Afghan IDPs have doubled in three years: AI

NEW YORK: Amnesty International has reported that the number of internally displaced Afghans amid daily battles between the government forces and Taliban insurgents has risen to 1.2 million people up from 500,000 in 2013. The London-based rights group says in its latest report that the figures when combined with the 2.6 million Afghans living as refugees abroad means that almost every family in Afghanistan has experienced being driven from their homes at some point over the past 40 years.

The report “My Children Will Die This Winter: Afghanistan’s Broken Promise To The Displaced” found that internally displaced people (IDPs) in Afghanistan suffer from a lack of suitable shelter, severe food and water shortages, almost nonexistent healthcare and virtually no opportunities for education or employment.

While the world’s attention seems to have moved on from Afghanistan, we risk forgetting the plight of those left behind by the conflict, Champa Patel, South Asia director at Amnesty International, said ahead of the report’s publication.

Even after fleeing their homes to seek safety, increasing number of Afghans is languishing in appalling conditions in their own country and fighting for their survival with no end in sight, she said in a statement. Amnesty says that government corruption, inadequate funding and a lack of global support have all contributed to the policy’s failure.

Despite Afghan authorities promising to improve the conditions the IDPs are living in, Amnesty International said, it found that forced evictions from both government and private actors is a daily threat.Many civilians caught up in the ensuing violence have fled often settling in displacement camps within their own country. Speaking about 2016 alone, Amnesty South Asia researcher Olof Blomqvist said “We are talking about almost 1,000 people every day.