UN refugee agency says Afghanistan needs humanitarian aid

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has said that there is a need for humanitarian aid in Afghanistan. The Geneva-based agency said that more than 550,000 people in Afghanistan have fled their homes due to the conflict since the start of this year.

Berlin: The United Nations refugee agency says more than 550,000 people in Afghanistan have fled their homes due to the conflict since the start of this year.

A situational update published on Sunday by Geneva-based UNHCR shows about 126,000 people were displaced in the previous month to Aug. 9, the most recent date for which figures are available.

A spokeswoman for UNHCR said that while the situation inside Afghanistan is fluid, “for now the displacement is largely internal.”

“There is a need to support the humanitarian response in the country,” Shabia Mantoo told The Associated Press. “If we do see cross border movement then additional support outside the country will be necessary too.”

The agency continues to have international and Afghan staff on the ground, she said.

As the Taliban enter Kabul, Afghan nationals, fearing the return of a brutal rule, have been queuing up at the airports and running for the borders in a bid to get out of the country.

Many fear the Taliban will roll back two decades of gains by women and ethnic minorities while restricting the work of journalists and NGO workers. An entire generation of Afghans was raised on hopes of building a modern, democratic state - dreams that seem to have melted away before the Taliban’s relentless advance.

AP