HIGHLIGHTS
• Local authorities report 7,000 people displaced in Kunar due to insecurity
• Health organizations report seven COVID-19 cases in Afghanistan
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
• The UN reports that conflict displaced approximately 33,100 people across Afghanistan from January 1 to March 3. Additionally, from March 3 to 4, Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and international military airstrikes and ongoing clashes between nonstate armed groups (NSAGs) and Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) combatants displaced approximately 7,000 people in Kunar Province’s Nurgal district, local authorities report.
• Winter weather conditions, including heavy rainfall, snow, and subsequent flash floods, in early 2020 have exacerbated humanitarian needs and resulted in access impediments for relief organizations across Afghanistan, the UN reports. In addition, anticipated early snow melt from March to April may increase the risk of flooding in some areas of the country, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET).
• Humanitarian access constraints and attacks on relief organizations continue to disrupt the delivery of humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan, with attacks resulting in the deaths of 23 aid workers during 2019.