Saudi Arabia, Japan strengthen cultural collaboration with new MoU    Slovak president meets Saudi delegation to bolster trade and investment ties    Civil Defense warns of thunderstorms across Saudi Arabia until Tuesday    Saudi defense minister meets with Swedish state secretary    Navigating healthcare's future: Solutions for a sustainable system    Sixth foreign tourist dies of suspected methanol poisoning in Laos    Hungary's Orbán vows to ignore war crimes arrest warrant for Netanyahu    Russia gives North Korea million barrels of oil, breaking sanctions: report    Al Khaleej qualifies for Asian Men's Club League Handball Championship final    Katy Perry v Katie Perry: Singer wins right to use name in Australia    Trump picks Pam Bondi as attorney general after Matt Gaetz withdraws    Al-Jasser: Saudi Arabia to expand rail network to over 8,000 km    OMODA&JAECOO: Unstoppable global cumulative sales over 360,000 units    Al Hilal doesn't need extra support to bring new players, CEO says    Saudi Arabia sees 73.7% rise in investment licenses in Q3 2024    Rafael Nadal: Farewell to the 'King of Clay'    Indonesia shocks Saudi Arabia with 2-0 victory in AFC Asian Qualifiers    Sitting too much linked to heart disease –– even if you work out    GASTAT report: 45.1% of Saudis are overweight    Denmark's Victoria Kjær Theilvig wins Miss Universe 2024    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Fast-moving Afghanistan crisis 'has hallmarks of humanitarian catastrophe'
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 13 - 08 - 2021

Afghanistan is on course to witness its highest ever number of documented civilian casualties in a single year since records began, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday.
As widespread fighting intensifies, UNHCR said that it was particularly concerned about the impact of the conflict on women and girls as "80 percent of nearly 250,0000 Afghans forced to flee since the end of May are women and children", said spokesperson Shabia Mantoo.
"This is a staggering statistic," Mantoo told journalists based at the UN in Geneva. "We need to raise the alarm about the disproportionate toll they are paying for what is happening on the ground."
According to a report published last month jointly by the UN human rights office (OHCHR) and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), more women and children were killed and wounded in the first half of 2021 than in the first six months of any year since records began in 2009.
Echoing fears about the impact of the fighting on civilians, World Food Program (WFP) spokesperson Tomson Phiri explained that the conflict "has accelerated much faster than we all anticipated and the situation has all the hallmarks of a humanitarian catastrophe".
More cities captured
According to latest reports, Taliban forces captured another three provincial capitals in the country's south on Friday and are gradually encircling Kabul. The insurgents now control more than two-thirds of the country, only weeks before the planned final withdrawal of US and international troops.
The latest US military intelligence assessment suggests that the Afghan capital could come under insurgent pressure within 30 days.
As widespread fighting intensifies, meanwhile, thousands of Afghans have fled their homes amid fears the Taliban would again impose a brutal, repressive government. The militant group ruled the country from the mid-1990s until the post 9/11 attacks US-led invasion, in late 2001.
Humanitarians are particularly concerned that the fighting is increasingly shifting to crowded urban areas, while UNHCR's Shabia Mantoo noted that nearly 120,000 Afghans had fled from rural areas and provincial towns to Kabul province since the beginning of the year.
Child deaths rising: UNICEF
In an exclusive interview with the UN News French team, Mustapha Ben Messaoud, chief of field operations for the UN Children's Fund, UNICEF, noted there had been a "very significant increase" in child deaths in the past four weeks.
"One in two children under five suffers from severe acute malnutrition. They are extremely hungry, to the point of being ill. Today we have camps that are being set up, with no access to clean water and hygiene, and for us, that means the risk of cholera or diseases that can spread."
He said the current wave of COVID-19 infection, was "killing 100 people a day...We have at least 2,000 cases that are positive a day, and these are just the cases that are counted."
Alongside conflict and drought, he noted that multiple crises were hitting the most vulnerable hard. "Bombs don't discriminate, they fall on women, children, the young...the elderly. This also means that we will probably have a population that will try to reach Iran, Turkey and Europe," he added.
The UNICEF official compared the situation to height of the Syria crisis, and noted that he was at least happy to see two European nations vowing not to forcibly repatriate Afghan citizens, since fighting escalated.
Seeking shelter
The increasing number of civilians seeking shelter in towns and cities meant that "a growing number ...do not have a place to sleep", said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for UN humanitarian coordination office, OCHA. "Normally they would go to family and friends for shelter, but this is no longer the case."
A spike in trauma cases has also been reported, aggravated by the recent escalation in violence. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) healthcare centers have seen a 30 percent increase in patients compared to last year, with numbers almost doubling in the last two to three months, said WHO spokesperson Fadela Chaib.
The fighting has also created new challenges in reaching communities in need of food assistance around the country, warned the World Food Program (WFP).
"Aid workers are working under extraordinary circumstances," said spokesperson Tomson Phiri, who noted that 18.4 million people already require humanitarian assistance, while the conflict has displaced up to 390,000 people this year alone.
In the last three months, WFP has provided food and nutrition assistance to 4.1 million people, Phiri said, but this is not enough.
UN still delivering
"Our plan is to scale-up assistance to reach nine million people by December," he said. However, the UN agency is "severely under-resourced" and is needs $200 million "to get us through to the end of the year...to ensure food is where it's needed when it's needed."
Reiterating the UN's commitment to helping the people of Afghanistan, OCHA's Jens Laerke insisted that the organization intended "to stay and deliver".
Open border plea
UNHCR's Shabia Mantoo, meanwhile, urged the international community to step up its response to this latest Afghanistan displacement crisis, appealing to neighboring countries to "keep their borders open", as an "inability to seek safety may risk innumerable civilian lives".
Countries hosting Afghans who may have international protection needs should also ensure that they can seek safety, "regardless of their current legal status", the UNHCR spokesperson insisted. — UN News


Clic here to read the story from its source.