Fierce fighting between NATO troops and insurgents in southern
Afghanistan has sent tens of thousands of people fleeing from their homes
in a new wave of displacement. Although numbers are unverified, the
government said that more than 20,000 families had been displaced due to
the fighting in the provinces of Helmand, Kandahar and Uruzgan as of
November 2006.
In addition to this new wave of displacement, some 132,000 people –
most of them displaced since 2001-2002, remained in relief camps as of
September 2006. Most are Kuchi nomads who were forced to leave their home
areas due to drought, but appear to be prevented from return by a
combination of factors, including protection concerns in return areas.
During 2006, thousands of Pashtuns who were previously displaced from the
north and west of the country after the overthrow of the Taliban
government in 2001 were able to return home.