Oslo, March 14 (IANS) The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has warned that escalating conflict along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border has severely impacted civilians in eastern Afghanistan, displacing 115,000 people since February 26. It also called for stronger protection of civilians and safe access for humanitarian organisations to reach families in need.

The organisation stated that in the first eight days of the conflict, 56 Afghan civilians were killed and a further 129 were injured.

“Afghanistan is facing crisis on top of crisis, and it is civilians who are paying the highest price. All parties to the conflict must abide by international humanitarian law and ensure civilians, and civilian infrastructure, are protected,” said Jacopo Caridi, NRC’s Country Director for Afghanistan.

“Families who were already on the brink of survival have been forced from their homes. Thousands have found refuge in makeshift camps and with local families. Others are being forced to rent substandard accommodation they can little afford. They have lost access to clean water, health services, and schooling. We urgently need funding to be able to scale up our support to these families,” he added.

The NRC highlighted that 826 homes have been damaged in the conflict, while its team reported particular concern among displaced communities in the Afghan provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar for child and women-headed households and the elderly, many of whom said they had received no assistance.

“More than 25,000 people who were displaced by the earthquake in Kunar province six months ago are subject to evacuation orders. They have been forced to return to their areas of origin, where little to no services are available, risking their health and well-being. Another 14,500 people are at risk of being displaced for a second time,” the NRC stated.

The organisation added that health services at more than 20 facilities have been suspended due to insecurity, including five that were damaged in airstrikes and shelling. The World Food Programme (WFP), it said, was forced to temporarily suspend food distributions.

“We left everything behind. Our belongings, our clothes, everything. We don’t even know what has happened to our house,” NRC quoted an Afghan civilian, Bakhtiar, who fled from Torkham, near the border with Pakistan, as saying.

According to the organisation, Afghans in Iran are also being affected by instability in the region, noting that the country hosts more than 4.4 million Afghan refugees, including around 1.4 million undocumented migrants, who are at risk of forced return. Some families, it said, have already begun returning to Afghanistan due to safety concerns, with a reported 1,700 refugees currently returning daily.

“With a world in turmoil, Afghans must not be forgotten. Rising food prices and closed borders are making survival even harder for families whose lives have already been shattered by conflict,” said Caridi.

–IANS

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