August 3, 2007

Overview

At least 30 killed in violence across Afghanistan this week

At least 30 people, including civilians, were killed in separate incidents across Afghanistan this week. The bullet-ridden bodies of four kidnapped Afghan judges were found in southeastern Ghazni province on Wednesday (Aug. 1). They were kidnapped about two weeks ago from Paktika province by Taliban insurgents. As many as seven civilians and three soldiers were wounded in a suicide car bomb attack aimed at a US-led military convoy on the outskirts of Kabul on Tuesday (July 31). One Afghan policeman was reportedly killed when US troops opened fire at a police team responding to the scene of the bombing. A suicide bomb attack in Kunduz killed an Afghan intelligence official and wounded eight civilians and a policeman on Monday (July 30). A suicide bomb attack in northern Kunduz province on Monday (July 30) killed an Afghan intelligence official and wounded eight civilians. Three Taliban militants were killed in a clash with Afghan security forces in Maiwand district in Kandahar on Monday (July 30). Taliban militants also killed 10 employees of a private US security company in an ambush in southern Zabul province on Monday (July 30). An Afghan aid worker working for the Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees (DACAAR), who was wounded in a crossfire in northwestern Badghis province on Sunday (July 29) reportedly died of his injuries later before making it to a hospital. Taliban militants killed five Afghan policemen and abducted four others in an ambush in southwestern Nimroz province on Saturday (July 28). The incidents underscore the persistent insecurity that has lately been spreading to the country’s north, which has otherwise been relatively calm.

Rights groups call for the immediate release of hostages in Afghanistan

International rights groups Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International (AI) are calling on the Taliban to immediately and unconditionally release all hostages in their custody. In a statement released yesterday (Thursday, August 2), AI urged the Taliban to comply with international laws. Also, in a news release on Tuesday (July 31), HRW said the recent abductions and hostage-takings of at least five Afghans, two Germans, and 23 South Korean civilians, and the reported killing of several of them, amounted to war crimes. Joanne Mariner, HRW’s terrorism and counterterrorism director said, “The Taliban’s abductions and murders show contempt for human life and disregard for the laws of war.” She said hostage-taking and summary executions were in violation of the 1949 Geneva Conventions as well as the customary international laws. Mariner said, “The Taliban seem to think the laws of war don’t apply to them,” adding that “The world is paying attention to their crimes.” The comments come following the abduction of several civilians in recent weeks. Two Koreans and one German hostage have been killed by the Taliban over the past 10 days, while the remaining continue to be held by the Taliban.

Afghan Aid Worker Killed in western Afghanistan

A staff member of the Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees (DACAAR) was reportedly killed by unidentified gunmen on July 29 in Afghanistan's northwestern Badghis province. 43-year-old Abdul Khaleq was shot trying to escape fighting that broke out that night between armed opposition groups and locals in Qadis district. DACAAR has suspended its operations in Qadis district, pending improvements in security. DACAAR has worked for several years in the area by assisting with rural development projects for Badghis province. Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the abduction of the 23 South Koreans on July 19, Afghanistan's Ministry of Interior has ordered Afghan security forces not to allow foreign aid workers to travel outside the capital, Kabul, without an armed escort. However, non-government organizations (NGOs) are questioning the Afghan government’s decision. Hashim Mayar, deputy director of Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief (ACBAR), an umbrella NGO-coordination group said, "Armed escorts will undoubtedly make NGOs a legitimate target for anti-government elements." He also said that the directive may fuel government corruption and that providing an itinerary to the Afghan police could increase security risks. Oxfam said, "Whilst we understand the reasons for this move, we believe it is disproportionate and could have adverse consequences for development works, particularly in rural areas."

Tripartite agreement on Afghan refugee repatriations from Pakistan extended through December 2009

Afghanistan, Pakistan and UNHCR yesterday (Thursday, August 2) extended the tripartite agreement governing the voluntary repatriation of registered Afghans from Pakistan through December 2009. The agreement provides a legal and operational framework for the process. To date, more than three million Afghans have returned from Pakistan under the voluntary repatriation program since 2002. This year, more than 300,000 Afghans have returned to their homes from Pakistan under the UN-backed voluntary repatriation program.

Movement

2007: Pakistan to close all Afghan refugee camps by December 2009 and to repatriate all refugees living in the country.

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

On Wednesday (July 25), a French NATO soldier was killed in a rocket attack while training an Afghan army unit southwest of Kabul in Wardak province, said the French defense ministry. (Reuters, July 25)

On Tuesday, (July 24), 26 suspected militants and two policemen were killed in clashes in Uruzgan province, where militants had blocked the road to Kandahar. NATO and Afghan troops later joined the battle and reopened the blocked road. (Reuters, July 24)

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	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	As many as seven civilians and three soldiers were wounded in a suicide car bomb attack aimed at a US-led military convoy on the outskirts of Kabul. One Afghan was reportedly killed when US troops opened fire at a police team responding to the scene of the bombing. (MSNBC, July 31) *Taliban continue to hold four Afghans and one German abducted on July 18 in central Wardak province. (AlertNet, Aug. 1).* They were reportedly civil engineers working for UN building projects. (People’s Daily Online, July 20) A suicide bomber targeted Turkish forces in the capital Kabul but the bomber only managed to kill himself and injure one civilian, according to the Afghan Ministry of Interior. (IHT, July 18)
Water & Sanitation	ICRC;
Comments	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;
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) Jalalabad PRT distributed hygiene kits, first-aid kits, tarps, school kits, and student kits to the Char Bagh Girls Middle School in Sirjkh Rod District, in Nangarhar province. (NATO, Feb. 11)
Non-Food Items - Shelter	CWS, UNICEF
Security	On Wednesday (July 25), Khwaja Najibullah, a journalist of Afghan origin who worked for Danish television, released in eastern Kunar province after being briefly abducted. He said his abductors had released him after being pressured by locals to do so. (Reuters, July 25) On Monday (July 23), a Norwegian NATO soldier was killed in eastern Logar province in an exchange of gunfire with suspected insurgents while on reconnaissance. (Reuters, July 23) On Sunday (July 22), a bomb blast in eastern Paktika province killed four American NATO soldiers on combat patrol. (Reuters, July 22)
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	One civilian was killed and up to 25 wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a police station in the town of Faizabad in the relatively calm northeastern Badakhshan province on Thursday (July 19). AP, (Reuters, July 19) 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	An Afghan working for the Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees (DACAAR) who was wounded in Qadis district in northwestern Badghis province on Sunday (July 29) while trying to escape the scene of fighting, has reportedly died. DACAAR has suspended its activities in Qadis until security improves. (ReliefWeb, Reuters, Aug. 1, 2). *A suicide bomb attack in Kunduz killed an Afghan intelligence official and wounded eight civilians and a policeman on Monday (July 30). (MSNBC, July 31)*
Water & Sanitation	UNICEF, ICRC, DACAAR
Comments	A landslide triggered by heavy rain on Sunday (June 24) killed six children in Kunduz province. (IFRC, June 29) On Wednesday (June 27) floods in Panjshir province killed 24 people and injured 40 others. (June 29, IFRC)

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	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	ISAF troops delivered some eight tons of food and non-food items and medical supplies to a village near Kandahar. (NATO, Mar. 28) UNICEF; Mercy Corps; CARITAS; WFP;
Health	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) Up to 80 diarrhea patients are daily visiting a hospital in Laskargah, the provincial capital of Helmand province, due to contamination from recent floods. Provincial officials in southern Khost, Kandahar and eastern Nangarhar provinces have also confirmed hundreds of diarrhea cases. (IRIN, July 11)
NFIs - Shelter	UNHCR, Mercy Corps;
Security	The bullet-ridden bodies of four kidnapped Afghan judges were found in southeastern Ghazni province on Wednesday (Aug. 1). They were kidnapped about two weeks ago from Paktika province by Taliban insurgents. (KT, AlertNet, Aug. 1) *Taliban insurgents continue to hold 21 South Korean Christians abducted on July 19 in Ghazni as negotiations for their release continue. (KT, AlertNet, Aug. 1)* *Three Taliban militants were killed in a clash with Afghan security forces after they ambushed a police checkpoint in Maiwand district in Kandahar Monday night (July 30). (MSNBC, July 31)* *Taliban militants ambush and kill 10 Afghan employees of a private US security company in Zabul on Monday (KT, Reuters, July 30)* *Taliban militants kill five policemen and abduct four others in an ambush in southwestern Nimroz province on Saturday (July 29). (MSNBC, Reuters, July 30)*
Water & Sanitation	UNICEF
Comments	*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)* Afghanistan’s Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) to launch 72 new projects worth US$2.6 million in southern provinces, creating jobs benefiting thousands of families. (Reliefweb, July 30) Floods in Kunar province on Monday (June 25) left seven dead and three missing. The floods also damaged houses, agricultural lands and infrastructure. (IFRC, June 29) Five people were killed in flash floods that hit Qarabagh and Farza districts in Kabul province on Monday (June 25). In Nirjab district, in Kapisa province, three people were killed and one left missing by floods. In Parwan province, five people were killed and eight others injured in Surkhparsa district. (IFRC, June 29)

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	Taliban militants released four kidnapped Afghan health workers in Helmand province in exchange for the body of Taliban leader, Mullah Dadullah – one other hostage was beheaded. (Reuters, Thursday, June 7) At least two policemen were killed in a roadside bomb blast in Kandahar and another policeman was killed in a similar incident in Zabul on Thursday (June 7). (BBC, June 8) At least 30 Taliban fighters were killed when US-led helicopter gunships sank their boat on the Helmand River on Tuesday (June 5) (AP, June 5) As many as 60 suspected Taliban fighters were killed on Saturday (June 2) when their makeshift boat sank on the Helmand River. (AP, BBC, June 4) Suspected Taliban militants stormed into the house of a police commander in Ghazni, killing his wife, two sons and two nephews. (AP, June 1)
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, March 23) 12,000 IDPs, mostly in Maslakh camp
Movement IDPs	IOM
Food	IRC, CARITAS, UNICEF, World Vision, IOM, Action Contre la Faim; WFP; WFP said on Wednesday (July 11) that it has resumed some food deliveries along the southern ring road, allowing it to deliver food to the western region. Normal operations moving 1,500 to 1,200 tons of food each week are planned. In late May, WFP suspended some of its deliveries to parts of southern, eastern and western Afghanistan due to insecurity. (WFP, July 11)
Health	Some 3,800 people have been treated for gastrointestinal disorders due to contaminated water from floods over the past three weeks in Herat province. (IRIN, July 11)
Non-Food Items (NFIs) – Shelter	UNHCR, Iranian Red Crescent, UNICEF, IOM, Ockenden Int’l, MSF, IMC;
Security	Afghan officials said over the weekend (Saturday, July 7) that they were checking reports of heavy civilian casualties in airstrikes carried out by NATO and US-led coalition forces last Friday (July 6) in western Farah province and southeastern Kunar province. The airstrikes reportedly killed well over 100 civilians, including women and children, as well as thirty-three militants. (AP, July 11)
Water & Sanitation	UNICEF
Comments

Refugee Camps in Pakistan

Location	Long-term camps in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), NWFP, Baluchistan Province, and by capital, Islamabad; Mohamed Kheil 1 & 2 camps (85 km southwest of Quetta)
Type	Refugee Camps
Coordination	Afghanistan, Pakistan and UNHCR on Thursday (August 2) extended the tripartite agreement governing the voluntary repatriation of registered Afghans from Pakistan through December 2009. The agreement provides a legal and operational framework for the process. To date, more than 3 million Afghans have returned from Pakistan under the voluntary repatriation program since 2002. This year, more than 300,000 Afghans have returned. (UNHCR, GOP, August 2) The Kacha Garhi Afghan refugee camp was officially closed on Thursday (July 26). Kacha Garhi, set up in 1980 and located in Hayatabad in NWFP, had 64,000 registered Afghans. The closure followed two years of negotiations, as many refugees initially did not want to repatriate. By the camp's closure, some 37,000 refugees had been repatriated by the UNHCR. Most refugees were originally from Afghanistan's eastern and central provinces of Nangarhar, Laghman, Kabul, and Logar. (UNHCR, July 27)
Camp Capacity	About one million mostly long term Afghans in 74 camps—down from about 200 camps.
Population	*2.05 million registered Afghans remaining in Pakistan*; 63 camps in NWFP, 12 in Baluchistan; and one million elsewhere; Many occupants are long-term residents or were born in Pakistan; (UNHcR, August 2) Jungle Pir Alizai (Balochistan): 36,000, originally scheduled to close June 15 Kacha Gari (NWFP): original population of 64,811, officially closed July 26 – 37,000 repatriated. (UNHCR, July 27) Jalozai ( NWFP): 109,934, scheduled to close August 31 Girdi Jungle (Balochistan): 17,844, scheduled to close August 31 (IRIN, June 14)
Refugee Movement	Pakistan wants some 2 million Afghan refugees to return home by 2009. (AP, June 14) UNHCR has resumed voluntary repatriation of Afghans from Pakistan since Tuesday (July 17). VRCs along the Quetta-Chaman road and in Peshawar will process registered Afghans. (Frontier Post, July 17)
Food	UNHCR in coordination with local and international organizations is helping some 4,000 Afghans in five flood-affected Afghan refugee camps in Balochistan province. The assistance mainly included non-food items such as tents and tarpaulins. (IRIN, July 26). WFP, CRS, ARC
Health	UNICEF, MSF
Non-Food Items (NFIs) - Shelter	CRS
Security	At least three Pakistani villagers and an Afghan refugee were killed when hundreds of villagers and refugees living in and near the Jungle Pir Alizai camp in Balochistan province clashed with police sent to demolish their homes. (AP, June 14)
Water & Sanitation	IFRC, MDM
Comments	In the wake of Cyclone Yemyin, which struck Pakistan’s Balochistan province last week, the UN is helping the Pakistani government with flood relief. UNHCR is providing 15 tons of emergency supplies to thousands of affected Afghan refugees. UNHCR says it is airlifting relief items from stocks in Peshawar to Quetta, where the agency will base operations. UNHCR says that some Afghan camps in the Chagai district of Balochistan have been hit by floods. The district is home to more than 33,000 Afghans. UNHCR and partners were able to visit some of the affected areas, but says that it is difficult to get an overall view of the situation due to logistical and other challenges. (UNHCR, July 3) Pakistan authorities say that a June 15 deadline to close the Jungle Pir Alizai and Katchagari camps in Balochistan province will not be met as residents remain reluctant to leave. Authorities are seeking help from local tribal elders. Two other camps, Jalozi in NWFP and Girdi Jungle in Balochistan, are still scheduled to close on August 15. The camps all host about 230,000 people. (AP, June 14)