Kunduz war-affected families receive aid

KNUNDUZ CITY (Pajhwok): Food and non-food items were on Tuesday distributed to more than 300 families displaced by the conflict from the Imam Sahib district of northern Kunduz province, an official said.

Nearly 3000 families have been displaced due to clashes between armed militants and security forces from the Imam Sahib district to Khwaja Ghar district of neighbouring Takhar province, Kunduz City and Dasht Archi district.

The relief goods for the families in Kunduz City were provided by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Program (WFP), Save the Children and NRC organizations, said Abdul Salam Hashemi, Kunduz refugee department head.

The aid included wheat, ghee, gas cylinders, blankets, mattresses, kitchen accessories, carpets and biscuits weighing 50 tonnes, he said.

Happy over the assistance, the displaced families emphatically urged returning home.

One of the displaced persons from Ghajir Khana of Imam Sahib district, Palwasha, is living with her seven family members in Kunduz City.

She told Pajhwok Afghan News: “We have lost everything to the conflict and now living in a rented house.”

She said her husband was a labourer, who worked against minimal wages. She said security should be improved in their native area to enable them to return to homes so that their plight came to an end.

Another displaced person, Muhammadullah, said: “Such aid are not useful, we want our areas to be secured so that we could go back home.”
Khaluddin Hakimi, a member of the provincial council, warned that humanitarian crisis could erupt if the displaced families remained displaced.

Security officials said operations continued in the Imam Sahib district and the displaced families would be allowed to return to their homes once the area was cleared of militants.

But the displaced families said they were pessimistic about the outcome of the operations.

hs/ma