UN says 338,000 Afghans internally displaced in 2017

By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan

The UN in Afghanistan said on Monday the ragging violence in Afghanistan has displaced an additional 19,000 more people, piling the total to 338,000 this year alone.

In its latest report, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), stated as of Nov. 12, a total of 338,108 people were displaced due to conflict in Afghanistan. This is up by nearly 19,000 people compared to the previous week, it said.

The latest figures came as the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces are busy fighting the Taliban and other insurgent groups in 88 out of the country’s 407 districts, according to the Afghan officials.

The Taliban’s annual spring offensives are in its final phase with the harsh winter approaching.

The OCHA report has indicated that the country’s northern and northeastern parts bordering the Central Asia have borne the brunt of the displacement caused by fighting where a total of 110,619 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have been verified -- 32 percent of this year’s total displacement across the country.

The eastern Nangarhar province lying between the capital Kabul and Pakistan’s turbulent tribal areas is also among the worst affected regions in this regard.

OCHA has noted that 24,000 people are reportedly still in displacement from the Khogyani district, where the pro-Daesh and Taliban militants are often engaged in clashes for turf, and the Afghan forces are busy in counter-terrorism operation.

A total of 78,068 IDPs have been documented in the eastern region of Afghanistan since January.

Third worst affected is the southern region, the strongest bastion of the Taliban, where a total of 68,919 people are currently displaced, 20 percent of the total displacements this year.