July 25, 2008

Overview

Germany reiterates support for Afghanistan
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who arrived in Afghanistan today (Friday, July 25) on a surprise visit, said following a meeting with Afghan officials, "We stand at your side."  Steinmeier, who arrived aboard a German military plane in the western city of Herat, is scheduled to spend several days in Afghanistan. He said the purpose of his trip was to rectify the image that many people have of Afghanistan.  He said Afghanistan is not only Kabul, the capital city, and attacks by the Taliban insurgents, but there are also success stories such as the rebuilding campaign in Herat.  He said Germany's US$12.6 million (8 million euros) drinking water system had enabled 80 percent of Herat's population to have access to clean water.  He said Germany continues to support several cultural projects, including the restoration of some of the country's historical landmarks.  Germany currently has some 3,500 troops in Afghanistan, mostly deployed in the country's relatively calm west.  Germany has announced plans to deploy an additional 1,000 troops by the end of this year.

Air strikes kill over 40 Taliban insurgents in eastern Afghanistan

Dozens of Afghan insurgents were reportedly killed and several wounded in an airstrike overnight Friday in eastern Afghanistan, where Afghan and NATO-led forces are battling insurgents to recapture a remote town in Ghazni province that was captured by the Taliban on Sunday (July 20).  Ismail Jahangir, spokesman for Ghazni province, told Agence France-Presse (AFP), "Over 40 Taliban fighters were killed and 30 wounded in an overnight coalition air strike in Ajristan district."  Another official told AFP that there have been reports of two civilian casualties.  Separately, one British soldier and his explosives sniffer dog were killed and six other soldiers wounded in southern Helmand province when they came under attack during a routine patrol on Thursday (July 24).  In another attack in Helmand's Gereshk district, Afghan police killed three Taliban insurgents after they attacked a police checkpoint.

French aid organization calls workers' abduction "criminal" act
French aid organization Action Contre la Faim (ACF), also known as Action Against Hunger, has called the abduction of two of its staff in central Afghanistan a "criminal act." The abduction took place July 18 in Nili district in central Daykundi (also spelled Day Kundi) province when unidentified gunmen entered the house where ACF staff members were sleeping after subduing the security guards. They abducted two of the staff members before fleeing aboard several vehicles. In a statement released on Friday, ACF said it believed the abducted staff members were alive and characterized the act as "criminal." According to Xinhua news sources, two crisis cells, one in Kabul and one in Paris, have been set up. The French foreign ministry has also said that it had "mobilized efforts in Paris and Kabul in order to secure their release." Sultan Ali Uruzgani, governor of Daykundi province, blamed the "enemies of the government" -- a phrase often reserved for the Taliban -- for the abduction. Although the Taliban are believed to be behind most kidnappings, the involvement of criminal gangs who kidnap people for ransom is also a real possibility. The abduction came after a French businessman who was abducted in May was released in June after weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiations. ACF has been working in Afghanistan since 1979. In 2007, ACF helped some 130,000 people. ACF has temporarily suspended operations in the area.

Nine new polio cases reported in southern Afghanistan
Within the last month, nine new cases of polio have been reported in three southern provinces despite high hopes for the disease’s eradication in Afghanistan. In Maiwand, Shahwali Kot and Gorak districts of Kandahar province, six polio cases have been reported, while two cases were reported in Nadali district in neighboring Helmand province. One more case occurred in late June in Uruzgan province, said the Ministry of Public Heath (MoPH). Including the five cases that were confirmed earlier in the year, the current total number of confirmed polio cases in Afghanistan in 2008 is 14. Abudullah Fahim, a spokesman for MoPH, believes there are several reasons for the sudden surge in polio cases, the most important ones being insecurity, population displacement and the repatriation of refugees. Due to the insurgency and increased attacks on health workers, some parts of the country are not able to access health services and at least 400,000 people, mostly in volatile southern provinces, are being affected. Another concern of health officials is the returning refugee families whose children have not been immunized against polio and other infectious diseases. In Kandahar, health officials acknowledged there were shortcomings in the immunization drive that could have possibly deprived some children of consistent immunization. According to the World Health Organization, polio has been eradicated all over the world except in Afghanistan, India, Niger and Pakistan.

Movement

2008: UNHCR is asking Pakistan to revise its Afghan refugee repatriation plan, as the current plan to repatriate some 2.4 million refugees by the end of next year (2009) is “unworkable” due to persistent insecurity and lack of economic opportunities. (BBC, Apr-18). UNHCR said this week that since March 1, when the repatriation campaign resumed from Pakistan, some 10,000 Afghan refugees have returned to Afghanistan. (UNHCR, Mar-31)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Afghanistan Relief Efforts: United Nations Coordination Regions

Central Region

Location	Central Region
Coordination
Population
IDP Movement
Food	There have been at least six attacks on World Food Program (WFP) food convoys in 2008, and WFP has temporarily suspended food delivery to Daikundi province.(IRIN, May-28)
Health	Czech Republic-led PRT to begin construction of a new 20-bed facility for the existing Comprehensive Health Clinic in Mohammad Agha in Lowgar province. (NATO, Apr-24)
NFIs -Shelter	IOM, UNICEF, UNOCHA, & OXFAM
Water & Sanitation	UNICEF
Security	Several Taliban fighters were killed in a clash with US-led coalition forces backed by air support in Sayed Abad district (also spelled Sayadabad) in Wardak province on Tuesday (July 22) as troops searched several compounds to locate a Taliban leader suspected of conducting attacks on coalition forces. (BBC, Reuters, Jul-23) On Sunday (July 20), an Afghan soldier was killed in an attack by Taliban militants in Wardak. (Reuters, Jul-21) Two French aid workers working for the NGO Action Against Hunger were abducted by unidentified gunmen Friday (July 18) in Nili in Daykundi province. (MSNBC, Jul-18)
Comments	IOM provided shelter materials to 21 vulnerable families in Bamyan province the week of July 20. (IOM, Jul-25)

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	WFP has begun distributing wheat to some 650,000 beneficiaries affected by high food prices in Kabul and the surrounding areas. (Reliefweb, Mar-6, 2008) IRC, Action Contra la Faim; WFP
Health	The country remains under the national public health emergency declared on January 8, with 30,000 health workers requested to not take leave for the duration of the emergency period. (IRIN, Feb-14) UNICEF, CARITAS, MSF, IFRC, IRC, ICRC
Non-Food Items - Shelter	UNHCR, ACTED, MSF, IRC, ICRC, IOM
Security	At least three people were wounded on Tuesday (July 22) in Kabul when a suicide bomber on foot blew himself up near a security check point close to the city's historic Babur Gardens. ( BBC, MSNBC, Jul-22) At least 41 people were killed and 141 injured when a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into two vehicles approaching the gates of the Indian embassy in Kabul on Monday (July 7) morning. (BBC, IHT, Jul-7)
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	On Wednesday (July 9), Afghanistan and UNAMA launched a joint appeal for US$404 million to ensure food security for 450,000 households, give livestock and agricultural assistance to 300,000 farming families and protect about 550,000 women and children from malnutrition. The appeal is designed to cover these and other projects through July 2009 and follows a US$77 million joint food appeal that was fully met earlier this year. (IRIN, Jul-9) Malaysia and Australia will soon launch a joint initiative to train 30 “master teachers” who will train Afghan teachers in modern education methods. (GoAustralia, Jul-10)

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 Khost, Nangarhar and southern Kandahar provinces confirmed hundreds of diarrhea cases due to water contamination from floods. (IRIN, July-11)
Non-Food Items - Shelter	CWS, UNICEF
Security	Some 40 Taliban insurgents were killed and 30 others wounded in a US-led coalition airstrike overnight in Ajristan district in Ghazni province on Friday (July 25). (Reuters, BBC, Jul-25) Two Taliban fighters were killed in a clash with Afghan and NATO forces in Ghazni on Thursday (July 24). (Reuters, Jul-24) Three Afghan policemen were killed in a roadside bomb blast in Paktia province on Thursday. (Reuters, Jul-24) An Afghan district police chief was killed on Wednesday (July 23) in a roadside bomb blast in Nangarhar province. (BBC, Reuters, Jul-23) A civilian vehicle was struck by a landmine in Khost province on Tuesday (July 22), killing at least three civilians and wounding three others. (Reuters, Jul-23) Four brothers who worked for the police were killed at their house in Qarabagh district in Ghazni overnight Tuesday. (BBC, Reuters, MSNBC, Jul-22) Militants ambushed a police post in Ghazni, killing four police officers late Monday (July 21). (BBC, Reuters, MSNBC, Jul-22) Taliban fighters killed a spokesman for the provincial governor in Paktika province late Monday. ( Reuters, Jul-22) On Sunday (July 20), NATO-led troops killed 20 Taliban fighters in an airstrike in Khost after militants ambushed a joint convoy of NATO and Afghan forces. One NATO soldier was also killed in the clash. (Reuters, Jul-20) Six civilians, including two truck drivers, were killed when Taliban insurgents attacked a fuel tanker on Sunday in Laghman province. (Reuters, Jul-20-12) At least four civilians were killed and four others wounded when a mortar fired by NATO-led forces missed its intended target and instead hit civilians in Barmal district in eastern Paktika overnight on Saturday (July 19). (BBC, Reuters, Jul-20) Coalition forces claimed to have killed more than 40 insurgents in an airstrike on Tuesday (July 15) near Wanat, on the border of Kunar and Nuristan provinces. (Reuters, Jul-15) In Ghazni, insurgents on Monday (July 14) shot dead eight civilian passengers they seized from cars, buses and taxis stopped on the main road between Kabul and Kandahar on Sunday (July 13). (Reuters, Jul-15) Nine soldiers from the NATO-led force were killed when hundreds of Afghan insurgents ambushed a remote US military base in Wanat near the Pakistan border on Sunday. (ABC, Reliefweb, Jul-14) Two Afghan guards working for a road construction company were killed in a roadside bomb attack on Sunday in Ghazni.  The bodies of two Afghan female detectives were discovered in a ditch in Ghazni on Saturday (July 12). (Reuters, Jul-13)
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	NATO and Afghan forces killed four Taliban insurgents and wounded six others in a joint security operation in Nuristan province on Saturday (July 12). The defense ministry said dozens of insurgents were killed and dozens more wounded on Sunday (July 13) in a counter-attack by the Afghan army. (Reuters, Jul-13)
Water & Sanitation
Comments	The MoPH has asked the NATO-led Provincial Reconstruction Team in Badakhshan for air support to enable medical teams to service otherwise inaccessible areas. (IRIN, Feb-14)

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	A severe drought has been reported across northern Afghanistan, with the situation being worst in Faryab, Jowjan, Samangan, Saribul and Badghis provinces. Higher-than-normal summer temperatures and a lack of crucial rainfall have left northern rivers at record low water levels, hindering agricultural production and potable water sources. With the added issue of rising global food prices, farming families are unable to purchase basic food items. The governor of Faryab says the province is on the verge of a humanitarian crisis without immediate food aid. Badghis officials say almost all livestock and crops have been lost and more than 200 families are fleeing each day. There are no accurate figures for casualties or losses. Part of a US$404 million joint UN-Afghan appeal announced on July 9 will be used to feed drought-affected populations. (Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Jul-10)
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	Abdul Hamid Akhundzada, an insurgent the Taliban had recently named the shadow governor of Faryab province, was killed Wednesday (July 9) in Faryab along with at least one other insurgent. While Reuters said he was killed in a raid by Afghan security forces, the AP reported that a group of villagers attacked the insurgents because they had tried to abduct aid workers. (Reuters, AP, Jul-10)
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)
Food	UNICEF; Mercy Corps; CARITAS; WFP
Health	A UNICEF-led Polio vaccination campaign was suspended in Musa Qala due to military operations. The campaign was also suspended in parts of five other districts. (ReliefWeb, Dec-20)
NFIs - Shelter	UNHCR, Mercy Corps The Netherlands will provide US$713,000 (470,000 euros) for repair of war-damaged homes for 400 families in Deh Rawood and 150 families in Tirin Kot. (Reliefweb, Feb-28)
Security	Three Taliban fighters were killed in a clash with Afghan police at a checkpoint in Gereshk district in Helmand on Friday (July 25). (Reuters, Jul-25) One British soldier was killed and six others wounded in Helmand province when they came under attack during a routine patrol on Thursday (July 24). (BBC, Jul-25) Nearly three dozen Taliban insurgents were killed in a clash with Afghan and US-led coalition forces in Shah Joy district in Zabul province on Thursday. (Reuters, Jul-24) Three Taliban fighters were killed in Uruzgan (also spelled Oruzgan) province in a clash with Afghan police on Tuesday (July 22). (BBC, Reuters, Jul-23) A British soldier was killed and two others wounded in a clash with Taliban insurgents in Kajaki district in Helmand on Tuesday. (BBC, Reuters, Jul-23) Taliban militants ambushed a convoy carrying supplies for a security firm, killing four of its Afghan guards in Zabul province on Monday (July 21). (BBC, Reuters, Jul-22) A roadside bomb hit a van, killing three children and wounding five other civilians on Sunday (July 20) in Helmand. NATO-led forces said they killed a senior Taliban commander, Mullah Sheikh, and two of his associates in an attack in Musa Qala district in Helmand on Sunday. (Reuters, Jul-20-21) Eighteen Taliban insurgents were killed in an ongoing operation by Afghan and foreign forces in Kandahar province on Sunday. (Reuters, Jul-20-21) Nine Taliban insurgents were killed in a clash with Afghan forces after they ambushed a private security convoy in Zabul province on Sunday. (Reuters, Jul-20-21) Three Taliban were killed in a clash with Afghan forces in Helmand on Saturday (July 19). (Reuters, Jul-20)
Water & Sanitation	UNICEF
Comments	The Afghan government has approved 19 reconstruction projects valued at US$1.4 million (72 million AFA) for Kandahar province. Projects are to be completed within nine months and are expected to benefit some 29,000 households in the region. (ReliefWeb, Mar-14).

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