Afghanistan Weekly Field Report (27 November - 3 December 2017) [EN/Dari]

Countrywide Conflict Displacement

From 1 January to 3 December 2017, a total of 372,977 people were displaced due to conflict in Afghanistan, some 12,000 people more compared to the previous week. The provinces sheltering the highest numbers of IDPs are Nangarhar (75,980), Kunduz (35,903), Badghis (25,723) and Faryab (21,022).

Central Region: Around 1,900 people have been reportedly displaced within Parwan Province or have arrived from Kapisa, Laghman and Nuristan. More than 500 people reportedly arrived in Kabul from Baghlan, Kunduz, and Nangarhar provinces. In 2017, nearly 21,000 people were verified as displaced in the Central and Capital regions, 6 per cent of the total displacement.

Northern/North Eastern: Some 5,500 displaced people reportedly arrived to Burka district centre, Baghlan, from surrounding villages, due to fighting between ANSF and NSAG. This year, more than 121,000 IDPs have been verified in the two regions, 33 per cent of this year’s total displacement.

Eastern: Tensions remained high in Khogyani, Nangarhar, where fighting between armed groups displaced more than 43,000 people since mid-October. Some 2,700 people handed in petitions with authorities in Laghman in the past week, after reportedly being displaced two months ago. Since January, some 91,000 people have been displaced in the Eastern Region, 25 per cent of the displacements across the country in 2017.

Southern/South Eastern: Some 180 displaced people arrived in Zaranj, Nimroz, according to partners. Their area of origin is being verified. nearly 74,000 people are currently displaced in the regions, 20 per cent of the total displacements in 2017.

Western: Fighting between ANSF and NSAG in Abkamari district, Badghis, displaced some 200 people within the district, according to initial reports. More than 65,000 people were displaced in the Western Region in 2017, 18 per cent of the total displacements this year across the country.

Returnees and Refugees

From 26 November to 2 December, 602 people spontaneously returned from Pakistan to Afghanistan and another 125 were deported, according to IOM. From Iran, 6,090 people returned spontaneously and 4,175 were deported. This year, 96,350 people have returned from Pakistan and 417,931 from Iran.

During the same reporting period, 679 refugees returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan, 14 from Iran and 12 from other countries, according to UNHCR. This year, a total of 58,657 refugees have returned to Afghanistan.

Ongoing Response Activities_(please also see page 2) _

During the past week, more than 90,000 displaced people, undocumented returnees, refugees and host families received some form of humanitarian assistance including winterisation support across the country (see section below).

CR: In Khost Province, WFP distributed food to nearly 19,000 refugees from Pakistan, UNHCR distributed US$100 cash for heating fuel and blankets to more than 16,000 refugees and IRC cash for NFI to more than 800 IDPs of which 24 families also received tents. In Ghazni Province, SI distributed a second instalment of cash to 616 IDPs. IOM and WFP provided 21 families whose houses had been damaged or destroyed by snow and rain with NFI and food, respectively.

NR/NER: In Faryab Province, 2,200 IDPs received cash assistance from ACTED, food from WFP and NFIs from UNHCR and SCI. In Kunduz, NRC distributed cash to 480 IDPs, WFP added food rations, UNHCR NFIs and DACAAR WASH packages. In Badakhshan, 900 IDPs received cash from ACTED and food from WFP in Fayzabad City.

ER: UNICEF distributed hygiene kits and warm clothing to 42 undocumented families at the Torkham border crossing and winter clothing and blankets for more than 1,000 displaced people in two districts of Nangarhar. SCI distributed winterisation items and warm clothing to 80 families in the same province. WFP distributed food or cash for food to more than 35,000 undocumented returnees in Nangarhar, Kunar and Laghman provinces. More than 1,000 recent arrivals from Khogyani received emergency assistance from ANDMA, DoRR and UNICEF. In Kunar, PU-AMI supported nearly 300 IDPs with cash and in Nangarhar NRC distributed cash for NFIs to more than 5,800 IDPs. Health partners deployed five additional ambulances to Khogyani district hospital to cater for increased needs due to the recent displacements.

SR: In Zaranj, Nimroz, UNHCR distributed winter clothing and tents to the 180 recently arrived displaced people.

WR: NRC distributed cash assistance to 200 displaced people in Qala-e-Naw, Badghis, and IRC added cash for NFIs and hygiene kits and installed emergency latrines. Further, UNHCR started winterisation assistance for 1,600 families in protracted displacement in Badghis and Farah provinces and WFP started the distribution of food to 5,500 people in the same two provinces as part of seasonal support.

Winterisation assistance

In the past week, UNHCR and partners of the Emergency Shelter/NFI Cluster (ES/NFI) distributed winterisation assistance to more than 5,100 families. In total, more than 14,400 families have received winterisation support this year. At the centre of the joint official winterisation plan is cash for fuel for three months. UNHCR distributed nearly 50,000 blankets. An estimated 78,000 families are in need of humanitarian aid to get through the coming winter months.

From 26 November to 2 December, under its seasonal support programme, WFP dispatched 400 metric tons of fortified wheat flour and other food commodities for 49,500 people in the central, northern, western and southern regions.

Response Gaps

In Paktya, there is a gap to assist more than 250 families of undocumented returnees with emergency household items after they received food ration from WFP. The families arrived from Pakistan via several informal border crossings.