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Afghanistan + 2 more

Afghanistan Weekly Field Report (23 - 29 October 2017)

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Countrywide Conflict Displacement

As of 29 October, a total of 296,190 people were displaced due to conflict in Afghanistan, an increase of more than 800 people compared to the previous week. The provinces sheltering the highest numbers of IDPs are Nangarhar (34,872), Kunduz (29,883), Badghis (24,625) and Baghlan (18,788).

Central: More than 1,060 displaced people reportedly arrived in Maydan Shahr, Wardak, 800 people in Sharana, Paktika, and 600 in Kabul City after heavy armed clashes between NSAG and ANSF in Wardak and Paktika provinces. Fighting is ongoing with additional displacement anticipated in the coming weeks. In 2017, 18,833 people have been verified as displaced in the Central Region, 6 per cent of the total displacement.

Northern/North Eastern: More than 7,300 people have reportedly been displaced from Emamsaheb, Chardara and Dasht-e-Archi to Emamsaheb Centre and Kunduz city. An additional 10,000 people have been reportedly displaced to Balkh and Sar-e-Pul provinces from Faryab, Jawzjan, Sar-e-Pul,
Baghlan and Kunduz provinces. This year, 106,923 displaced people have been verified in the two regions, 36 per cent of total displacement.

Eastern: Fighting between NSAGs in Khogyani, Nangarhar, which erupted on 15 October continue to impact upon the civilian population. Between 15,000 to 18,000 people have so far been displaced to the surrounding villages and to Sukhrod and Behsud districts. Currently, 13,475 people have been verified in need of humanitarian assistance. Since January, 46,733 people have been displaced in the Eastern Region, 16 per cent of the displacements across the country in 2017.

Southern/South Eastern: No significant displacements have been reported during the reporting period. A new polio case has been identified from Shahwalikot district, Kandahar bringing the total number of confirmed cases to six across the region so far this year. Down telephone networks in Uruzgan and Helmand has made communication difficult and disrupted assessment and response activities. A total of 66,739 people are currently displaced in the two regions, 22 per cent of the total displacements this year.

Western: No significant displacements were reported during the reporting period from Badghis, Farah, Ghor or Hirat provinces.

Nearly 100 displaced people were selected for assistance by assessment teams based on eligibility and vulnerability criteria. In total, 56,962 people are currently displaced in the Western Region, 19 per cent of the total displacements this year.

Returnees and Refugees

From 22 to 28 October, a total of 870 people spontaneously returned from Pakistan to Afghanistan, another 53 were deported, according to IOM. From Iran, 9,009 people returned spontaneously and 9,024 were deported. As of 28 October, 91,926 undocumented people have returned from Pakistan and 335,037 from Iran this year.

In the same reporting period, 782 refugees returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan, according to UNHCR. Since January, more than 54,000 refugees have returned from Pakistan, 79 per cent less compared to the 260,000 in the same period of the previous year. A total of 1,089 refugees have returned since January, half of the more than 2,100 in the same period of the previous year.

Ongoing Response Activities (please also see page 2)

During the past week, nearly 30,000 displaced people, undocumented returnees and refugees received some form of humanitarian assistance in all regions of the country.

CR: DRC provided cash assistance for food and shelter to 854 individuals displaced from Sia Gird (Ghorband) to Kabul city, in addition to hygiene and NFI kits from DACAAR and CARE respectively.

NR/NER: In Kunduz city, NRC distributed cash for 200 individuals, while ACTED distributed cash for 900 individuals.
UNHCR distributed NFIs, WFP food and DACAAR WASH packages to 1,100 IDPs. In Takhar, ACTED distributed MPC and Mission East NFIs for 600 individuals.

ER: 5,985 IDPs were assisted with food (WFP, ARCS), NFIs (UNHCR, ARCS) or cash assistance (NRC, SCI) in Khogyani, Behsud and Jalalabad. WFP distributed cash for food to 18,879 undocumented returnees in Nangarhar, Kunar and Laghman provinces. SCI distributed cash for food to 1,000 returnees in multiple districts of Nangarhar Province.

SR: Ongoing multi-sectoral humanitarian assistance was provided to 800 IDPs in Qalat, Zabul Province.

WR: ACF, DRC and NRC provided cash assistance for transportation, food, rent, fuel and shelter to 1,318 individuals, a proportion of which received food from WFP, NFIs from UNHCR and hygiene kits from DACAAR. DAIL Badghis has plans to distribute 180 tons of wheat seeds to 3,600 farmers.

Uncovered Needs and Response Gaps

CR: Shelter assistance is required for 420 individuals (60 families) in Fandaqestan valley of Sia Gird district, Parwan.
Provincial authorities have requested that humanitarians cover the gap.

Security Incidents and Access Constraints

CR: Heavy armed clashes are ongoing in Chak, Jaghato,
Nerkh and Jelrez districts of Wardak Province.

ER: NSAGs have indicated that they will close the JalalabadAsadabad highway. This is a concern for humanitarian actors as it is one of the main supply routes in the region.

NR/NER: With the winter season approaching, and given anticipated physical access constraints in Badakhshan, partners are requested to preposition emergency stocks in the province.

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