Reuters, 14 May 2012
Reuters reports that intensifying violence as NATO combat troops prepare to leave by end-2014 and a poor economic outlook in the face of shrinking aid could spell a humanitarian disaster for Afghanistan.
Even in the capital Kabul, there are 35,000 internal refugees living in 30 makeshift camps. Amnesty International says 400 Afghans become internally displaced every day, and the organisation predicts this number will swell.
The first six months of 2011 – a year that saw civilian casualties rise for a fifth straight year – saw tremendous upheaval. The U.N. Refugee Agency estimates nearly 100,000 people became internal refugees in that period alone. Applications by Afghans seeking asylum also reached their highest number in a decade, U.N. figures showed in January.
