UN Sends Aid to Displaced Afghan Families

The United Nations World Food Programme said Sunday it is providing emergency food assistance to nearly 20,000 Afghan families displaced by the escalating conflict along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, warning that continued instability could push millions toward deeper hunger.

John Aylieff, the WFP’s representative in Afghanistan, said the country is facing multiple overlapping crises, with many families already struggling with poverty and malnutrition before being caught in the latest violence.

The agency said it has begun distributing emergency food supplies, including fortified biscuits and food rations designed to last two months, along with cash assistance for the most vulnerable households.

Thousands of Afghans living in border areas with Pakistan have been forced to flee their homes because of repeated clashes, with some families now living in tents after being displaced by the fighting.

Relations between the two countries have been tense for months. Islamabad has accused Kabul of harboring fighters from the Pakistani Taliban, an allegation Afghan authorities deny.

According to a United Nations report, 75 Afghan civilians have been killed since the fighting escalated on February 26, while at least 115,000 people have been displaced inside the country.