Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Thousands Flee Their Homes in Afghanistan as Taliban Offensives Intensify

Roshan Noorzai

   WASHINGTON / MEHTAR LAM, AFGHANISTAN - Thousands of familiesare
   fleeingtheir homes amid intensifiedTaliban offensives in several
   provinces,as the United Statesand NATO began withdrawing their
   remaining forces from Afghanistan on May 1.

   "Most of those displaced are from the provinces of Helmand, Kandahar,
   Baghlan andLaghman,"said Sayed Abdul Basit Ansari,a spokesmanfor
   Afghanistan's Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation."They fled their
   houses due to the escalation in violence."

   Ansari said that in Laghmanprovince, which has witnessed heavy fighting
   between the Taliban and the Afghan government forces in recent weeks,
   6,000 families have fled their homes.

   The Taliban captured a district in Laghman and launched an assault
   onMehtarLamCity, the provincial capital, last week.

   Gul Meena, a resident oftheAlingardistrict of Laghmanprovince,has
   takenrefuge in a makeshift camp in a park inMehtarLam City.Shesaid
   sheleft her house because of the fighting in her district.

   "I am here with my grandchildren and daughters,"she said."My son stayed
   behind. I am trying to call him, but his phone is not working."

   According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
   Affairs (OCHA),as of May 21,about100,000 peoplehadbeendisplacedby
   conflict inAfghanistanthis year.

   OCHA reportedthat404,100peoplein Afghanistanwere displacedin
   2020becauseofviolence,which brought the total ofinternally displaced
   people (IDP) in the country to 3.55 million by the end of 2020.

   Assistanceneeded

   Imranullah, 20,whofled his house with nothing,saidhis family and the
   other displaced people were in desperate need of help.Imranullah, like
   many Afghans, goes by one name.

   "We do not have food, no shelter.We have nothing,"hesaid.

   He added that officials have visited theirmakeshift camp
   inMehtarLamCitybut did not provide them with assistance.

   "They come here, make empty promises and then leave,"hesaid.

   The AfghanistanMinistry ofRefugees andRepatriation saidit
   hadassistedabout 1,000 out of 6,000 displaced families in the province.

   ButLal Gul,chairmanof the Afghanistan Human Rights Organization,
   said"the humanitarian response to the new IDPs was not adequate."

   He called on international humanitarian organizations to step in.

   "These families are in dire need for humanitarian assistance. No one
   has helped them,"Gul said."The Afghan government does not have the
   capacity to address the needs of thelarge numberof IDPs, and
   international humanitarian organizations have not helped them."

   He expressed concernabout the escalation of violence that could force
   more peoplefromtheir homes.

   "It is clear that If they [parties in the conflict]do not agree to a
   cease-fire, we will have more IDPs,"Gulsaid.
   Members of Afghan security forces take their positions during a clash
   between Taliban and Afghan forces in Mihtarlam, the capital of Laghman
   province, on May 24, 2021.

   Fighting inLaghman

   The fighting startedlast weekafter the Talibanoverran Dawlat Shah, the
   northern district in the province.After capturing several outposts
   inAlishingandAlingardistricts, the Taliban launched an assault
   onMehtarLamCity.

   Provincial officials in Laghman said Monday that security forces
   hadpushedthe Talibanback from the city.But local people saidgovernment
   forces were still fighting the Taliban on the outskirts ofMehtar
   LamCity.

   "The fighting has not ceased,"said Bilal Sarwari, an Afghan freelance
   journalist, adding that"sporadic fighting has continued on the
   outskirts and some parts of the city."

   Sarwari said the Taliban advances onMehtarLamCity were stoppedonly when
   reinforcements were sent from Kabuland air attacks were
   carriedoutagainst the Taliban positions around the city.

   Located east of Kabul, Laghman is strategically importantbecause
   theKabul-JalalabadHighway that connects Kabul to eastern provinces
   passes through the province.

   Afghan officials said Tuesday that the Afghan security forces were
   fighting against the Taliban in 104 districts across the country.

   The Taliban have captured at least four districts in the past two weeks
   as the U.S. and NATO have started withdrawing their remaining forces
   from Afghanistan.

   TheU.S. plans to pull out all its forces from Afghanistan by September
   11, 2021.

.