MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Pajhwok): Hundreds of families displaced by the war in northern provinces to this capital city of Balkh province are in dire need of urgent assistance.
These families complain that the assistance distributing process has not been fair.
Balkh refugees and repatriation officials say around 20,000 families who have been displaced by war currently live in Mazar-i-Sharif city, the provincial capital.
The luckiest among these families are those who live in a one or two-room mud made homes because most of these families live in tents despite harsh weather conditions.
Mohammad Sarwar, 65, a resident of Zara district of Balkh province, said clashes between Afghan forces and Taliban gunmen forced him and her family to leave their home six months ago.
He said their area was a battle ground and they had to travel somewhere safe.
He said they left all their belongings in their homes and currently they led a painful life in Mazar-i-Sharif city.
Khurshid Ahmadi, a refugee rights activist, told Pajhwok Afghan News that government aid did not reach most of the needy families.
Sayed Masoud Qadari, the Balkh refugee and repatriation department head, said they had received aid request forms from 12,000 displaced families and they only assisted 2,500 needy families during the ongoing year.
He said for now they could offer aid only in an emergency situation.
pk/ma
