October 30, 2009

Overview

Afghan election talks reportedly break down

According to the latest news reports from CNN and Reuters on Friday (October 30), talks between President Hamid Karzai and his election opponent, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, have broken down, an unidentified Western source said, putting the planned November 7 runoff presidential election into jeopardy. According to the source, who claimed to be close to the Afghan leadership, Abdullah likely would announce this weekend that he was boycotting the elections. No other details were immediately available. Karzai and Abdullah had earlier this week said that they have ruled out a power sharing deal. Karzai agreed last week to a second round following the August 20 presidential elections that have been marred from the beginning by widespread allegations of fraud. The UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission threw out hundreds of thousands of votes, invalidating almost a third of Karzai’s votes, which pushed Karzai below the 50 percent threshold he needed for an outright victory. The ECC also recommended replacing thousands of corrupt officials and getting rid of polling stations where fraud was reportedly at its worst. Preliminary results released last month showed Karzai winning the election with more than 54 percent, while Abdullah had some 27.7 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, the Taliban threatened to launch new attacks and warned people not to vote in the runoff. According to the BBC, the Taliban called the elections an “American process” and said it would “launch operations against the enemy and stop people from taking part.” The vote in August occurred without major violence, but at least 26 people were killed in sporadic attacks across the country. Separately, the Independent Election Commission says that the number of polling stations would increase slightly for the runoff because of better security in former Taliban strongholds in the south. However, western officials have expressed fears that the number of polling centers would raise rather than lessen the risk of fraud, according to Reuters. Daoud Ali Najafi, the Chief Electoral Officer for Afghanistan said 6,315 polling centers were set up in the first round, although many did not open because of poor security. Najafi said that officials were setting up 6,322 centers for the run-off, mainly because of better security in southern Helmand province, Reuters reported.

Attack on Kabul guest house leaves 11 dead, including UN workers

At least five UN foreign staff workers, one Afghan civilian and two Afghan security guards were killed in an attack by Taliban militants on the Bekhtar guest house in Kabul on Wednesday (October 28). At least nine other UN staff members were reportedly wounded by three gunmen who also reportedly detonated explosives around their bodies during the attack. The attack, claimed by the Taliban, occurred in a relatively secure area of the capital near a number of government buildings, according to CNN. Police said the attackers wore police uniforms to gain access to the house. The Taliban claimed to have attacked the house because the UN was helping organize the runoff presidential elections. The Taliban had earlier called for a boycott and threatened to disrupt the elections. “We have said that we would attack anyone engaged in the process and today’s attack is just a start,” Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid was quoted by Reuters as saying. The spokesperson confirmed there were three suicide attackers and said there would be more attacks on election workers. Separately, militants also fired at least two rockets at a foreign-owned Serena luxury hotel on Wednesday, near the presidential palace forcing more than 100 hotel guests to seek cover in a bunker. There were no reports of injuries or major damage to the hotel. According to Reuters, the hotel was also attacked in January 2008 when six people were killed. The UN also said that the attack would not deter it from carrying out its work in Afghanistan and supporting the upcoming elections. On Thursday (October 29) the UN Security Council unanimously backed a call by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for more security for UN staff and facilities in Afghanistan. According to the BBC, Ban said that the mission in Afghanistan would continue but UN staff were regarded as a soft target. “Increasingly, the UN is being targeted, in this case precisely because of our support for the Afghan elections,” the BBC quoted Ban as saying. Ban said that he would appeal for more security officers to the UN General Assembly on Friday. He added that Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan had become the most dangerous places on the planet for UN staff, according to the BBC. Ban said that UN staff spread across the country would be consolidated as a short-term measure. There are 6,700 people working for the UN mission, funds and programs in the country, including 1,100 international staff and 5,600 local staff, the BBC reported.

European Union to revamp strategy and spend up to extra US$300 million for Afghanistan

European Union (EU) ministers on Tuesday (October 27) voiced their support for a revamp of the 27-nation bloc’s civilian aid strategy in Afghanistan. EU foreign ministers met in Luxembourg and adopted a strategy to better coordinate help and to rebuild Afghanistan. According to the Associated Press (AP), the new strategy calls for better coordination of spending and holding Afghan officials accountable in the use of aid money. According to the AP and Canadian Press (CP), EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said the EU’s executive commission was drafting a “substantial” aid increase for the new strategy and extra aid could amount to US$300 million over the next three years. EU support to Afghanistan currently comes to about US$1.5 billion a year. According to the CP, EU states have spent more than US$13 billion in aid to Afghanistan since 2002. “The situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating. We are not only faced with a critical security situation. Progress on political reform, governance and state-building is too slow and in some parts of the country almost non-existent,” Reuters reported the ministers as saying in a statement. According to Reuters, the EU strategy said it would reinforce efforts to train Afghan officials and help create effective state institutions, better coordinate aid efforts and seek better governance by the next government. The new strategy aims to build a network of experts from the EU who could be deployed at short notice to Afghanistan and to ensure full deployment of officers for a police training mission, Reuters reported. The new strategy also says that the EU will help any credible government that comes out of the runoff presidential election.

Afghans protest in Kabul over alleged desecration of Quran

Hundreds of angry Afghans protested in the capital, Kabul, over allegations that US troops in the country had burnt a copy of the Quran. Protests have been going on for at least two days, according to media reports Monday (October 26). The US military denied the claims, saying it investigated the alleged incident in Wardak province and found the allegations to be groundless, the BBC reported. Local authorities also reportedly supported the US military’s claims and said that the Taliban may be spreading rumors that foreign troops were responsible. Hundreds of students from Kabul University reportedly led the protest. Some clashes with Afghan security forces were reported. Security troops fired into the air, but no injuries were reported. In 2005, around 20 people were killed after riots burst out in several cities following a report by a US news magazine that the Quran had been desecrated by interrogators at Guantanamo Bay prison. The magazine later withdrew its report. The protests underscore strong anti-American sentiment during a time of political instability and less than two weeks ahead of the planned runoff presidential election. The protests also come ahead of a pending decision by the Obama administration in Washington to a troop request by the top US and NATO military leader in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

South Korea to send more troops and police to support reconstruction team

South Korea said that it is planning to send troops and police to Afghanistan to protect an expanded civilian provincial reconstruction team (PRT), but the troops would not take part in combat. According to the BBC, the plan must be approved by the country’s parliament. Around two years ago South Korea pulled out 200 military engineers and medics after two South Korean missionaries were killed by Taliban militants. According to the BBC, South Korea’s foreign ministry spokesperson Moon tae-young said that the PRT was being expanded at the request of the Afghan government. According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), currently the PRT numbers about 25 medical staff and job training experts who work inside the US base at Bagram but foreign ministry sources quoted by Yonhap news agency said the government plans to operate an independent team of around 130 civilians and 200-300 military members.

Movement

The UNHCR said that it has almost completed its shelter program for more than 50,000 of the most vulnerable Afghan returnees this year, bringing to some 1.2 million those who have benefited since the re-integration project started in 2002. The refugee agency says that this represents some 25 percent of the more than 4.3 million Afghans assisted home by the UNHCR since the end of 2001, which include 3.4 million from Pakistan and over 865,000 from Iran. UNHCR says its re-integration program will continue for the next two years, especially in the shelter sector and will continue to support the government-led program to allocate land to landless returnees. (UNHCR, Oct-27)

According to the UN, aid agencies and local officials say that several thousand people returning to their homes in northern Jowjan and Sar-i-Pul provinces need assistance before winter sets in. The agencies say that most are returnees from Iran and from a camp of displaced persons in southern Afghanistan. UNHCR says that it has set up a tented camp in Sozma Qala district in Sar-i-Pul province to accommodate hundreds of returnees from Iran. Provincial officials say that around 300 families had returned to Jowzjan province from the Zhari IDP camp in Kandahar province. (IRIN, Oct-29)

According to the UNHCR, there were more than 1,300 Afghans seeking asylum in Tajikistan in 2008, but the number has almost doubled in the first five months of this year, according to the BBC. Some of the reasons for the influx include violence over the border in Afghanistan. Tajikistan is struggling to provide the refugees with jobs and health care and a special government decree outlawed the settling of refugees in the capital and job opportunities in small towns are almost non-existent. (BBC, Oct-21)

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	Afghan and NATO-led forces killed an unspecified number of militants and detained several others during an operation against a district Taliban commander in the central province of Ghazni. (Reuters, Oct-25) ISAF said joint Afghan and NATO troops killed a number of suspected Taliban militants and wounded another in central Wardak on Thursday (October 22). (Reuters, Oct-23) Afghan and NATO-led forces killed a few militants during a search of a compound in Ghazni province. (Reuters, Oct-18) Two civilians, a woman and a school-age girl, were killed in crossfire during a raid by security forces against militants in the central province of Ghazni on Friday (October 16). (CNN, Oct-16)
Comments	Three schools for girls were completed in Logar province and will serve more than 1,000 girls. Two schools were built in Khoshi district in eastern Logar, while the third was built in Muhammad Agha district. The construction was led by the Provincial Ministry of Education and funded by the Czech PRT. The Czech PRT has been assisting the people of Logar since March 2008. (Czech PRT, Oct-18)

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	According to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), the UN's World Health Organization (WHO), has identified a total of 23 cases of polio so far this year throughout Afghanistan. One new polio case was detected this week by a WHO-supported Polio Surveillance Team, involving a child from Kandahar city. The three-day National Immunization Days (NIDs) for Polio Eradication targeted some 7.5 million children on October 11-13. More than 44,000 volunteers helped out more than 6,000 coordinators, monitors, supervisors, facilitators, social mobilizers and trainers, according to UNAMA. The WHO says that although final figures are not available, the campaign "expects to reach more than 95 percent coverage except in the South. (UNAMA, Oct-20) UNICEF, CARITAS, MSF, IFRC, IRC, ICRC
Non-Food Items - Shelter	No New Information UNHCR, ACTED, MSF, IRC, ICRC, IOM
Security	ISAF said in a statement that Afghan and NATO troops detained a group of suspected insurgents in southeastern Paktia province. (Reuters, Oct-30) At least five UN foreign staff workers, one Afghan civilian and two Afghan security guards were killed in an attack by Taliban militants on the Bekhtar guest house in Kabul on Wednesday (October 28). At least nine other UN staff members were reportedly wounded by three gunmen who also reportedly detonated explosives around their bodies during the attack. (BBC, CNN, Oct-28) Six people were killed and two wounded when a suicide bomber targeted a local security firm in Wazi Zadran district in eastern Paktia province. (Reuters, Oct-9) A suicide car bomb exploded outside the Indian Embassy in capital, Kabul, around 8:30 a.m. local time on Thursday (October 8), killing at least 17 people, 15 civilians and 2 policemen and wounding as many as 80 others. Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing (KT, AP, Oct-8)  Joint forces killed and detained an unspecified number of suspected militants during an operation against Taliban in Kabul. Suspects were believed to be behind a series of attacks in Kabul. (Reuters, Oct-7) Afghan officials said that police foiled a series of bomb attacks aimed at destroying bridges and other facilities in several parts of the country. (Reuters, Sep-27) A car bomb struck an Italian military convoy on Thursday (September 17) on the road between the US embassy and Kabul’s main airport, killing six soldiers and as many as 10 Afghan civilians. As many as 55 Afghan civilians were also wounded.  (Reuters, AFP, Sep-17)
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	The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is chlorinating hundreds of public water sources and conducting hygiene promotion to help areas hit by an outbreak of cholera in eastern Nangarhar. The outbreak comes less than two months after heavy rains triggered flash floods that left thousands homeless. The health ministry has recorded over 670 cases of cholera and acute watery diarrhea in around a third of the country’s 34 provinces, including Kabul. Almost 30 people have been killed by the disease. IRC says almost 300 cholera cases have been reported in Nangarhar. (IRC, Oct-27)
Non-Food Items - Shelter	US Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) on September 17 delivered more than 4,000 pounds of supplies, including blankets, pots and pans, tarps, hygiene and dental kits, sandals and backpacks to more than 500 widows, orphans and disabled persons in the provincial capital Asadabad in northeastern Kunar province.  (AFPS, Sep-25)
Security	A roadside bomb killed eight Afghan civilians in a taxi in the Khogiani district of eastern Nangarhar province. (Reuters, Oct-30) Afghan police and NATO troops killed some 26 militants in a counter-attack in Giro district of Ghazni province on Thursday (October 29). (Reuters, Oct-30) NATO-led forces said on Tuesday (October 27) that they have recovered the remains of three US military contractors from the wreckage of a US army reconnaissance plane (C-12 Huron) that crashed in eastern Nuristan province on October 13.  The cause of the crash is under investigation. (AP, Oct-27) A US soldier was killed in a roadside bomb attack in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday (October 24), while another died of his wounds from an insurgent attack. (Reuters, Oct-26) Afghan and NATO-led forces killed several Taliban fighters and obtained a number of suspected militants during a search of a compound in the southeastern province of Khost on Saturday (October 17). (Reuters, Oct-18) Two US soldiers were killed in a bomb attack in eastern Afghanistan on Friday (October 16). NATO-led forces did not provide any further details.  (Reuters, Oct-17) Afghan and foreign forces killed six Taliban insurgents, including a local commander, during an air and ground assault overnight in Kamdesh district in eastern Nuristan province. (Reuters, Oct-10) A roadside bomb killed two soldiers serving with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in eastern Afghanistan.  (Reuters, Oct-10) US and Afghan forces accidentally killed a child during a raid on a Taliban compound Wednesday (October 7) night in the eastern Logar province.  (AP, Oct-8) Afghan and NATO-led forces killed at least 40 militants in eastern Nuristan province on Tuesday (October 6) where eight US and two Afghan soldiers have lost their lives in an attack by the militants on Saturday. Forces also freed 13 Afghan policemen that were captured during Saturday’s fighting. Ten Afghan soldiers were killed in Tuesday’s fighting that used close air support. (BBC, AP, Oct-7) Eight US and three Afghan soldiers were killed on Saturday (October 3) when hundreds of Taliban stormed two remote US bases in the Kamdesh district in eastern Nuristan province.  (Reuters, Oct-5)
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	Three French soldiers were killed in a violent storm in northeastern Kapisa province.  (BBC, Sep-27)

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	The World Food Program (WFP) says it is moving 33,000 metric tons of food to remote areas of the country to prepare for the fast approaching winter. The pre-positioning began in August and will continue through November. The food is expected to support some 862,000 Afghans. (WFP, Oct-27)
Health	No New Information MSF, ICRC, UNICEF
NFIs –Shelter	No New Information IOM, ACTED, Mercy Corps
Security	Afghan officials are searching for an aircraft, possibly a helicopter, that may have crashed in a remote area of the Hindu Kush mountains in northern Afghanistan Thursday (October 22) after villagers reported seeing a crash. NATO said it had no reports of any military aircraft having crashed and the UN said all its aircraft had been accounted for. (AP, Oct-22) Taliban insurgents stormed a clinic in the rugged Sar-i-Pul province, seizing eight health workers, including women.  (Reuters, Oct-13) Taliban fighters attacked a police post in northern Faryab province overnight and abducted eight police officers.  (Reuters, Oct-13) Afghan troops detained 18 militants in two separate operations overnight in the northern province of Kunduz.  (Reuters, Oct-10) An Afghan police officer was killed when an explosive device planted on his car went off in the city of Kunduz.  (Reuters, Oct-10) One civilian was killed and another wounded when foreign forces working for the NATO-led force fired on their vehicle in Kunduz. (Reuters, Sep-28) Afghan police killed seven Taliban insurgents during a clash in Kunduz on Saturday (September 26). (Reuters, Sep-27) Afghan police killed 18 insurgents and wounded 10 others during a long gun battle in the Dashte Archi district of Kunduz province overnight. (Reuters, Sep-26) Afghan forces killed 15 Taliban insurgents after an attack by militants overnight Tuesday (September 15) in the Imam Sahib district of the northern province of Kunduz. Three police were also wounded in the clash.  (Reuters, Sep-16)
Water & Sanitation	No New Information UNICEF, ICRC, DACAAR
Comments	A strong 6.2-magnitude quake struck around 50 miles southeast of Feyzabad in Badakshan province in a sparsely populated area in the Hindu Kush mountains early Friday (Oct-23) morning. No serious damage was reported from the quake, which was centered some 170 miles below the surface. (CNN, DPA, Oct-23) 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	Four civilians were killed and two others wounded by a roadside bomb in Khakriz district of southern Kandahar on Thursday (October 29), the Interior Ministry said. (Reuters, Oct-30) Eight US servicemen and an Afghan civilian were killed and several wounded in two separate insurgent attacks described as “multiple, complex” bomb strikes in southern Kandahar province on Tuesday (October 27). Seven American soldiers and an Afghan civilian were killed in the same attack, while one US soldier was killed in another attack elsewhere in Kandahar while patrolling in a military vehicle. (AP, Oct-27) Four US soldiers were killed and two wounded when two US Marine helicopters—one UH-1 and an AH-1 collided in flight before sunrise over the southern Helmand province on Monday (October 26). (AP, Oct-26) Two US service members working for the NATO-led forces were killed in a roadside bomb attack in southern Afghanistan on Thursday (October 22). (Reuters, Oct-26) A foreign soldier was killed on Thursday in southern Afghanistan by enemy fire. No further details were provided. (Reuters, Oct-26) One US service member was killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan on Saturday (October 24). NATO did not provide further details of the incident. (Reuters, Oct-25) ISAF said that joint Afghan and NATO troops killed several militants and detained half a dozen suspected Taliban militants during a search of a compound in southern Helmand on Friday (October 23). (Reuters, Oct-23) ISAF said Friday that a service member with NATO-led troops died from wounds sustained in a bomb attack in southern Afghanistan on Thursday (October 22). (Reuters, Oct-23) The UK Ministry of Defense said that a soldier from the Royal Military Police was killed in Gereshk district in southern Helmand on Thursday by an explosion.(Note: It is unclear if the soldier is the same mentioned in the paragraph above) (BBC, Oct-22) ISAF said a joint Afghan-coalition operation detained a suspect wanted over multiple militant attacks in southern Kandahar on Wednesday (October 21). (AFP, Oct-21) A US service member was killed in a roadside bomb attack on Tuesday (October 20), according to the NATO-led force. (Reuters, Oct-21) Afghan and NATO-led forces killed a small group of militants and wounded several others during an operation aimed at detaining an insurgent leader in southern Uruzgan province. (Reuters, Oct-18) Joint forces killed an Afghan insurgent and detained several others in Helmand province. (Reuters, Oct-18) A US service member was killed in a bomb blast in southern Afghanistan on Sunday (October 18).  (Reuters, Oct-18) A US service member was killed in an attack in southern Afghanistan on Friday (October 16).  (Reuters, Oct-17) Security forces detained more than a dozen Taliban insurgents in Paktika province on Friday (October 16). (DPA, Oct-16) Four US soldiers were killed in a roadside bomb attack in southern Afghanistan that took place on Thursday (October 15). Two of the soldiers died on the spot, while two of the wounded later died in hospital. NATO did not disclose further details of the attack.  (CNN, Oct-16)
Water & Sanitation	No New Information UNICEF
Comments	The UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) to date has helped provide loans to over 1,441 microfinance clients, including farmers in Helmand, totaling US$832,800. Funds are provided via the Afghan government to the World Council of Credit Unions and is distributed via Islamic Investment and Finance Cooperatives (IIFCs) to members. DFID says the loans are aimed to boost counter narcotics work by giving famers incentives to plant legal food crops instead of illegal poppy. DFID’s activities in Helmand are closely coordinated with USAID. (DFID, Oct-23) 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	Afghan soldiers and civilian medical personnel with the assistance of Spanish and US forces treated more than 300 people each day between October 6-8 at a cooperative medical engagement near Camp Zafar. The Afghan army sent buses to multiple villages to ensure that villagers received care. More than US$30,000 in medications, antibiotics and hygiene items were purchased from the local economy and distributed. (ISAF, Oct-21) 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	Seven US service members and three civilian US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents were killed when their helicopter crashed in Darabam district in western Badghis province on Monday (October 26). Another 12 Americans and 14 Afghans were reportedly injured in the crash. Taliban claimed responsibility for downing the aircraft. However, a NATO official ruled out enemy fire as cause of crash. (BBC, AP, Oct-26) Afghan and NATO-led troops killed a number of insurgents during an air and ground assault during an operation in the western Guzara district in Herat province on Friday (October 9). (Reuters, Oct-9) One Spanish soldier was killed and five others wounded on Wednesday (October 7) when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb near Syah Washan, located close to the western city of Herat.  Troops were part of an 11-vehicle convoy. (CNN, Oct-7) The Taliban hung a man they accused of being a government spy in Bala Murghab district in northwestern Badghis province on Saturday (September 26). (Reuters, Sep-28) Two Taliban fighters were killed and two Afghan soldiers wounded when Taliban gunmen attacked an Afghan army convoy in the village of Shewan in western Farah province. (Reuters, Sep-28) The Afghan power and water minister survived a Taliban bomb strike on a road in western Herat province on Sunday (September 27). The attack killed three people and wounded 16 others. (Reuters, Sep-27) A roadside bomb killed five civilians in an area in Farah. (Reuters, Sep-27) One policeman was shot dead and another wounded when Taliban gunmen attacked a police checkpoint in western Herat province, some 100 meters from the border with Iran. (Reuters, Sep-26)
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