19 October 2001
Afghanistan Relief Effort Plagued by Looting, Attacks
(Swedish relief agency is latest targeted) (800)
By Charlene Porter
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- Humanitarian organizations reported more attacks and
looting of their facilities in Afghanistan October 19. The Swedish
Committee for Afghanistan (SCA) says it has been forced to close all
its offices in the Taliban-controlled Northern Provinces because of
pressure from factions within the regime.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) described
expanding lawlessness in Afghan cities. "Harassment of relief workers
by Taliban forces, which has been a persistent problem, increased in
intensity and scope, and was accompanied by an increased breakdown of
law and order. In Mazar-e-Sharif, there were numerous reports of
looting, vehicle theft, and restrictions on NGOs," according to
USAID's Central Asian Emergency Report of October 18.
In an October 19 press release issued from Peshawar, Pakistan, the SCA
reported that its compound in Mazar-e-Sharif had been seized on
October 16, with fuel stores set ablaze by the Taliban. In
Pul-i-Kumri, also in the north, another SCA compound was overtaken,
unarmed guards were beaten, and the staff fled for safety, according
to the press release.
The Pul-I-Kumri office served as headquarters for a network of health
clinics and schools spread across the rural areas of the region. SCA
indicates that these facilities should be able to continue operations
regardless of the damage at their headquarters because of their
dispersed nature. Still, "It is clear that the situation for the
civilian population in Taliban controlled northern Afghanistan is
rapidly deteriorating," the SCA release said.
The Taliban occupied an office and warehouse operated in Kunduz by the
International Organization for Migration (IOM) on October 17,
according to the IOM's press briefing notes October 19. "IOM workers,
who were roughed up but not injured in the raid, were told by the
Taliban to stop all distribution of relief items until further
notice," the briefing paper said. The warehouse was mainly stocked
with winter clothing, shoes and blankets to be distributed to
internally displaced persons in the region as Afghan weather grows
colder.
The strike on the Kunduz facility was the second of the week for IOM.
The Vienna-based organization reported that unidentified looters
ransacked one of its facilities in Mazar-e-Sharif October 15.
The Taliban remained in control of a World Food Program (WFP)
warehouse in Kandahar on October 19 after seizing the facility and its
1,600 metric tons of grain on October 16. In Kabul a second warehouse
also overtaken on October 16 had been restored to WFP control.
Since October 14, WFP has sent about 4,000 tons of food aid into
Afghanistan. WFP convoys are scheduled to transport more than 16,000
tons of supplies along several different humanitarian corridors into
Afghanistan. The U.N.'s primary agency in the battle against hunger
reports that the average daily delivery rate has increased from about
200 tons in September to 900 tons currently.
These assaults on the relief infrastructure occur just as demands on
humanitarian organizations seem bound to increase. The U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports a surge this week in the
numbers of Afghans rushing across the nation's eastern border into
Pakistan, with totals exceeding 13,000.
"Apparently fleeing in panic, Afghans were arriving with no food or
belongings," said UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond at a Geneva briefing
October 19. UNHCR monitors on the border described the situation there
as chaotic.
The U.N. refugee agency has been anticipating this civilian flight due
to the instability and violence in the country. Under current
circumstances, UNHCR is estimating that about 400,000 Afghans will
attempt to leave, most of them likely to head for Iran or Pakistan.
There is little science to the business of disaster planning, however,
and UNHCR also envisions a "worst-case scenario" in which as many as
1.5 million refugees will attempt to flee their country. The duration
of the U.S.-led bombing campaign, the actions of the Taliban, and the
fate of Usama bin Laden are all unknown factors that could affect the
scope of the exodus, according to UNHCR representative John
Fredriksson, who conducted a Washington briefing October 15.
In the meantime, UNHCR is working to prepare facilities in Iran and
Pakistan to provide for the displaced, but that effort has encountered
a number of obstacles. The latest, Redmond reported, is that workers
attempting to ready sites near Quetta "have been tip-toeing around
hundreds of live Soviet-era anti-tank mines and bombs littering the
area."
Support for the site development operation is arriving in the form of
supply airlifts. An October 19 delivery brought in 10,000 blankets and
6,200 plastic tarpaulins. Another flight is expected soon with plastic
sheeting and tents onboard.
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
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