A third of Afghans migrated, displaced since 2012

KABUL (IOM).

A Displacement-Tracking Matrix report on Tuesday said the organisation had covered 11,443 communities in 390 districts of all 34 provinces of the country.

The Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) is a system that collects information on the movements and evolving needs of displaced populations, whether on site or en route.

Since 2012, 3.2 million Afghan migrants and refugees returned to their homeland -- around 95 percent from Iran and Pakistan. The remaining five percent came back mainly Europe and Turkey.

Many of the returnees (15% or 49,000) have settled in the eastern province of Nangarhar, according to the study.

IOM head in Afghanistan Laurence Hart said: “Providing these returnees with economic opportunities is a key driver for their successful reintegration.”

With this in mind, IOM has been actively engaging in the creation of self-employment opportunities and private sector support in areas of high return, with financial support from the European Union,

During the six-year period, 3.5 million Afghans were internally displaced due to conflict, violence, human rights violations or natural disasters.

Most people who have fled the country since 2012 went to Iran. Out of 2.3 million Afghans who left the country, 63 per cent (1.4 million) went to Iran, 22 per cent to Pakistan (500,000) and only 12 per cent to Europe and Turkey (270,000).

PAN Monitor/mud