UN Food Agency Halts Aid In Afghan Border Areas As Fighting Continues
The World Food Programme said it has suspended operations in border areas following clashes between the Taliban and Pakistan, affecting about 160,000 vulnerable families.
The World Food Programme said it has suspended operations in border areas following clashes between the Taliban and Pakistan, affecting about 160,000 vulnerable families.
The agency said around 20,000 Afghan families have been displaced in border regions over the past week.
In a statement, the WFP said cross-border violence, including air and ground strikes, has affected more than 30 districts in Nangarhar, Nuristan, Kunar, Laghman, Paktika, Paktia, Khost, Kandahar and Helmand provinces.
The agency said it had suspended emergency operations, social support programmes and food assistance in areas affected by the clashes.
According to the WFP, the affected regions were already facing severe food insecurity, with more than half of residents experiencing emergency levels of hunger. The agency said acute malnutrition has reached crisis levels in four provinces hit by the latest fighting.
The WFP warned that continued violence is pushing vulnerable Afghan families into even more severe hardship.
It also said escalating tensions in Iran could increase the return of Afghan migrants. The agency warned that many returnees will face poverty, unemployment, hunger and renewed instability upon returning to Afghanistan.
