August 15, 2008

Overview

Four aid workers shot dead in central Afghanistan
Four aid workers, including three foreigners, were shot dead in Afghanistan's central Logar province on Wednesday (August 13). According to reports, three female foreign aid workers and their Afghan driver were killed when unidentified gunmen opened fire on a two-vehicle convoy as it drove through the provincial capital, Pul-i-Alam. Another Afghan driver was critically wounded in the attack. The aid workers who worked for the New York-based International Rescue Committee (IRC) were traveling from the eastern city of Gardez to the capital, Kabul, in their marked vehicle when they came under attack. Melissa Winkler, an IRC spokeswoman, said the slain women were a dual American-Trinidadian national, a dual British-Canadian national and a Canadian national. Following the attack, the IRC has indefinitely suspended all of its humanitarian work in Afghanistan. The UN Secretary-General's special envoy for Afghanistan, Kai Eide, has condemned Wednesday’s violence, calling it a "cowardly attack" and urging the Afghan government not to spare any effort to bring those responsible to justice. Violence against aid workers has surged this year. According to the Afghanistan NGO Safety Office (ANSO), a security group that works for aid organizations in Afghanistan, the latest attack brings the death toll among aid workers in Afghanistan to at least 23 this year, compared to 15 deaths in all of 2007.

Taliban capture central Afghan district
Taliban insurgents have reportedly captured a remote district in central Afghanistan.  Citing Mohibullah Kheplwak, a district official, Xinhua news agency reported that all police and government personnel withdrew from Nawa district in the central province of Ghazni on Friday (August 15) after the provincial government was unable to reinforce district police fighting with the militants.  He said Taliban militants took over the district after local officials withdrew due to lack of supplies and reinforcement.  Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, reportedly confirmed that rebel fighters had seized Nawa district after forcing Afghan police and foreign troops out of the area.  The Taliban claimed that its "victory" was the result of 10 days of fighting in the area.  According to BBC reports, some 100-150 US troops were also among those who withdrew from the troubled district.  According to some observers, the fall of the strategically located district will enable Taliban to launch more attacks on the main road linking Kabul with southern Kandahar province.  The capture of Nawa, which adjoins neighboring Zabul province, can potentially enable Taliban fighters to consolidate their positions.  However, in the past the Taliban has been able to keep control of seized areas only temporarily.

Three dozen killed in violence across Afghanistan

At least 36 people, including Taliban insurgents, were killed in separate security incidents across Afghanistan this week. Three US-led coalition soldiers on foot patrol were killed by a roadside bomb on Thursday (August 14) in southern Afghanistan. Also, a rocket landed outside the main international airport in Kabul Thursday, but there were no casualties. The Afghan Interior Ministry said Thursday that police had withdrawn from two posts in Nad Ali district in southern Helmand province following two weeks of fighting that left at least 15 policemen dead and another 15 wounded. Zemarai Bashary, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said that Taliban insurgents have also killed six policemen and wounded 10 others in Ghorak district in neighboring Kandahar province in fighting that began around the same time. He said fighting in both Helmand and Kandahar province was continuing. An Afghan policeman was killed and three others were wounded when rebels fired on their vehicle in central Logar province, south of Kabul, on Thursday. Earlier in the week, three civilians were killed in Kabul on Monday (August 11) when a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a NATO convoy on the eastern outskirts of the city. One NATO soldier was reportedly wounded in the attack. In a similar attack in northern Faryab province on Monday, 12 civilians and two NATO soldiers were wounded when a roadside bomb struck a NATO convoy. Afghan and US-led coalition troops backed by close air support killed 25 Taliban insurgents and eight civilians during an ambush on a suspected compound on Sunday (August 10) in central Uruzgan (also spelled Oruzgan) province. According to a coalition statement, troops did not know that civilians were in the compound when they called in airstrikes.

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, more than 200,000 Afghan refugees have returned to Afghanistan. (UNHCR, Aug-4))

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	Afghan and US-led coalition troops backed by close air support killed 25 Taliban insurgents and eight civilians during an ambush on a suspected compound on Sunday (Aug-10) in Uruzgan (also spelled Oruzgan) province. According to a coalition statement, troops did not know that civilians were in the compound when they called in airstrikes. (MSNBC, BBC, Aug-11) US-led coalition troops killed several militants and five civilians, including four women and a child, during a security sweep in Giro district in Ghazni province on Thursday (Aug-7). (TOI, Aug-7) Coalition forces killed several insurgents on Tuesday (Aug-5) in Kapisa province. (DW, ReliefWeb, Aug-6)
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	A rocket landed near the civilian terminal of the main Kabul international airport Thursday (Aug-14) morning. There were no reports of injuries. (BBC, CNN, Aug-14) An Afghan policeman was killed and three others wounded when rebels fired on their vehicle in Logar province, south of Kabul, on Thursday. (CNN, BBC, Aug-14) Four aid workers, including three foreign females from US-based NGO International Rescue Committee (IRC), were shot dead in Logar on Wednesday (Aug-13). (CNN, BBC, HT, Aug-14) Three civilians were killed in Kabul on Monday (Aug-11) when a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a NATO convoy on the eastern outskirts of the city. (MSNBC, BBC, Aug-11)
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	Three Taliban insurgents were killed in Paktia province on Friday (Aug-8) when a roadside bomb they were planting exploded prematurely. (Reuters, Alertnet, Aug-2) An explosion in a mosque killed two people, including the Imam, in eastern Paktika province on Monday (Aug-4). (Reuters, BBC, MSNBC, Aug-4)
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	In an attack in Faryab province on Monday (Aug-11), 12 civilians and two NATO soldiers were wounded when a roadside bomb struck a NATO convoy. (MSNBC, BBC, Aug-11) Three German soldiers belonging to the NATO-led forces were injured in a suicide bomb attack in Baghlan province on Wednesday (Aug-6). (DW, ReliefWeb, Aug-6) US-led coalition forces killed several militants and detained one during a security sweep in Tala Wa Barf district in Baghlan on Sunday (Aug-3), (Reuters, Aug-2-4) Afghan security forces detained five Taliban militants during a security sweep on August 1 in Baghlan. (Reuters, Aug-2-4)
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	The Afghan Interior Ministry said Thursday (Aug-14) that police had withdrawn from two posts in Nad Ali district in Helmand province following two weeks of fighting that left at least 15 policemen dead and another 15 wounded. (CNN, HT, Aug-14) A spokesman for the Interior Ministry said Thursday that Taliban insurgents have killed six policemen and wounded 10 others in Ghorak district in Kandahar province in fighting that began about two weeks ago. (CNN, HT, Aug-14) Three US-led coalition soldiers on foot patrol were killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan on Thursday. The nationalities of the troops have not been released. (CNN, Aug-14)
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)