November 3, 2006

Overview

Kidnapped Italian photo journalist freed in Afghanistan

Gabriele Torsello, an Italian photo journalist who was kidnapped along with his translator some three weeks ago in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, has reportedly been released by his abductors. It is not clear if any ransom was paid for Torsello’s release. According to reports, the kidnappers told the Italian aid organization Emergency that Torsello had been dropped off on a Kandahar road. An agency staffer drove and picked him up. According to Italy’s defense ministry, Torsello is reportedly in good condition.

Danish NGO suspends operation in eastern district in Paktia Province

Earlier this week (Tuesday, October 31), the Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees (DACAAR) said it was suspending all development activities in Jaji district, Paktia Province, until further notice. The announcement follows the death of one of DACAAR’s guards who was shot in an attack on a field office in Surgal village on October 24. The guard later died from his injuries in the hospital. Erik Toft, DACAAR’s director, said DACAAR has decided to put all activities on halt and relocate field staff until further investigation will clarify the incident. He said, “We do hope that we will soon be able to resume our activities and that the necessary steps will be taken by the local community in order to reinstall security in this area.”

International Think tank calls for more troops in Afghanistan

The Brussels (Belgian)-based think tank International Crisis Group (ICG) is warning that more foreign troops were needed in Afghanistan to deal with persistent insecurity across the country’s battle zones. In a report released Thursday (November 2), ICG said that insurgent attacks were increasingly creeping towards the Afghan capital of Kabul, adding that although the Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai was not immediately threatened, urgent action was needed. The report also noted that compared to other recent post-conflict situations like Bosnia and Kosovo, Afghanistan had proportionately fewer peacekeepers. According to the report, military power alone will not solve Afghanistan’s problems. Among other things, it calls on Afghan President Karzai to end corruption in his government and diplomatic pressure on neighboring Pakistan from where Taliban insurgents are believed to plan and launch attacks inside Afghanistan.

High-level UN Security Council mission to visit Afghanistan

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will send a nine-member high-level special mission to Afghanistan next week (November 10) to assess the situation on the ground. Jorge Voto-Bernales, Ambassador of Peru which holds UNSC’s presidency for November, told reporters that the mission will depart UN Headquarters in New York next Friday and travel first to Pakistan before arriving in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Sunday (November 12). The mission is scheduled to return to UN Headquarters on November 17. Mr. Voto-Bernales said that among other things, consultations on preventing conflict and genocide will be high on the list of the mission’s priorities.

Afghan health officials launch vaccination campaign for measles, tetanus and polio

The Afghan Ministry of Public Health, with the support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), launched a 10-day vaccination campaign on Wednesday (November 1) against measles, tetanus and polio in southern parts of Afghanistan. The drive, which started in Paktya (also spelled Paktia), Paktika and Khost provinces, will be extended Sunday (November 5) to ten districts in the southern provinces of Kandahar, Nimroz and Helmand, targeting about 540,000 children. Measles, tetanus and polio remain significant health problems in Afghanistan. WHO officials have said that the insurgency-hit south and southeastern areas of the country were especially susceptible to measles outbreaks this winter due to high internal displacement and low immunization. Additionally, neonatal tetanus is leading to approximately 10,000 deaths each year. Polio is also re-emerging in Afghanistan with 29 reported cases this year compared to only nine in all of 2005. Deteriorating security in southern and southeastern Afghanistan, which is blamed on Taliban militants who were toppled by a US-led coalition in 2001, has made it difficult for the government and aid organizations to reach some of the most vulnerable communities.

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

Location	Central Region
Coordination
Population
IDP Movement
Food
Health	FAO confirms H5N1 subtype of bird flu virus in Logar ICRC, IMC, MSF;
NFIs -Shelter	IOM, UNICEF, UNOCHA, & OXFAM
Water & Sanitation	UNICEF
Security	New Zealand PRT in Bamiyan;
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	IRC, Action Contre la Faim; WFP;
Health	Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Liu Jian on Thursday (Nov. 2) laid the foundation stone for the US$15.69 million China-funded new main Jamhuriat Hospital building in the Afghan capital of Kabul. (Xinhua, Nov. 2) UNICEF, CARITAS, MSF, IFRC, IRC, ICRC;
Non-Food Items - Shelter	UNHCR, ACTED, MSF, IRC, ICRC, IOM;
Security	On Tuesday (October 10), at least 11 people were wounded when a bomb attached to a bicycle exploded next to a police bus in the Afghan capital Kabul. (AP, BBC, Oct. 10)
Water & Sanitation	ICRC;
Comments	GOA and ISAF inaugurate a power plant in Alishang, near the village of Reyn in Laghman province. (NATO, Nov1)

Eastern Region

Location	Eastern Region
Coordination	UNHCR, International Islamic Relief Organization;
Population	More than 13,000 people displaced due to flooding in the region. (IRIN, August 10) 17,000 active IDPs in East
IDP Movement	UNHCR
Food	IRC;
Health	The Afghan Ministry of Health, in conjunction with UNICEF and WHO, launched a vaccination campaign for polio, tetanus and measles in Paktia, Paktika and Khost. (IRIN, Nov.1) MSF, IMC, WHO, ICRC, UNICEF
Non-Food Items - Shelter	CWS, UNICEF
Security	Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees (DACAAR) suspends all development activities in Jaji district in Paktia Province until further notice, following an attack on its field office that led to the death of one of its guards. (DACAAR, Nov. 1)
Water & Sanitation	CARITAS; ICRC, UNICEF
Comments	Due to persistent insecurity, WFP says it cannot deliver food assistance to three of four districts that have been most affected by floods in Ghazni. (WFP, August 30)

Northeastern Region

Location	Northeastern Region
Coordination
Population	9,000 active IDPs in North and Northeast
Movement IDPs
Food	USAID is providing 27,010 metric tons of food worth some US$16 million to help feed some 2.5 million people. The new pledge is in response to a joint UN-Afghan appeal issued last month. (IRIN, August 4) WFP sends 22 tons of food assistance to 1,930 beneficiaries in flood-affected Garziwan district in northern Faryab province, eight tons of food to Doshi district in Baghlan province and 1.4 tons of food relief to flood victims in Kohistanat district in Saripul. (IRIN, May 9) OXFAM, UNICEF, World Concern;
Health	WHO, Merlin, UNICEF, MSF; ICRC
Non-Food Items (NFIs) -Shelter	UNICEF, ACTED, Refugees Int’l, Mercy Corps
Security	NATO/German PRT in Faizabad;
Water & Sanitation	Two Afghan workers gunned down and another wounded in Chimtal district in northern Balkh province on Thursday (June 8) yesterday by unidentified gunmen. (AP, June 9) Four aid workers working for the international aid organization Action Aid, including three women and their driver, were gunned down by unidentified gunmen in the provincial capital of Shiberghan in Jowzjan province. (AP, BBC, May 30) Three Afghans working for the US-based Planning and Development Collaborative International (PADCO) were killed and two American workers wounded when their car was hit by a roadside bomb in Badakhshan. (Reuters, May 30)
Comments	Torrential rain and ensuing floods have killed at least 7 people in northern Baghlan province (IRIN, July 5).

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	According to the Institute of War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) many people in northwestern Badghis province are migrating to other areas, due to the region’s worst drought in five years. (IWPR, July 13). FEWS projects sufficient water for good winter wheat crop in north; ACTED, ACF, FOCUS, OXFAM, IOM, Save the Children; Officials deliver flood aid to some 500 affected families in Khuran Wa sarbagh district in Samangan province (April 26, IRIN).
Health	MSF, ICRC, UNICEF;
NFIs –Shelter	IOM, ACTED, Mercy Corps
Security	A male and a female reporter working for Germany’s state-owned Deutsch Welle news were gunned down on the outskirts of a small village in northern Baghlan province on the fifth anniversary of the US-led war on terror in Afghanistan on Saturday (October 7). (HT, AP, Oct. 10)
Water & Sanitation	UNICEF, ICRC, DACAAR
Comments

Southern Region

Location	Southern Region
Coordination	UNHCR
Population	Some 2,000-3,000 people displaced in Panjwai district due to continuing violence. (IOM, May 26) 125,000 active IDPs in South; most in Zhare Dasht and Panjwai camps
Movement of IDPs
Food	UNICEF; Mercy Corps; CARITAS; WFP;
Health	FEWS projects possible winter wheat crop failure due to insufficient water in south and southwest; WFP; WHO, ICRC, CARITAS, Mercy Corps UNICEF;
NFIs - Shelter	UNHCR, Mercy Corps;
Security	As many as 85 civilians were reportedly killed in NATO-led operations against Taliban militants across Kandahar on Tuesday (AP, BBC, Reuters, Oct. 27)
Water & Sanitation	UNICEF
Comments	UNAMA opens office in provincial capital Qalat in Zabul. (IRIN, August 16)

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 sent 16.5 tons of food assistance for some 1,500 flood-affected people in Obeh district in Herat province. (IRIN, May 9) FEWS projects possible winter wheat crop failure in south and southwest due to insufficient water; IRC, CARITAS, UNICEF, World Vision, IOM, Action Contre la Faim; WFP;
Health	Bulgaria to send two medical experts to join eight Bulgarian medics at a Spanish field hospital in Herat as part of ISAF support. (GORB, Sep. 21) MSF, MDM, Order of Malta, CHA, IbniSina, HRS; ICRC; UNICEF;
Non-Food Items (NFIs) – Shelter	UNHCR, Iranian Red Crescent, UNICEF, IOM, Ockenden Int’l, MSF, IMC;
Security	Six Afghan policemen, including the district police chief, are among the dead from an ambush by suspected Taliban insurgents near Shindad in the western province of Herat. (AP, BBC, Nov. 3)
Water & Sanitation	UNICEF
Comments	Herat has land prepared for settlement of 50,000;

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