Thousands of Afghan civilians displaced

Local authorities appealed on Aug. 24 for emergency relief for thousands of families displaced by recent fighting and drought in the southern Afghan province of Helmand. Fierce fighting over the past two months between government forces and the ousted Taliban militia, coupled with this year's particularly harsh drought, have forced nearly 4,000 families to leave their homes and villages in Helmand, Abdul Satar Mazhari, provincial refugee department chief in Helmand, said. "They need urgent assistance such as food, tents and even safe drinking water," Mazhari maintained. According to local authorities, many of the people have been displaced from Nowzad, Washeer, Garam Seer, Mussa Qala and Sangin districts. "They are now living in very poor conditions in Lashkar Gah, [provincial capital of Helmand] and the deserts of Nad Ali, and Marja districts," Mazhari explained. Spokesman for Helmand's governor's office, Haji Mahaiudin, said that they didn't have enough supplies to help the thousands of destitute people affected. "We have no resources in hand to support such a huge influx of people," Mahaiudin asserted. A local official, who declined to be named, said that the number of people displaced by recent fighting in Helmand was much higher than the official figures. Meanwhile, the deteriorating security situation has already forced some foreign aid agencies working in Helmand to temporarily shut down their relief operations. "We have suspended all of our developmental and relief projects since July 20 due to security threats facing our local staff in Helmand," said Abdul Khaliq, provincial manager of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), an international NGO. BRAC was working on several developmental projects such as building canals, roads and health clinics, benefiting some 50,000 Helmand residents. "All of our 150 local staff have stopped their work in Helmand," Khaliq explained. "We are observing the security situation on the ground and will resume our activities if it improves." Helmand, which has proven a hotbed of Taliban activity, has seen the deadliest violence this year, with hundreds of people, including militants, security forces, civilians and foreign troops losing their lives. In addition to growing insecurity in the country, which has claimed the lives of some 2,000 people this year, harsh drought conditions in Afghanistan have resulted in some 2.5 million people facing an imminent food crisis.