Afghan Conflict Displaces Over 101,000

More than 101,000 people have been displaced due to the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan since January more than it was in 2020, the United Nations data says.

Twenty-nine of the country’s 34 provinces have been affected by displacement, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced this on Monday.

The number includes at least 14,764 families, with children under 18 accounting for at least 60 per cent of displaced people.

In 2020, it took until late July to reach the figure of 100,000 internally displaced people.

According to OCHA’s data, the highest numbers were recorded in the eastern and north-eastern provinces of the country.

In 2020, around 400,000 people were internally displaced due to conflict across Afghanistan overall, according to an OCHA report.

The conflict between the militant Taliban and the Afghan government has intensified in recent months.

The number of attacks by the Taliban and the number of civilian casualties significantly increased in the first quarter, according to military and UN figures.

With the start of the official withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops on May 1, the Taliban has launched additional offensives in several provinces. The Taliban and the government both declared that they had inflicted heavy losses on the other side.

Observers fear that the latest attacks are just the beginning of the Taliban’s annual offensive.

This could increase further once the withdrawal of US and NATO troops is complete.