, were killed when a powerful bomb blast ripped through the downtown area of restive Kandahar city, the provincial capital of southern Kandahar province on Tuesday (August 25). At least 60 people were also wounded in the blast that also damaged or destroyed at least 10 buildings.  (AP, Aug-26) Four US servicemen working with the NATO-led ISAF were killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday. NATO did not disclose the location of the attack or the identities of the soldiers.  (Reuters, Aug-25) Two Estonian soldiers from ISAF were killed in a bomb blast in Helmand province on Sunday (August 23).  (Reuters, AP, Aug-23-24) One US soldier was killed in an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan on Sunday.  (AP, Aug-24) Six Afghan civilians were killed when their vehicle struck a roadside mine in Helmand province on August 21.  (Reuters, Aug-22) Afghan security forces killed at least six Taliban insurgents after militants attacked their post in the Shah Wali Kot district in Kandahar province on August 21.  (Reuters, Aug-21) Two British soldiers were killed by an explosion in Helmand province on August 20.  (Reuters, Aug-21) A district chief and a tribal leader were killed when a roadside bomb struck their vehicle in southern Kandahar province on Wednesday (August 19).  (Reuters, Aug-19) A roadside bomb killed two policemen in Uruzgan (also spelled Oruzgan) province on Wednesday.  (Reuters, Aug-19) Three civilians and a police officer were killed in the border town of Spin Boldak in Kandahar province when one of the two bombs planted by insurgents exploded as police were trying to defuse it on Wednesday.  (Reuters, Aug-19) Taliban insurgents attacked a police post on the outskirts of Kandahar province overnight Tuesday (August 18). However, there were no casualties.  (Reuters, Aug-18) At least five people, including three soldiers and two civilians, were killed when a suicide bomber attacked a police checkpoint in Uruzgan (also spelled Oruzgan) on Tuesday.  (Reuters, Aug-18)
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 southern Kandahar province. (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	Eight insurgents were killed when police stormed the house of a district-level Taliban commander in the Guzara district in western Herat province on Monday (August 17).  (Reuters, Aug-18) Four US soldiers on the NATO-led ISAF were killed when their vehicle struck an IED in western Afghanistan on Thursday.  (BBC, Reuters, Aug-6-7) A US soldier was killed in a roadside bomb blast while on patrol in western Farah province on Wednesday (August 5).  (Reuters, Aug-6) A district security official targeted by a Taliban bomb on Monday (August 3) died of his wounds at a military hospital in Kandahar.  (Reuters, Aug-5) A roadside bomb killed at least 12 people, including two policemen, a woman and a 12-year old girl and wounded 26 others in western city of Herat.  (Reuters, Aug-3)
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