Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

UNHCR Warns of Humanitarian Crisis in Afghanistan


Wed 14 Jul 2021 | 04:00 PM
Ahmed Moamar

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warned that Afghanistan is tethering on the brink of a severe humanitarian crisis due to the escalating struggle there.

The organization revealed that fierce clashes between the Taliban, an Afghani militant movement, and the government forces enforce hundred thousand to flee their homes.

It added that more than 3.5 people are displaced now in various parts of the country; 270 thousand have been displaced recently since the beginning of the current year.

On the other hand, the United Nations  Mission to Afghanistan pointed out that victims of civilians rose by 29% in the first quarter of the standing year compared to the last year.

This increase in victims coincides with the withdrawal of the US forces from Afghanistan.

Babar Baloch, a spokesman for the UNHCR, said that numbers of the displaced people affirmed that they were compelled to flee owing to blackmail and harassment committed by the armed groups, lack of social services, and absence of security.

He went on to say if the authorities become able to restore security to the country, many people will leave their homes for searching security and better living conditions elsewhere.

Baloch stressed that the wretched people may flee to other countries neighboring Afghanistan.

He revealed that both Iran and Pakistan host more than two million registered Afghani refugees, praising the generosity of the two countries despite the refugees' burden on economic resources there.

He mentioned that an increasing percentage of victims are women and children as the warring factions target them in reprisal operations, pointing out that female activists in the human rights field are exposed to unlimited dangers over the period to come.

It is worth noting that the Taliban movement has pledged to protect women and translators even those who cooperated with occupying foreign forces during the last twenty years.