September 28, 2007

Overview

Scores dead in violence across Afghanistan

This proved to be another bloody week in Afghanistan, which was marred by clashes between insurgents and joint Afghan-NATO-led forces. More than 200 Afghan insurgents were killed in separate attacks and clashes with the Afghan, US-led coalition and NATO-led forces across the country’s restive south and southeast. Five people, including three civilians, were killed in a bomb explosion outside a shop in Gereshk district in southern Helmand province today (Friday, September 28). On Wednesday (September 26) more than three dozen Taliban insurgents were killed in a clash with Afghan and foreign forces in southern Uruzgan province. As many as 165 militants were killed in US-led air strikes in Musa Qala district in southern Helmand province in an overnight clash that began on Tuesday (September 25). At least 30 people, including 20 militants and 10 civilians, were killed in separate clashes in southern Kandahar province and the western province of Farah. The relentless violence currently shows no signs of weakening.

ICRC begins negotiations to free four of its abducted staff in Afghanistan

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has reportedly established contact with the armed group that has been holding four of its staff members hostage since Wednesday (September 26). Graziella Leite, an ICRC spokeswoman in Afghanistan, told reporters today (Friday, September 28), "We have established contact with all parties concerned with the aim of resolving this situation as quickly as possible." The ICRC has said it expects its detained staff to be freed soon. According to some Afghan officials, ICRC has advised the Afghan government against any military action to free its staff, but has emphasized that it wants to resolve the matter via mediation through tribal elders. Four ICRC workers, including two foreign staff and two Afghan nationals, were abducted on Wednesday as they were returning from a failed humanitarian mission to facilitate the release of a German engineer held by the Taliban since July 18. Yesterday (Thursday, September 27), an anonymous person claiming to be a Taliban spokesman told the media that the group was responsible for the abductions, adding that it had been a mistake and that the detained workers were to be freed soon. However, Mullah Zabihullah Mujahid later denied the Taliban's involvement in the kidnapping, adding that criminal groups that often abduct people for ransom may have been involved in the abduction. Carla Haddad, an ICRC spokeswoman, said the agency was in touch with the group to secure the release of four of its employees, one from Myanmar, another from the Federal Republic of Macedonia and two local Afghans. ICRC has said it is not sure who is behind the abduction of its workers, adding that it has so far had no reason to believe the abduction is linked to the failed mission to secure the release of an abducted German and four Afghan nationals who were accompanying him.

UK Defense Secretary Browne says Taliban pivotal for peace in Afghanistan

United Kingdom (UK) Defense Secretary Des Browne is saying that the involvement of the Taliban is essential to the peace process in Afghanistan. Earlier this week, speaking at a fringe meeting hosted by the UK's Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) at a Labor Party conference, Browne said that at some stage the Taliban "will need to be involved" in the peace process and that a solution to Afghanistan's problems will have to be "Islamic based." He said that the Taliban were very much a part of Afghanistan and were not going to go away. He also said that the Labor Party needed a "progressive agenda," adding that the UK needs to see through its "commitments" in Afghanistan and Iraq. He said Britain, which has some 7,500 soldiers in Afghanistan and another 5,500 in Iraq, should not take on challenges if it is not prepared to see them through. He said some of these challenges could take decades, or even generations-long commitments. There has been greater realization among NATO nations that the ousted Taliban are critical to developing peace in the country. Afghan President Hamid Karzai told reporters in New York on Sunday (September 23), following a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, that a peace and reconciliation process has been going on for some time alongside efforts to bring back Taliban supporters who are not part of the al-Qaeda network.

Movement

2007: 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 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 say voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan that are without proof of registration (PoR) ended this week (April 15), 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 will close two long-term camps in NWFP, and two in Baluchistan Province with 250,000 long-term residents. Refugees in Baluchistan can either return to Afghanistan or relocate to Mohammad Kheil camp near Quetta. Refugees in NWFP are moving to Afghanistan or one of ten camps in NWFP—refugees are pushing for a one-year delay.

2005 plans called for 400,000 Afghan refugees to return home from Pakistan and 200,000 from Iran, down from an earlier 350,000 estimated from Iran. 453,000 returned from Pakistan. 67,000 from Iran were assisted and over 210,000 returned on their own to Iran for a total of nearly 280,000, and a combined Pakistan and Iran total of 733,000—close to the original projection.

2004 plans were for one million to return. Actual returnees were around 850,000, with 385,000 from Pakistan and 460,000 from Iran, including 80,000 spontaneous returns. Pakistan closed camps in South Waziristan and all new camps, with remaining new refugees going to Mohamed Kheil camp in Baluchistan Province.

Emphasis in 2003 was on repatriation from old camps and cities in Pakistan to rural areas in Afghanistan. 70% of returnees from Pakistan were from cities and 30% from camps. Over a third returned to Kabul, another 10% went to other central provinces, and just over 20% returned to each of the north and east. The Southern region received 6% and the Western region 4%. The 2003 peak months were June and July.

In 2002 over 2.3 million Afghan refugees returned with 2 million assisted by UNHCR. UNHCR repatriated 1.53 million Afghan refugees from Pakistan, including 125,000 from Baluchistan and 1.4 million from the North West Frontier Province. 82% were from urban areas; only 3% were from new camps. 265,000 refugees were assisted in returning from Iran; and 10,000 refugees from the central Asian republics.

Afghanistan Relief Efforts: United Nations Coordination Regions

Central Region

Location	Central Region
Coordination
Population	An avalanche in the Murgab area in central Ghor killed at least 16 people. On March 19 floods killed 30 people in Uruzgan province.
IDP Movement
Food	According to local officials, thousands of students attending 40 schools in Ghazni province have not received WFP food assistance for over a month due to insecurity. FAO on July 5 said that 6.5 million Afghans suffer from chronic food insecurity. (July 8, IRIN)
Health	UN agencies and the local provincial government raise funds to build a new maternity wing in the Bamiyan main hospital. The new facility is expected to provide essential healthcare for expectant mothers in central Bamiyan province and to reduce the risk of both maternal and child mortality. (UNAMA, July 17). At least 20 children have died in several districts of central Daikundi and northern Balkh provinces over the past five weeks due to water contamination from floods. (IRIN, July 12) Typhoid fever has claimed five lives and infected some 200 others in the Charsada district of central Ghor province. (Feb. 15, People’s Daily Online)
NFIs -Shelter	IOM, UNICEF, UNOCHA, & OXFAM
Water & Sanitation	UNICEF
Security	The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says it is in contact with an armed group detaining four of its workers. The ICRC is optimistic they will be freed soon. Two foreign staff are among those who were abducted while traveling from Wardak province on Wednesday (September 26). (Reuters, AP, BBC, Sep. 27, 28) Afghan security forces killed three militants and wounded and arrested nine others in an operation in central Wardak province. (AP, AFP, Sept. 20)
Comments

East Central Region

Location	East Central Region
Coordination	UNHCR
Population
IDP Movement	UN; Government encouraging refugees to return to home provinces to limit burden on Kabul—government land distribution program only in province of origin;
Food	ISAF troops carried out a two-day food donation near the village of Gulbagh in Chahar Asiab district, (Feb. 11, NATO) IRC, Action Contra la Faim; WFP;
Health	President Karzai helped inaugurate the new hospital of the National Department of Security on Friday (Sep. 14). (GOA, Sep. 14) More than 10,000 people, mostly children, have been affected by diarrhea in flood-stricken provinces across the country, including Kabul. (IRIN, July 12) Kabul is home to the world’s worst outbreak of leishmaniasis, thought to have spread to hundreds of thousands of people. The sandflies that spread the parasites causing the disease are present in all Afghan cities, but more prominently in poor, crowded areas where they breed on waste land and in trash. (Reuters, May 7) UNICEF, CARITAS, MSF, IFRC, IRC, ICRC;
Non-Food Items - Shelter	UNHCR, ACTED, MSF, IRC, ICRC, IOM;
Security	A French soldier was killed and several civilians wounded in a suicide attack aimed at a NATO convoy on the outskirts of the capital, Kabul. (KT, Reuters, Sep. 21) Afghan police said Tuesday (Sep. 18) that they arrested three men in connection with the kidnapping of a Bangladeshi aid worker who worked with the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (Brac), on Saturday (Sep. 15). The aid worker is still being held. Another employee of Brac was shot dead last week in northern Badakhshan. (BBC, Sep. 18) Afghan and NATO-led forces on patrol in Surobi (also spelled Sarobi) district in Kabul on Sunday (September 16) morning called in airstrikes after they came under attack. Major Charles Anthony, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said at least one suspected insurgent was killed in the airstrike. (AP, Sep. 17) Taliban continue to hold four Afghans and one German abducted on July 18 in central Wardak province. (AlertNet, Aug. 1). They were reportedly civil engineers working for UN building projects. (People’s Daily Online, July 20)
Water & Sanitation	An agreement has been signed between the UNHCR and the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) to provide safe drinking water for Afghan returnees from Pakistan and Iran, as well as IDPs. (UNHCR, Sep. 24) ICRC;
Comments	The Mine Action Program for Afghanistan (MAPA) says it has completed demining the community of Karte Sakhi in Kabul. (UNAMA, Sep. 15) Floods triggered by spring rains continue to affect districts in Kunar, Laghman and Nangarhar provinces. Floods have killed 13 people in Kunar and another eight in Laghman. Nearly 3,000 people have been affected by the floods in these provinces. (OCHA, Apr. 5)

Eastern Region

Location	Eastern Region
Coordination	UNHCR, International Islamic Relief Organization;
Population
IDP Movement	UNHCR
Food	IRC; NATO-led ISAF PRT transports water pipes for a nearly 7-mile-long planned water supply project in Baghlan province. (NATO, Aug. 23)t
Health	Provincial officials in southern Khost, Kandahar and eastern Nangarhar provinces have confirmed hundreds of diarrhea cases due to water contamination from recent floods. (IRIN, July 11) FAO confirmed cases of the H5N1 type of bird flu in poultry in the eastern city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province and in Sawki district in Kunar province. (FAO, Feb. 26)
Non-Food Items - Shelter	CWS, UNICEF
Security	US troops reportedly opened fire on Afghan civilians following a failed suicide bombing on their convoy. There were no immediate reports of any civilian casualties. According to reports, the attack took place in the village of Bati Kot, some 9 miles (15 km) from eastern Nangarhar's provincial capital, Jalalabad, when three suicide bombers in a vehicle attacked the US convoy. (Reuters, BBC, Sep. 27) Two Afghan policemen were killed and three others wounded in a roadside bomb blast in Khost on Friday (Sep. 14). (TN, Sep. 14) Three Taliban insurgents, including a bomb maker, were arrested today (Friday, Sep. 14) in Sherzad district in eastern Nangarhar province. (KT, Sep. 14)
Water & Sanitation	CARITAS; ICRC, UNICEF
Comments

Northeastern Region

Location	Northeastern Region
Coordination
Population	9,000 active IDPs in North and Northeast
Movement IDPs
Food
Health	WHO, Merlin, UNICEF, MSF; ICRC
Non-Food Items (NFIs) -Shelter	UNICEF, ACTED, Refugees Int’l, Mercy Corps
Security	Twelve people, including five government employees and seven policemen, were killed on Sunday (September 23) when unidentified gunmen opened fire on their vehicle as it traveled through northeastern Badakhshan province. (CNN, Sep. 24) A Bangladeshi national working on a microfinance project was gunned down by unidentified assailants on Wednesday (Sep. 12) in Badakhshan. (KT, Sep. 13). NATO/German PRT in Faizabad
Water & Sanitation
Comments

Northern Region

Location	Northern Region
Coordination	UNHCR, IOM
Population	9,000 active IDPs in North and Northeast; 60,000 IDPs from North elsewhere in country;
Movement IDPs	IOM
Food
Health	MSF, ICRC, UNICEF; At least 20 children have died in several districts of northern Balkh and central Daikundi provinces over the past five weeks due to water contamination from floods. (IRIN, July 12)
NFIs –Shelter	IOM, ACTED, Mercy Corps
Security	Four people, including a district police chief, his brother and two other policemen, were killed in a roadside bomb blast in northern Baghlan province late Monday (September 24). (The News, Sep. 25) Afghan and NATO-led forces claim to have captured a local Taliban commander in Kapisa province, northwest of the capital, Kabul. (Reuters, Sep. 17)
Water & Sanitation	UNICEF, ICRC, DACAAR
Comments	ISAF PRT helps flood-affected families in Khamyab and Qarqin districts in Jowzjan province at the request of provincial authorities. (Frontier Post, Aug. 12)

Southern Region

Location	Southern Region
Coordination	UNHCR
Population	IFRC says that flash floods and avalanches in early March have affected 2,200 families in Helmand/Sangreen Grishk, Musa Qala, and Nowzad districts; and 400 families in Uruzgan/Dehraud district. (IFRC, March 23).
Movement of IDPs	UNOCHA reports that over 2,500 families have left their homes in different districts of Helmand, Uruzgan and Kandahar provinces over the past two months, according to provincial officials. Many of the displaced say they are leaving because of forced recruitment attempts by the Taliban and air strikes by international forces. Many have sought shelter in Kandahar city. (UNOCHA, Sep. 27) 880 families affected by conflict in Chora district in Uruzgan province have been settled in Tirin Kot and Dehrawud districts with the help of UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP and UNICEF. (Reliefweb, July 30) About 2,000 people, mostly women and children, have fled their homes in several parts of Helmand province due to heavy fighting between Taliban insurgents and NATO-led forces. (IRIN, July 9)
Food	The World Food Program (WFP) delivered 500 metric tons of food to the provincial capital Lashkargah, in southern Helmand province for some 4,500 families affected by fighting in Musa Qala, Sangin, Kajakiand Nawzad districts. (Reliefweb, Sep. 3) WFP also distributed 300 tons of food to some 37,000 beneficiaries in Kandahar and Helmand under food-for-work and literacy programs. (Reliefweb, Sep. 3) UNICEF; Mercy Corps; CARITAS; WFP;
Health	The Australian Reconstruction Task Force (RTF), part of the Dutch-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Regional Command South, has completed the redevelopment of the Tarin Kowt Hospital and the construction of the Yaklengah Comprehensive Health Clinic. (NATO, Sep. 17) The Afghan Ministry of Public Health and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) signed a memorandum of understanding under which the ICRC will significantly increase its support for the 390-bed regional referral Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar for the next two years. The hospital formerly run by Italian NGO Emergency provides essential care for thousands of patients, including men, women and children wounded in hostilities in the neighboring provinces of Zabul, Helmand and Uruzgan. (ICRC, July 26) Members of the NATO-led ISAF medical team with the support of the Afghan National Police deployed recently to Arghestan district, Kandahar province, to provide temporary medical assistance to the local populace. Working alongside with ANP in Khughani village, the medical mission treated 575 local Afghans and 30 policemen. (NATO, July 23) Up to 80 diarrhea patients are daily visiting a hospital in Laskargah, the provincial capital of Helmand province, due to contamination from recent floods. Provincial officials in southern Khost, Kandahar and eastern Nangarhar provinces have also confirmed hundreds of diarrhea cases. (IRIN, July 11)
NFIs - Shelter	UNHCR, Mercy Corps;
Security	Five people, including two children, an Afghan man and two policemen were killed in a bomb explosion outside a shop in Gereshk district in Helmand today (Friday, September 28). (TNI, Sep. 28) More than 100 Taliban insurgents were killed in Musa Qala district in Helmand when coalition forces returned fire and called in air strikes after being ambushed by Taliban fighters armed with machine guns, mortars and rocket-propelled-grenades.  (Reuters, The News, Sep. 26) Five Afghan policemen were killed and three others were wounded when a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a police convoy as it was traveling through the border town of Spin Boldak in southern Kandahar province Tuesday (September 25). (Reuters, Sep. 25) At least 40 suspected Taliban militants were killed in US-led coalition airstrikes in Garmsher district in Helmand province on Friday (Sep. 21). (TOI, KT, IHT, Sep. 21) A suicide bomber on a bicycle blew himself up on Thursday (September 20) near an Afghan army truck in the southeastern province of Ghazni, killing himself, and severely wounding a soldier. (AP, AFP, Sep. 20) NATO-led ISAF said today (Friday, Sep. 21) that six civilians were killed in a military operation in Gereshk district in Helmand on Wednesday (Sep. 19). (KT, Reuters, Sep. 21) Three police officers were killed and eight wounded Wednesday (Sep. 19) in a suicide attack on a police convoy in the city of Garmsir in the southern province of Helmand. (DPA, Sep. 19) A tribal elder, Haji Mirajan, was shot to death Tuesday (Sep. 18) night in the Greshk district in Helmand province by unknown gunmen. (DPA, Sep. 19) A senior police officer was gunned down by unknown gunmen late Tuesday (Sep. 18) on the outskirts of Ghazni city. (DPA, Sep. 19) Afghan officials say that US air strikes targeting a meeting of Taliban leaders on Monday (Sep. 17) night killed a commander who orchestrated the kidnappings of 23 South Koreans. Taliban commander of Qara Bagh district in Ghazni province, Mullah Abdullah Jan, was among 12 killed in the strike, provincial police officials said. (The News, Sep. 18) A British soldier was killed and another wounded when an army truck came under attack in Gereshk district in Helmand province Monday afternoon (Sep. 17). According to Afghan officials, 14 Taliban fighters were also killed in two separate clashes in Helmand. Nine Taliban insurgents preparing for an ambush were killed in an air strike, while five others died when they attacked Afghan and US-led coalition forces. (BBC, Sep. 18) A suicide bomb attack in southern Afghanistan on Monday (Sep. 17) killed at least eight people and wounded several others. The attack took place in Nad Ali district in southern Helmand province when a suicide bomber entered a compound housing both a local government office and a police headquarters and blew himself up. Seven others, including the district police chief, were wounded in the attack. (Reuters, BBC, AP, Sep. 17) The Afghan Defense Ministry said Afghan security forces also captured 17 individuals involved in terrorism and violent activities in Wardak province, southwest of Kabul on Monday (Sep. 17). (Reuters, Sep. 17)
Water & Sanitation	UNICEF
Comments	UNICEF estimates some 262 of the 740 schools in the southern provinces of Helmand, Kandahar, Uruzgan and Zabul are currently unable to provide education. (UNNS, July 30) Afghanistan’s Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) to launch 72 new projects worth US$2.6 million in southern provinces, creating jobs benefiting thousands of families. (Reliefweb, July 30) Floods in Kunar province on Monday (June 25) left seven dead and three missing. The floods also damaged houses, agricultural lands and infrastructure. (IFRC, June 29) Five people were killed in flash floods that hit Qarabagh and Farza districts in Kabul province on Monday (June 25). In Nirjab district, in Kapisa province, three people were killed and one left missing by floods. In Parwan province, five people were killed and eight others injured in Surkhparsa district. (IFRC, June 29)

Southern Region IDP camps

Location	Zhare Dasht - South of Kandahar – 6 camps
Type	IDP Camp
Coordination	UNHCR
Camp Capacity	30,000; expandable to 60,000
Population	125,000 IDPs in south; 48,500 at Zhare Dasht
Movement IDP
Food	WFP
Health	UNICEF, MSF;
NFIs - Shelter
Security