Taliban offensive: 244,000 people internally displaced since May, says OCHA

Kabul [Afghanistan], August 10 (ANI): Afghanistan is witnessing a huge rise in internally displaced people (IDPs) due to the Taliban offensive, post the withdrawal of foreign troops.

According to data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), at least 244,000 people were internally displaced since May, an increase of more than 300 per cent compared with the same period last year, reported Al Jazeera.

According to the report, most of the people are fleeing from northeastern and eastern Afghanistan. Nearly all lack adequate shelter, access to medical care and sufficient food, it said. Many initially fled their homes in rural areas due to fighting, seeking refuge in provincial capitals.

However, the fighting has shifted to urban centres in recent weeks as the Taliban closes in on many of Afghanistan’s larger cities. In the last few days alone, the Taliban has assumed control of five Afghan provincial capitals, mainly in the north of the country, including Kunduz, the sixth-largest city in Afghanistan, which fell to the group on Sunday, reported Al Jazeera.

As the Taliban advance across Afghanistan shows no sign of slowing, IDP numbers are expected to increase further. At present, heavy fighting is continuing between the government and Taliban forces around the capitals of Helmand, Kandahar, Herat, and Badakhshan provinces, reported Al Jazeera. (ANI)