UN agencies warned today that a humanitarian catastrophe is imminent in Afghanistan as the The Taliban advance has forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes, and famine is spreading.
Insurgents have taken control of Afghanistan’s second and third largest cities today as Western nations prepare to send troops to remove their diplomatic personnel from the country. However, the UN has indicated that its 320 workers will remain in the war-torn country.
“We are afraid that the worst is yet to come and that the great wave of famine is fast approaching (…) the situation has all the hallmarks of a humanitarian catastrophe,” said Thomson Peary of the World Food Program (WFP).
Already, according to him, about a third of the population has no secured food supplies, while two million children are in need of help.
More than 250,000 people have been forced to flee their homes since May, 80 percent of them women and children, said UNHCR’s Sambia Mantou.
Thousands of people are fleeing the countryside to seek refuge in Kabul and other urban centers, another UN official said.
“They sleep in the countryside, in parks and in public places,” said Jens Lerke, a spokesman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). “At the moment a big concern is just to find them a shelter.”
An official from the World Health Organization spoke of doubling the number of injured people receiving the clinics he supports in the last two to three months. She expressed concern about shortages of medical supplies and added that staff are being trained to deal with mass injuries.
For its part, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) announced that it was preparing for a humanitarian catastrophe.
“We are preparing for a major humanitarian catastrophe,” said Tracy van Herden, the organization’s interim director for Afghanistan.
“Terrified families are fleeing to Kabul in recent days. The camps are full and the children are sleeping outside. Families are struggling to find food. “We are afraid that this situation is spreading throughout the country at an unprecedented rate,” she said.
The Taliban have taken control of Pul-i-Alam, the capital of Logar province, 80 km from Kabul.
The Taliban They captured the city of Pul-i-Alam, the capital of Afghanistan’s central Logar province, which is about 80 kilometers from the capital Kabul.
The rebels are holding the governor and the head of the city’s intelligence service captive after seizing several government buildings, according to local council member Hasibullah Stanakzai and Logar provincial lawmaker Huma Hamadi.
The province has a population of about 120,000 and is about a 90-minute drive from Kabul.
Pul-i-Alam is the 16th provincial capital to be taken over by the Taliban in eight days.
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
