• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

AFGHANISTAN: US "battlefield damage aid" helps recovery in Helmand Province

KABUL, 28 July 2008 (IRIN) - About two months after Taliban insurgents were forced out of Garmsir District in Helmand Province, US forces have been helping local people to rebuild their properties and livelihoods.

Some 2,400 US marines, backed by Afghan and UK forces, conducted a military operation from late April to early June in which scores of insurgents were killed, thus restoring the government's authority in the district, according to US and Afghan military officials.

To help people rebuild their damaged property, "24.3 million Afghani [over US$480,000] in battlefield damage aid" had been paid out to about 400 claimants by 27 July, according to the US military.

"We are paying what we call battlefield damage aid. There are certain things we don't pay for, such as damage caused by insurgents or damage caused well before we arrived," Capt Kelly Frushour, a public affairs officer for the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, told IRIN in Kabul.

"The process is: Someone with property damage goes to the Civil Military Operations Centre. They report the damage to the marines there. The marines will verify the claim - sometimes this requires going to the location. Once the claim is verified, the person is paid," she said.

Aid "largely insufficient" - local official

Thousands of civilians were reportedly displaced from their homes during the military operation. The clashes adversely affected agriculture, the health and education sectors, and the local economy. However, provincial officials said most of the displaced had returned to their homes.

"Some people have received assistance to re-establish their life after the war, but overall the available aid has been largely insufficient," said Mohammad Anwar Khan, head of the provincial council, adding that people in Garmsir were still facing "a variety of very serious problems".

Some local people complained about the damage to water sources and shops, which they said had not been compensated for by the government and international forces.

Taliban insurgents had allegedly left behind landmines and explosive remnants of war which reportedly killed and wounded several people, and impeded access to agricultural land and public places.

"Stable but not secure"

The Afghan Red Crescent in Helmand Province said during and after the military operation over 1,000 battle-affected families had received food aid.

A district hospital, run by a local non-governmental organisation, had also been re-opened and re-stocked with "basic medical supplies" by the UK-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT). "There is one doctor, a midwife and two assistants and they see 80-100 patients a day," said Frushour of the US military.

Frushour said nine other projects had also been funded. These included well-digging and the refurbishment of two mosques.

Afghan and US officials said local people in Garmsir District were "very happy" that the insurgents had been driven out. "The few who have not been pleased with our presence begrudgingly accept us because they don't want the insurgents there either, and they do concede that at least we pay them for damage to their property and/or use of their property," said Frushour.

The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit is expected to hand over the security of Garmsir District to the PRT and Afghan forces in the next three months. "Garmsir is stable but not secure. The insurgents are still there; they are just not engaging with marine forces the way they were," Frushour added.

ad/at/cb

Copyright © IRIN 2008
This material comes to you via IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations or its Member States.
IRIN is a project of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.