March 9, 2007

 

 

Overview

 

Afghan President Karzai condemns civilian deaths following US military raid

Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned civilian deaths following two separate incidents involving the US military over the past weekend. At least nine people were killed on Sunday (March 4) in a US-led airstrike on a suspected terrorist compound in eastern Kapisa province. According to the provincial governor, Sayed Dawood Hashimi, the strike followed a rocket attack on a US military base in Nijrab, located in Kapisa. A US-led coalition spokesman confirmed that the US military had dropped two 1,000-pound bombs on a building, killing nine people, and added that an investigation is underway. He said it was not clear if those killed were civilians or insurgents. In another incident, some 16 civilians were reportedly killed and as many as 30 wounded when US marines opened fire following a suicide car bomb attack against a military convoy on the outskirts of Jalalabad in eastern Nangarhar province. According to some eyewitnesses, the US troops fired indiscriminately on civilian cars and pedestrians as they sped away from the scene. The US-based rights group, Human Rights Watch, has called the killing of the civilians by the military unacceptable and urged the US military to heed to the call of President Karzai for immediate investigation into the incidents.

 

Taliban militants continue to hold Italian journalist

Taliban insurgents continue to hold an Italian journalist and two Afghan translators. Daniele Mastrogiacomo, working for Italy’s La Repubblica news, and his two Afghan colleagues were seized earlier this week by insurgents as they crossed into Nad Ali in southern Helmand province. A Taliban spokesman earlier alleged that Mastrogiacomo was spying for British troops. Mullah Hayat Khan, a purported Taliban spokesman, said today (Friday, March 9) that they were still questioning Mastrogiacomo, and if he is found innocent, he will be released. However, he added that they will not spare any spy. The Taliban has alleged that Mastrogiacomo was carrying lasers with him that they suspect were used in targeting airstrikes. Italian officials said they had not received any evidence that Mastrogiacomo was still alive, adding that any negotiations with the kidnappers will begin only after they have the proof that he is still alive.

 

At least 11 suspected Taliban militants detained in eastern Afghanistan

US-led coalition and Afghan security forces have reportedly detained at least 11 suspected Taliban militants in separate raids in eastern Afghanistan. Mullah Mahmood, who is described as an IED (improvised explosive device) expert and an alleged logistics officer for an outfit known as the Tora Bora Front (TBF), which facilitates the movement of militants from Pakistan to Afghanistan, was arrested along with five others during a raid at a compound near the eastern city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province on Wednesday (March 7). According to a US-led coalition statement, acting on a "credible" intelligence tip, it raided the compound and arrested the six suspects without any resistance. In another raid in the eastern city of Khost on Wednesday, the coalition forces arrested five men suspected of involvement in anti-government activities and "known terrorist groups." Troops also seized a cache of grenades and armor-piercing rounds during the search. No injuries were recorded during the raid. The raids come as NATO and Afghan security forces launched a 5,500-strong major spring security offensive dubbed “Operation Achilles” against Taliban militants and drug traffickers in southern Helmand province.

 

Fugitive Afghan warlord Hekmatyar splits with Taliban

Fugitive Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is reportedly ending his cooperation with the Taliban. In a recorded interview to the Associated Press from an undisclosed location, Hekmatyar hinted that he was open to talks with President Hamid Karzai but added that due to US pressure on the Afghan government, talks were unlikely. According to reports on Thursday (March 8), he said, "We say that dialog can only be fruitful if the aggressors truly allow the Kabul government to halt the fighting, negotiate with the mujahideen and honor what Kabul and the resistance decide." He added, "This is the prime and basic demand of the Afghan nation and if such a conducive environment could be provided, we can go for dialog with Karzai." Hekmatyar said certain elements among the Taliban were opposed to the idea of a joint struggle against the US, adding that it was not a good move on the part of the Taliban to disassociate themselves from the joint struggle. Hekmatyar's Hezb-i-Islami fighters are known to be active in eastern Afghanistan. He added that his forces were carrying out only limited operations due to a lack of resources. He is wanted by the US and the Afghan government. He also survived an assassination attempt by the CIA in 2002 when a CIA drone fired a missile at him.

 

 

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.

 

UN-assisted voluntary Afghan refugee repatriation in Pakistan resumed on Thursday (March 1) with a first group of 25 refugees leaving for Afghanistan.

 

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

 

 

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	One Spanish female soldier was killed and two other soldiers wounded when their vehicle ran over a powerful landmine in the town of Shindad in western Herat province. (BBC, Feb. 21)   Three Afghan policemen were killed and another three wounded in a roadside bomb blast in western Farah province as they were returning from a poppy eradication campaign. (BBC, Feb. 18).   One civilian was killed and four others wounded when policemen clashed with angry farmers during a poppy eradication campaign in Ghor province. (BBC, Feb. 18)
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
Food	WFP, CRS, ARC
Health	UNICEF, MSF
Non-Food Items (NFIs) - Shelter	CRS
Security	“Finger-pointing” between Afghan and Pakistan leaders over curbing Taliban and Al-Qaeda along shared border areas
Water & Sanitation	IFRC, MDM
Comments	The Pakistan government has identified existing camps in Dhir and Chitral in the northern part of the country as relocation sites for Afghans who can not return to Afghanistan following recent camp closures in NWFP and Balochistan. (UNHCR, Feb. 21)   2,161,984 Afghans were registered between October 2006 and yesterday. Of the total, 1,368,316 were registered in North West Frontier Province; 454,726 in Balochistan; 240,698 in Punjab and Islamabad; 92,189 in Sindh; and 6,055 in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir (PcK). More than 2.87 million Afghans have returned home from Pakistan since 2002, including over 133,000 in 2006. (Feb. 16, Reuters)   As of February 2, 2007, over two million Afghan refugees in Pakistan have registered in a US$6-million refugee registration campaign jointly carried out by the UNHCR and Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA). (UNHCR, Feb. 2)   Pakistan will close four Afghan refugee camps in its border areas, Girdi Jungle and Jungle Pir Alizai in southwestern Balochistan province, and Katchagari and Jalozai in North West Frontier Province (NWFP), by August this year. The camps house about 230,000 people. Katchagari and Jungle Pir Alizai will be closed by June 15, while Jalozi and Girdi Jungle will be closed by August 31. (BBC, UNHCR, Feb-09)