October 5, 2007

Overview

Four abducted Red Cross workers freed in Afghanistan

Four aid workers from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) who were abducted last week by a group of armed men were freed on Saturday (September 29) by their captors. Four men, one from Myanmar (Burma), one from Macedonia and two Afghan nationals, were abducted last Wednesday (September 26) in central Wardak province as they were returning to Kabul after a failed attempt to secure the release of a German who was abducted by the Taliban in July. Initially it was not clear if the abduction was linked to the Taliban or a band of criminals who carry out abductions for ransom. However, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP), Mullah Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, on Saturday confirmed that his group had "mistakenly" abducted the four ICRC workers. He said once it was established they were not spies but ICRC workers, they were released. He said, "The Red Cross has a good background in Afghanistan and we must cooperate with them. They must not be harmed by any side of the conflict." The ICRC officials have welcomed the unconditional release of the abducted workers. Separately, five Afghans working for international groups were kidnapped Sunday (September 30). Among those abducted were two men working for the Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees (DACAAR) who were abducted on Sunday in central Logar province, some 30 miles south of the Afghan capital, Kabul. The fate of these workers remains unknown.

More than 60 dead in violence across Afghanistan since Saturday

More than 60 people, including civilians, were killed in separate security incidents across Afghanistan this week. Two children were killed today (Friday, October 5) near the town of Sangin in restive southern Helmand province when a suicide bomber blew himself up. Several suspected Taliban insurgents as well as civilians were killed when Afghan and US-led coalition troops clashed with the insurgents in Waza Khwa district in eastern Paktika province today. At least 11 people, including five civilians, were killed in a suicide bomb attack on a police bus in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Tuesday (October 2). The attack took place in the morning rush hour when a suicide bomber boarded a police bus and detonated explosives attached to his body. The resulting explosion killed at least six policemen and five civilians, including four children. On Saturday (September 29), a similar attack on a police bus killed at least 30 people and wounded 30 others. According to some media reports, Taliban spokesman Mullah Zabihullah Mujahid said that the hardline Islamic militants were behind the attack. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has condemned the recent attacks, calling them acts of "savagery" and "evil," that were completely un-Islamic. On Monday (October 1), at least 20 suspected Taliban militants were killed in a US-led coalition military operation in Reeg district in restive southern Helmand province.

UN report says violence in Afghanistan worst since 2001

The violence in Afghanistan has spiked to its worst level since the 2001 US-led invasion, says a recently released United Nations report. According to the report that was released last week, violent incidents averaged 550 per month this year compared to 425 per month last year, which is an increase of nearly 30 percent over last year. The report noted that although 76 percent of all suicide bombings in the country were aimed at the international and Afghan security forces, 143 civilians were killed in these bombings by the end of August. A count of insurgency-related deaths in Afghanistan by the Associated Press (AP) indicates more than 5,086 people have been killed so far this year in violence in Afghanistan. According to the AP, in addition to some 3,500 militant deaths, more than 650 civilians have also been killed either by militant violence or by US or NATO-led military operations. More than 180 foreign troops, including 85 Americans, have died in Afghanistan so far this year compared to about 90 last year (2006). Two suicide bombings since last Saturday (September 29) that have killed more than 40 people indicate insurgents are getting aggressive and that the relentless violence is only gaining momentum with time.

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	Two workers from the Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees (DACAAR) were abducted on Sunday (September 30) in central Logar province, some 30 miles south of the Afghan capital, Kabul. Their fate remains unknown. (AFP, Oct. 1) Three Afghan truck drivers supplying foreign military bases were abducted by Taliban militants in Wardak on Monday (October 1). (TNI, Oct. 1) Four abducted ICRC workers were freed by their captors on Saturday (September 29). 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	At least 11 people, including six policemen and five civilians, were killed in a suicide bomb attack on a police bus in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Tuesday (October 2). Civilian deaths included a female and four children. At least 30 policemen were killed and an equal number wounded in a suicide bomb attack on a police bus in Kabul on Saturday (September29). (BBC, ABC, Sep. 2) Taliban executed a man for spying for foreign forces in Kapisa on Sunday (September 30). (Khaleej Times, Oct. 1)
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	At least eight people, including civilians, were killed and several others wounded during a security sweep by the Afghan and US-led coalition forces in Waza Khwa district in Paktika province Thursday (October 4). (MSNBC, ABC, Oct. 5) Taliban killed eight police officers in an ambush on a police convoy in Ghazni on Sunday (September 30). (MSNBC, AP, Oct. 1) The Taliban beheaded a tailor sewing clothes for local soldiers in Qarabagh district in Ghazni province on Sunday (September 30) in broad daylight. (Khaleej Times, Oct. 1) 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)
NFIs - Shelter	UNHCR, Mercy Corps;
Security	Two Afghan children were killed in a suicide bomb attack in Sangin district in Helmand today (Friday, October 5). (MSNBC, AP, Oct. 5) One British soldier was killed and two others wounded in a roadside bomb explosion in Kandahar on Thursday (October 4). (BBC, Oct. 5) Five Dutch soldiers on the UN-led ISAF were wounded in an ambush by Taliban militants Tuesday (October 2) night in Uruzgan province. (AP, Oct. 3) At least 20 suspected Taliban militants were killed in a US-led coalition military operation in Reeg district in Helmand province on Monday (October 1). (BBC, ABC, AP, Oct. 1) Taliban militants hanged a 15-year-old boy suspected of spying for foreign forces in Sangin district in Helmand province. Afghan officials deny that the slain boy was spying for them or the foreign forces. (TNI, Oct. 1) Taliban militants killed a man suspected of spying for foreign forces in Paktika on Sunday (September 30). (Khaleej Times, Oct. 1) 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) 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	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