December 14, 2007

Overview

Scores dead in fighting as Afghan and NATO-led forces retake Musa Qala

Scores of militants died in intense fighting in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province this week, where Afghan and NATO-led forces eventually recaptured the Taliban-held town of Musa Qala on Monday (December 10). Hundreds of Taliban insurgents were reportedly killed during the ground and air siege of Musa Qala that began last Friday (December 7). Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, disputed the government’s casualty claims and described the group’s retreat from Musa Qala as a “tactical withdrawal” aimed at avoiding civilian and their own casualties. Afghan and NATO forces are now moving toward Sangeen, which is one of the two remaining districts in Helmand under Taliban control. There have been no reports of major civilian casualties or significant losses to Afghan and foreign forces. Due to persistent insecurity, casualty reports could not be independently verified.

Six civilians dead in landmine blast in southern Afghanistan

Six civilians were reportedly killed and another six wounded in a landmine explosion in southern Afghanistan yesterday (Thursday, December 13). According to reports, the incident took place on a road outside the provincial capital, Tirin Kot, in south-central Uruzgan province when a civilian vehicle ran over a freshly planted landmine. Afghan officials suspect the mine was laid by Taliban insurgents. A similar roadside blast targeted a NATO convoy Wednesday (December 12), killing two NATO soldiers in eastern Afghanistan. NATO did not disclose the location of the attack or the identity of the soldiers. Also Wednesday, Taliban militants beheaded a 60-year-old female and her grandson in Uruzgan's Dehrawud district on suspicion of spying for the Afghan government and NATO-led forces.

US Defense Secretary Gates in Scotland to hold talks with NATO allies on Afghanistan

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates is in Scotland to hold talks with NATO allies on a three- to five-year plan for an alliance-led force in Afghanistan. Gates is reportedly scheduled to hold two days of talks with his NATO counterparts amid growing tensions among the alliance members over persistent shortfalls in troops and equipment for a 40,000-strong force at a time of increasing violence in the country. Gates, who has been pushing for a strategic vision, is likely to lay out a three- to five-year master plan and set broader goals that among other things will include improving security, economic development and governance. He is likely to press member nations to follow through with their commitments for troops and equipment. Among the promised troops that have yet to materialize are three infantry battalions, some 3,000 police trainers and about 20 helicopters. Before departing for his trip, Gates testified before a US congressional committee expressing his frustration over NATO's failure to meet its commitments. Gates told the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday (December 11) that the US was not prepared to continue filling a gap in the number of helicopters used by NATO forces beyond January 2008.

South Korea ends its Afghan troop mission

Today (Friday, December 14), South Korea ended its six-year military mission in Afghanistan with the arrival of nearly 200 troops at Seongnam airport in the capital, Seoul, from Afghanistan. The final group consisted of 50 medics from the Dongui unit and 150 engineers from the Dasan unit. The group was the last batch of 2,131 soldiers who served on rotations in Afghanistan since 2002. While stationed in Afghanistan, the group helped with rehabilitation efforts. Korea's troop withdrawal from Afghanistan was already planned, but it had to reconfirm the pledge to the Taliban in July to secure the release of 21 of its civilian nationals who were abducted by the militant group. Korea has said it will continue to contribute to Afghanistan's stabilization through 20-30 member civilian-led Provincial Reconstruction Teams comprising government officials, civilian medical staff and vocational training experts.

Avalanche kills at least 13 in Afghanistan's remote northeast

At least 13 people were killed and another three remain missing following an avalanche in Afghanistan's remote mountainous northeastern Badakhshan province on Tuesday (December 11). Citing local sources, Humayun Paikar, an official with the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA), told the UN Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN) on Wednesday that since Tuesday, 13 bodies from the site of the avalanche in Baharak district had been recovered while three other people remain missing and were believed to be dead. He said authorities had rescued some 15 people Tuesday, of which four suffered injuries. Floods and avalanches are not uncommon in Afghanistan, especially in mountainous Badakhshan region, which borders China and Tajikistan.

Movement

2007: UNHCR temporarily suspends the Afghan voluntary repatriation campaign in Pakistan until March 2008 due to seasonal slowdown. (IRIN, Nov-2). Pakistan has reportedly extended the deadline to close Jalozai camp until March 2008. (IRIN, Sep-4). The UNHCR has asked Pakistan to temporarily suspend closure of Jalozai refugee camp in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) that was originally scheduled to be closed on August 31. UNHCR said due to the fast approaching Muslim holy month of Ramadan and winter season, conditions were not conducive for the return of some 100,000 camp residents. UNHCR said any forceful return of these refugees could lead to secondary displacement.

Pakistan is to close all Afghan refugee camps by December 2009 and to repatriate all refugees living in the country. UNHCR says it has repatriated over 306,000 Afghan refugees from Pakistan so far this year under its voluntary repatriation campaign. (UNHCR, Aug-10)

4.2 million refugees have returned to Afghanistan, and 500,000 IDPs returned home since early 2002. Close to 3 million of the refugees returned from Pakistan. 2.6 million Afghans remain in Pakistan, including one million in 74 long-term camps. About 1.5 million Afghans returned from Iran. Taking into account unassisted returns, perhaps 600,000 to 700,000 Afghans remain in Iran—up to 30,000 are in seven camps.

Iran deported some 85,000 unregistered refugees to Afghanistan during April 21 - May 14, 2007. Iranian officials say they plan to initially send back 500,000 of over a million illegal refugees in the country. Earlier this week, Iran said it has reached an agreement with the Afghan government to slow down the pace of expulsions for illegal Afghans living in the country.

Some 200,000 Afghan refugees in Pakistan have returned to their homes under the UN-assisted voluntary Afghan refugee repatriation program since it resumed on March 1, 2007, following a seasonal winter suspension. Pakistani authorities said voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan that are without proof of registration (PoR) ended in April, and refugees remaining in the country without PoR are now considered illegal and subject to government action. Repatriation campaign for Afghan refugees with PoR.

2006: UNHCR expects to assist 550,000 returnees—400,000 from Pakistan and 150,000 from Iran. However, so far this year only some 60,000 Afghan refugees have repatriated from Pakistan. Unassisted returns are a factor from Pakistan and have been a major contributor to returns from Iran. The tripartite arrangement among UNHCR-Afghanistan-Pakistan is good through 2006. The UNHCR-Afghanistan-Iran Joint Program has been extended into 2007. Repatriation from Pakistan, halted for the winter, recommenced on March 1. UNHCR assisted nearly 9,000 refugees in returning from Pakistan and over 500 from Iran during March. In April 2006, Pakistan closed two long-term camps in NWFP, and two in Baluchistan Province with 250,000 long-term residents. Refugees in Baluchistan can either return to Afghanistan or relocate to Mohammad Kheil camp near Quetta. Refugees in NWFP are moving to Afghanistan or one of ten camps in NWFP—refugees are pushing for a one-year delay.

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

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

Emphasis in 2003 was on repatriation from old camps and cities in Pakistan to rural areas in Afghanistan. 70% 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

A rapid food needs assessment by USAID’s Famine Early Warning System (FEWS) suggests that due to failed wheat crops, unfavorable weather and higher food prices, Ghor province would need in the short-term (December-April) some 14,231 metric tons of food assistance to feed its vulnerable population. (ReliefWeb, Oct-18)

The Bamyan Disaster Management Committee has asked for 22,000 tons of food items for vulnerable people in Waras and Punjab affected by recent floods and a cold wave. UNAMA says that some 50 percent of 20,000 tons of foodstuff are being rushed to affected areas. (Frontier Post, Oct-11)

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. (IRIN, July-8)

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. (People’s Daily Online, Feb-15)

NFIs -Shelter

IOM, UNICEF, UNOCHA, & OXFAM

Water & Sanitation

UNICEF

Security

Six civilians were killed and six others wounded when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb on a road outside the provincial capital, Tirin Kot, in Uruzgan province on Thursday (December 13). (ABC, Dec-13)

Several suspected Taliban insurgents were killed in US-led airstrikes near the village of Sarsina in south-central Uruzgan province on November 20. (ABC, Nov-20)

On November 18, the bodies of five Afghan policemen were found hung from a tree with their wrists and legs slashed. The victims were abducted about two months ago from a checkpoint in Uruzgan province. At least 11 suspected Taliban insurgents were killed in a clash with Afghan and foreign security forces in Uruzgan province on November 17. (ABC, CNN, BBC, Nov 18-19)

Five suspected Taliban fighters were killed in a four-hour gun battle in Uruzgan’s Naish district on November 15. (ABC, IHT, Nov-16)

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, (NATO, Feb-11) IRC, Action Contra la Faim; WFP
Health	President Karzai helped inaugurate the new hospital of the National Department of Security on September 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 suicide car bomb attack aimed at Afghan army personnel in the Chihuisitoon shopping area on Wednesday (December 5) killed 13 people, including six soldiers and seven civilians. (IHT, BBC, Dec-5) A suicide car bomb aimed at a two-vehicle NATO convoy near Kabul’s airport on Tuesday (December 4) left at least 22 civilians wounded. (IHT, ABC, Dec-4)
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 killed 13 people in Kunar and another eight in Laghman. Nearly 3,000 people were 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 transported water pipes for a nearly seven-mile-long planned water supply project in Baghlan province. (NATO, Aug-23)
Health	Provincial officials in southern Khost, Kandahar and eastern Nangarhar provinces have confirmed hundreds of diarrhea cases due to water contamination from floods. (IRIN, July-11) FAO confirmed cases of the H5N1 subtype of avian influenza (bird flu) virus 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	Some 65 Taliban militants were killed on Sunday (November 25) in a US-led coalition airstrike in eastern Paktia province along the Pakistan border. (BBC, DT, Nov-26) A second airstrike on Sunday in Paktia’s Patan district killed eight people, including four in a vehicle carrying suspected Taliban rebels. A separate airstrike in the provincial capital, Gardez, killed three suspected militants attempting to plant a bomb. (BBC, DT, Nov-26) At least 14 Afghan construction workers were killed in US-led coalition airstrikes overnight in eastern Afghanistan on November 26. According to reports, US-led helicopter gunships and fighter jets mistakenly attacked a camp in remote Nuristan province that night, killing all of the workers on the site while they were asleep in their tents. (CNN, ABC, Nov-27-28)
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	Taliban insurgents ambushed and killed two Afghan policemen and abducted a police commander in Nuristan province. (BBC, Oct-7) Twelve people, including five government employees and seven policemen, were killed on September 23 when unidentified gunmen opened fire on their vehicle as it traveled through northeastern Badakhshan province. (CNN, Sep-24)
Water & Sanitation
Comments	*At least 13 people were killed in an avalanche in Baharak district in northeastern Badakhshan province on Tuesday (December 11). Fifteen others were rescued. (IRIN, Dec-12)*

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	More than 65 people, including six members of Afghanistan’s lower house of the parliament and 59 schoolchildren, were killed and more than 100 others wounded in a suicide bomb attack near a sugar factory in northern Baghlan province on November 6. (ABC, BBC, Reuters, Nov 6-8) Four people, including a district police chief, his brother and two other policemen, were killed in a roadside bomb blast in northern Baghlan province on September 24. (The News, Sep-25)
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, Mar-23).
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) 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) In Uruzgan province, 880 families affected by conflict in Chora district 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	WFP says it could not deliver 50 tons of mixed food to Geeti district in Daykundi province due to security concerns. WFP plans to deliver food as soon as safe passage is guaranteed. (IRIN, Nov-14) 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	*Afghan and US-led coalition forces treated some 700 Afghans during a two-day outreach operation in Kandahar on December 7 and 8. (Reliefweb, Dec-12)* 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)
NFIs - Shelter	UNHCR, Mercy Corps
Security	*One British soldier, two children and 12 Taliban insurgents were killed during a security operation in Musa Qala in Helmand province on Saturday (December 8). (BBC, AP, Dec-10)* Afghan and US-led coalition forces recaptured the town of Musa Qala on Monday (December 10). More than 50 suspected Taliban insurgents were killed in two days of fighting that ended on Tuesday (December 11) around Musa Qala. (BBC, ABC, KT, Dec- 12) Afghan security officials claim to have killed at least 35 Taliban insurgents during a three-day joint military operation that ended on December 1 in Kandahar’s Shah Wali Kot district. (BBC, Yahoo, TNI, Dec-3) Unidentified armed men ambushed a WFP truck carrying 18 tons of high energy biscuits on Sunday (December 2), killing the driver and abducting his assistant. The truck and its cargo remain missing. (WFP, Dec-6)
Water & Sanitation	UNICEF
Comments	Some 2,500 families (roughly 13,000 people) who fled ongoing violence in Helmand, Uruzgan and Kandahar are staying around Kandahar city in urgent need of temporary shelter. (IRIN, Oct-3) 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)

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
Water & Sanitation	UNICEF
Comments	Support for Spin Boldak camps terminated in 2004.

Western Region

Location	Western Region
Coordination	UNHCR; ICMC
Population	According to the IFRC, flash floods and avalanches in early March affected some 200 families in Herat city; 918 families in Gulran district; 35 families in Cheshte Sharif district; 150 families in Shindand district, 6,500 families in Badghis/Jawand and Murghab districts, and 20 families in Gour district. (IFRC, Mar-23) 12,000 IDPs, mostly in Maslakh camp
Movement IDPs	IOM
Food	IRC, CARITAS, UNICEF, World Vision, IOM, Action Contre la Faim; WFP Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees (DACAAR) is providing safe drinking water to the drought-affected western Afghan provinces of Farah and Herat. Some 7,000 families, or 42,000 individuals, will be provided safe water and hygiene training. (DACAAR, Aug-22) WFP said July 11 that it has resumed some food deliveries along the southern ring road, allowing it to deliver food to the western region. Normal operations moving 1,500 to 1,200 tons of food each week are planned. In late May, WFP suspended some of its deliveries to parts of southern, eastern and western Afghanistan due to insecurity. (WFP, July-11)
Health	Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), with the help of US-led coalition forces, carried out a Medical Civic Action Program (MEDCAP) in Shewan, western Farah province on August 30 and treated more than 811 people, including 576 women and children. (USG, Sep-2)
Non-Food Items (NFIs) – Shelter	UNHCR, Iranian Red Crescent, UNICEF, IOM, Ockenden Int’l, MSF, IMC
Security	A suicide bomber blew himself up near an Afghan police patrol on Monday (December 3), killing four people, including two policemen. The attack took place in southwestern Nimroz province and also wounded seven people, including three policemen. (BBC, TNI, YAHOO, Dec-3) Six Afghan policemen and the son of a provincial governor were killed in a suicide bomb attack outside the governor’s residence in Zaranj district in southwestern Nimroz province on November 19. Provincial governor Ghulam Dastagir Azad was the likely target of the attack. (ABC, BBC, Nov-19)
Water & Sanitation	UNICEF
Comments	The US Provincial Reconstruction Team in Farah launched a US$1.7 million bridge project that will benefit more than 10,000 residents of Tojg and thousands of others in neighboring districts during the flooding season. (ReliefWeb, Oct-24)

Refugee Camps in Pakistan

Location	Long-term camps in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), NWFP, Baluchistan Province, and by capital, Islamabad; Mohamed Kheil 1 & 2 camps (85 km southwest of Quetta)
Type	Refugee Camps
Coordination	Afghanistan, Pakistan and UNHCR on August 2 extended the tripartite agreement governing the voluntary repatriation of registered Afghans from Pakistan through December 2009. The agreement provides a legal and operational framework for the process. To date, more than 3 million Afghans have returned from Pakistan under the voluntary repatriation program since 2002. This year, more than 300,000 Afghans have returned. (UNHCR, GOP, Aug-2) The Kacha Garhi Afghan refugee camp was officially closed on July 26. Kacha Garhi, set up in 1980 and located in Hayatabad in NWFP, had 64,000 registered Afghans. The closure followed two years of negotiations, as many refugees initially did not want to repatriate. By the camp's closure, some 37,000 refugees had been repatriated by the UNHCR. Most refugees were originally from Afghanistan's eastern and central provinces of Nangarhar, Laghman, Kabul, and Logar. (UNHCR, July-27)
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) Pakistan has extended the camp closure deadline until March 2008. (IRIN, Sep-4) Girdi Jungle (Balochistan): 17,844, scheduled to close August 31. (IRIN, June-14)
Refugee Movement	Pakistan wants some 2 million Afghan refugees to return home by 2009. (AP, June-14) UNHCR temporarily suspends Afghan voluntary repatriation campaign in Pakistan until March 2008 due to seasonal slowdown. (IRIN, Nov-2).
Food	UNHCR in coordination with local and international organizations is helping some 4,000 Afghans in five flood-affected Afghan refugee camps in Balochistan province. The assistance mainly included non-food items such as tents and tarpaulins. (IRIN, July-26). WFP, CRS, ARC
Health	UNICEF, MSF
Non-Food Items (NFIs) - Shelter	CRS
Security	At least three Pakistani villagers and an Afghan refugee were killed when hundreds of villagers and refugees living in and near the Jungle Pir Alizai camp in Balochistan province clashed with police sent to demolish their homes. (AP, June-14)
Water & Sanitation	IFRC, MDM
Comments