January 19, 2007

 

 

Overview

 

Senior Taliban commander, spokesperson captured in Afghanistan
On Wednesday (January 17), NATO-led troops, in conjunction with Afghan security forces, claimed to have detained a prominent Taliban commander in Gereshk district in southern Helmand province during a raid late Tuesday (January 16). According to NATO, the captured Taliban commander is the leader of insurgents in Panjwayi district in neighboring Kandahar province. His name was not released by NATO forces for interrogation purposes. The arrest is the first of a Taliban leader by NATO and Afghan security forces. It also came a day after Afghan security forces arrested Mohammad Hanif, a purported Taliban spokesman, at the Torkham border post as he crossed from Pakistan. Qari Yousef Ahmadi, another purported Taliban spokesman, confirmed Hanif's arrest. Afghan authorities later released a video recording of part of an interrogation of Mohammad Hanif, in which he claimed that fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar was living in the Pakistani city of Quetta under the protection of Pakistan's intelligence agency, ISI [Inter-Services Intelligence]. He also claimed that former ISI chief General Hamid Gul was organizing the training of suicide bombers at a religious school. Pakistani officials rejected the accusations, saying that it appeared to be given under coercion. Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan continue to hit new lows since Afghan President Hamid Karzai directly accused Pakistan of failing to help control militant violence inside Afghan borders. Pakistan denies the Afghan allegations.

 

Commanders seek more troops for Afghanistan in anticipation of increased violence
US commanders in Afghanistan are seeking an increase in US troop levels amid worsening security and in anticipation of a spring offensive by Taliban militants. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who arrived for a two-day visit to Afghanistan on Tuesday (January 16), told reporters on Wednesday (January 17) that US commanders have recommended the increase in force levels. Gates said an increase would depend in part on troop contributions from other NATO nations. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace, who is accompanying Gates on the visit, said the move might make sense if it would head off the potential need for an even larger troop deployment in the future. Gates said any recommendation for a troop increase will be first considered by the joint chiefs. Gates also held talks with Afghan Defense Minister Mohammad Zahir Zaimi, the US top commander in Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, as well as British General David Richards, the commander of the 33,000-strong NATO-led forces in the country. Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry told reporters that he recommended the extension of the tour of duty for some 1,200 soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, and 10th Mountain Division through the end of the year. The battalion, which is already halfway through its four-month deployment, was originally scheduled to deploy to Iraq later this year. US commanders in Afghanistan assert that despite a recent resurgence, the Taliban is not militarily strong. On Tuesday, Lt. Gen. Eikenberry told US reporters that the Taliban operates on both sides of the border, and uses havens in Pakistan. According to some US intelligence officials, insurgent attacks in the border area have increased some 300 percent since Pakistan reached a controversial peace deal with the tribal militants in North Waziristan last September. However, other US officials say a surge in violence may be due to the fact that NATO-led operations also carried out more military operations in more places during the same time period. Pakistan is under intense criticism for not doing enough to curb cross-border infiltrations by Taliban militants. Pakistan rejects the criticism, saying that it is doing more than any other country and that security along the border is not only Pakistan's sole responsibility. The US currently has some 24,000 troops in Afghanistan, of which some 11,000 are under NATO's command.

Suicide bombing leaves two dead and five wounded in southeastern Afghanistan

Two people, including an Afghan soldier and a bomber, were killed and five others wounded in a suicide bomb attack in southeastern Afghanistan on Thursday (January 18). The attack reportedly took place in the main market in the provincial capital of Sharana in southeastern Paktika province. Three other soldiers and two civilians were injured. Separately, Afghan authorities claim they have arrested three people in the border town of Spin Boldak in southern Kandahar province. The detainees reportedly entered from Pakistan, and were in a car full of explosives that were to be distributed and used to carry out bombings in Kandahar. According to Afghan officials, the three men told authorities upon interrogation about the presence of camps in Pakistan that recruit and train suicide bombers.

 

Movement

 

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.

 

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.

 

In 2006, UNHCR/IOM will assist with IDP returns and initial integration and then terminate the program. The recognized IDP population is about 150,000 with 120,000 in the south, including 45,000 in the Zhare Dasht camp near Kandahar, 15,000 in the west, mostly in Herat’s Maslakh camp, and 12,000 elsewhere.

 

Afghanistan Relief Efforts: United Nations Coordination Regions

 

 

 

 

 

Central Region

 

 

 

East Central Region

 

 

Eastern Region

 

 

Northeastern Region

 

 

Northern Region

 

 

Southern Region

 

 

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	An estimated
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	12,000 IDPs, mostly in Maslakh camp
Movement IDPs	IOM
Food	WFP has sent 127 tons of food assistance for some 3,515 flood-affected families in Badghis province. (OCHA, Nov. 23) IRC, CARITAS, UNICEF, World Vision, IOM, Action Contre la Faim; WFP;
Health
Non-Food Items (NFIs) – Shelter	UNHCR sent 50 tents, 1,000 blankets, 500 plastic sheets, 20 jerry cans and 500 lanterns for flood victims in Badghis. (OCHA, Nov. 23) UNHCR, Iranian Red Crescent, UNICEF, IOM, Ockenden Int’l, MSF, IMC;
Security
Water & Sanitation	UNICEF
Comments

 

 

Refugee Camps in Pakistan

 

 

Location	Long-term camps in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Baluchistan Province, and by capital, Islamabad; Mohamed Kheil 1 & 2 camps (85 km southwest of Quetta)
Type	Refugee Camps
Coordination	UNHCR.
Camp Capacity	About one million mostly long term Afghans in 74 camps—down from about 200 camps.
Population	Estimated 2.6 million Afghan refugees remain in Pakistan; 63 camps in NWFP, 10 in Baluchistan; and one million elsewhere; Many occupants are long-term residents or were born in Pakistan;
Refugee Movement	UNHCR-assisted returns resumed on March 1. All FATA camps have been closed. 445,000 Afghans returned home from Pakistan in 2005—two thirds were long-term refugees; Pakistan to close Giordi Jungle and Pir Alizai camps in Baloshistan, and Kacha Gari camp in NWFP by the end of July, 2006. (UNNC, June 2). The 250,000 residents will either return to Afghanistan or be relocated to Mohammad Kheil camp, near Quetta in Baluchistan, or ten camps in NWFP.
Food	WFP, CRS, ARC
Health	UNICEF, MSF
Non-Food Items (NFIs) - Shelter	CRS
Security	Pakistani security force of 70,000 to 80,000 reports having border areas secured; Significant clashes between Pakistani government forces and others in border province areas; “Finger-pointing” between Afghan and Pakistan leaders over curbing Taliban and Al-Qaeda along shared border areas
Water & Sanitation	IFRC, MDM
Comments