Humanitarian disaster for Afghanistan.
Categories: Articles:Peacemaking |
Published: 18/05/2012 |
Views: 2043
Reuters reports that intensifying violence as NATO combat troops prepare to leave by end-2014 and a poor economic outlook in the face of shrinking aid could spell a humanitarian disaster for Afghanistan. Even in the capital Kabul, there are 35,000 internal refugees living in 30 makeshift camps. Amnesty International says 400 Afghans become internally displaced every day, and the organisation predicts this number will swell.
The first six months of 2011 - a year that saw civilian casualties rise for a fifth straight year - saw tremendous upheaval. The U.N. Refugee Agency estimates nearly 100,000 people became internal refugees in that period alone.
Applications by Afghans seeking asylum also reached their highest number in a decade, U.N. figures showed in January.
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Despite this growing crisis, the UK government seems intent on deporting more and more refugees to the camps in Kabul. Recent attempts to send back dozens of refugees by specially chartered flights have been thwarted by the security situation, and the Border Agency has now reported
that all flights are off until at least 22 May, with Kabul airport closed. Afghanistan is not safe, and aid agencies cannot cope with the growing numbers in the camps. The UK government should call a halt to all removal attempts, and release Afghans from detention now.
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