January 26, 2007

 

 

Overview

 

India boosts its aid package for Afghanistan by US$100 million

India is boosting its reconstruction aid for Afghanistan by US$100 million. Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who visited India this week made the announcement on Tuesday (January 23). In a joint press conference with his Afghan counterpart, Rangin Dadfar Spanta, Mukherjee said, "As part of India's long-term commitment to the stability, progress and peace, I would like to announce additional 100 million U.S. dollars and with this pledge, India's total assistance to Afghanistan reconstruction becomes US$750 million." Mukherjee also said that allowing the building of a transit facility by Pakistan was essential for connecting Central Asia with Asia. Spanta added that he was hopeful that in the long run, Pakistan, Afghanistan and India will overcome the problem of "disconnect" and connectivity with be re-established.

 

NATO to boost Afghan troop presence

NATO is boosting its troop presence in Afghanistan in anticipation of renewed fighting with Taliban militants in the spring. Speaking at the opening of a joint operations center in the Afghan capital Kabul on Thursday (January 25), British General David Richards, commander of the NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, said that he anticipates at least another brigade of combat troops from countries contributing troops to the UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) arriving in Afghanistan shortly, and added that more troops might arrive later. Richards did not say how many troops he is expecting. However, a brigade is typically between 1,500 to 3,500 soldiers. The joint operations center that will be manned by officers from Afghanistan, Pakistan and NATO, is aimed at increasing coordination in counterinsurgency operations. Although Richards did not specify which country additional troops will come from, it is thought that the extra troops will come from the United States as Richards statement comes a day after the US defense department announced that it is extending the tour of duty for some 3,200 soldiers from the New York-based 10th mountain division who are already in Afghanistan for another four months. Some of the troops would form a “theater tactical reserve” – a flexible battalion regularly requested by the NATO commander. Meanwhile, US Major General Benjamin Freakley said on Friday (January 26) that a sharp spike in violence last year is due to the expansion of the US and NATO force operations, rather than the initiative of the resurgent Taliban. According to the military, attacks by insurgents have surged from 1,558 in 2005 to 4,542 last year. However, a US intelligence officer said on condition of anonymity that in some cases insurgents have been launching more coordinated and sophisticated attacks.

 

Suicide attack outside NATO base in southeastern Afghanistan kills at least 10

At least ten people, mostly civilians, were killed and another fourteen wounded in a suicide bomb attack in southeastern Afghanistan on Tuesday (January 23). The attack took place outside a NATO military base in southeastern Khost province, when a suicide bomber detonated explosives attached to his body among a group of laborers waiting to enter the base. The dead also included two Afghan policemen. No foreign troops were hurt in the attack. Although no one has claimed responsibility for the bombing, provincial governor Arsala Jamal blamed "enemies of the state" --a phrase reserved for the Taliban. In a separate incident in Kandahar, suspected Taliban militants ambushed a police convoy, killing eight policemen. Four of the attackers were also reportedly killed in the attack. The attack is the biggest so far this year. It came a day after NATO commander General David Richards warned of increased violence in the coming months and called for more troops to gain a decisive victory over the Taliban, instead of simply maintaining a stabilized situation. On Thursday, Afghan border police clashed with suspected militants in Gomal district in eastern Paktika province, leaving 10 suspected Taliban and one police officer dead. On Friday (January 26), a policeman was injured in another suicide attack in Lashkar Gah, capital of southern Helmand province. The attack occurred outside the office of a US-funded aid group when the bomber tried to enter the office. NATO officials said on Friday that a NATO airstrike destroyed a Taliban command post outside Musa Qala town in Helmand province on Thursday (January 25), killing a Taliban commander and his deputies. However, the names of those killed were not disclosed. Although a peace pact was signed between the Helmand governor and local elders, NATO denied it violated the pact. Separately, an assailant gunned down an Afghan legislator in the capital of Kabul on Friday as well. Mohammad Islam Mohammadi was governor of Bamiyan province when the Taliban destroyed two giant Buddhist statues there in 2001, sparking off an international outcry. However, Mohammadi was elected in 2005 to represent northern Samangan province in parliament, and he has denied that he was directly responsible for the destruction of the statues.

 

Afghan government decides not to spray poppies until 2008

The Afghan government says it will redouble its efforts to eradicate poppy cultivation using "traditional" techniques and hold off the ground spraying of chemicals until 2008. Said Mohammad Azam, spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, told the Associated Press on Thursday (January 25) that the Afghan cabinet over last weekend (Sunday, January 21) had decided against the use of chemicals to eradicate poppies due to their potentially serious health implications. Karzai said earlier this week that if his government is unable to reduce the poppy crop this year, he would allow the spraying of the crop in 2008. The decision comes despite pressure from the United States and Britain to allow a spraying technique already used in countries such as Colombia. UN officials have stressed that any successful poppy eradication scheme has to go hand-in-hand with programs for alternative livelihood. Since the ouster of the hardline Taliban regime in 2001, Afghanistan has become the top producer of opium—the main ingredient to manufacture heroin. More than 90 percent of the heroin in Britain and other European markets reportedly originates from Afghanistan. Afghan warlords and hardline Taliban militants reportedly use the income derived from the drug trade to fund their private armies and insurgency.

 

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