August 17, 2007

Overview

Afghan and foreign forces launch major military offensive in eastern Afghanistan

US and Afghan forces on Wednesday (August 15) launched a major offensive against Taliban and al-Qaeda militants in the Tora Bora Mountains of Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province near the Pakistan border. Hundreds of ground troops and airstrikes are targeting foreign fighters in the infamous Tora Bora cave complex where Osama bin Laden once escaped possible capture by the US-led coalition and Afghan forces in 2001. Since the launch of the military campaign in Tora Bora, more than 50 militants have been reportedly killed by the security forces. However, according to local witnesses, as many as 35 civilians are also among dead. NATO confirmed today (Friday, August 17) that five civilians were killed during a gunfight between NATO forces and Afghan militants in eastern Afghanistan, without disclosing when and where the casualties took place. According to some reports, dozens of families have fled the area to escape fighting. Also, earlier this week (Monday, August 13), eleven people, including six civilians, were killed when a rocket-propelled-grenade (RPG) struck a vehicle during an insurgent attack aimed at a NATO convoy in the southern province of Kandahar. A separate clash on Monday (August 13) between Afghan forces and al-Qaeda militants in the southeastern province of Ghazni left four militants dead.

Taliban free two female Korean hostages in Afghanistan

Afghanistan's Taliban have freed two female members of a group of 21 South Korean hostages that they have been holding since July 19. The freed hostages, identified as Kim Kyung-ja and Kim Ji-na, were freed on Monday (August 13) when an Afghan elder named Haji Zahir drove them to an arranged meeting point on the outskirts of southeastern Ghazni province and turned them over to officials from the International Red Cross. The two women were then driven to the provincial capital of Ghazni city. They have since arrived in South Korea. Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a purported Taliban spokesman, said the release was unconditional and a goodwill gesture toward Korean people adding, "We are expecting the Korean people and government to force the Kabul administration and the US to take a step toward releasing Taliban prisoners." Speaking to reporters in the provincial capital, Ghazni, provincial governor Mirajudin Pathan ruled out any prisoner swap with the Taliban, saying that, "Our position is the same, we are not releasing (any Taliban prisoners)." The release of the hostages followed two days (Friday & Saturday) of face-to-face talks between two Taliban leaders and four South Korean officials. The talks are continuing without much further progress. The Taliban have said there was no immediate threat to the remaining 19 hostages as they await the results of the negotiations. Meanwhile, the Afghan government has imposed a media ban on the coverage of hostage negotiations and media interviews with Taliban leaders at the negotiation talks, as well as photographs and videotaping, amid concerns that the militants would exploit the media to their advantage.

Pak-Afghan meeting of tribal elders ends on positive note

A four-day meeting of tribal elders and politicians from Afghanistan and Pakistan ended in the Afghan capital Kabul on Sunday (August 12) on a positive note. Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf, who earlier was unable to attend the opening ceremony of the tribal jirga (tribal council) due to some pressing domestic issues, addressed the closing ceremony. In his speech, Musharraf said, "Along with Afghanistan, Pakistan has also witnessed the rise of militancy and violence attacking our society. We cannot remain mired in the past." A joint declaration by the two countries vowed to pursue "an extended, tireless and persistent campaign against extremism and terrorism" to rescue their respective societies. Musharraf said his country wants to see a strong, peaceful and stable Afghanistan adding, "It is therefore painful for us to hear that we are deliberately causing disturbance or violence in your country. We do not have such a policy and we will never have such a shortsighted and disastrous policy." Afghan President Hamid Karzai said, "Afghanistan has confidence in its neighboring country," adding, "I'm praying that both countries have peace and prosperity." The statements of the two leaders have been the warmest in a long time. It remains to be seen what results this summit can produce. Musharraf also re-emphasized his view that the majority of the Taliban may be ignorant or misguided, but they all were not terrorists. He said there was a need to ensure that they were part of a lasting solution. Separately, violence continued across parts of Afghanistan's restive south, where as many as 10 Taliban militants and at least four foreign soldiers (three from US-led coalition forces, one NATO), were killed in separate attacks.

Movement

2007: Pakistan 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 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	*Major security offensive in Tora Bora mountains in Nangarhar province continues. At least 50 people, including civilians, are among the dead. (HT, BBC, ABC, Aug. 17)* 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)
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	*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, 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	*Four civilians, including three children and a district chief, were killed and two others wounded in a suicide bomb attack in Kandahar on Friday. (BBC, ABC, Aug. 17)* *Two South Korean hostages freed by Taliban militants on Monday (August 13). (BBC, Reuters, CNN, Aug. 13)* Afghan security forces killed nine suspected Taliban insurgents in Spin Boldak near the border with Pakistan. Insurgents killed five Afghan policemen in a roadside bomb attack near the same area. (HT, Aug. 13) Three Afghan deminers who went missing on Saturday (August 4) while traveling on the Kandahar-Panjway Highway were found shot dead on Monday (August 6). (BBC, Reliefweb, Aug. 6) At least four suspected Taliban militants were killed in a clash with Afghan police at a police checkpoint in Qarabagh district in Ghazni province on Tuesday (Aug. 7). (ABC, Aug. 7)
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
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	*At least five Taliban fighters and two tribal villagers were reportedly killed in a clash in Nal village in western Farah province on Friday (August 10). (KT, Aug. 10)* Seven Afghan soldiers and 20 Taliban militants were killed in a clash in western Badghis province on Friday (August 10). Afghan troops called in a NATO airstrike that caused mostly enemy casualties. (AFP, Aug. 10)
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)