Over 250,000 Afghans displaced by conflicts in 2017

More than 250,000 Afghans have been displaced so far this year by conflicts and prolonged insurgency, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Tuesday.

More than 250,000 Afghans have been displaced so far this year by conflicts and prolonged insurgency, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Tuesday.

“From Jan. 1 to Sept. 16, 2017, more than 250,000 people have fled their homes due to conflicts in Afghanistan,” it said in a statement. 

About 1,300 undocumented Afghan returnees from Pakistan returned to the country within the past week, a significant increase of returns of more than three times compared to the previous week, the statement said. 

According to the statement, from Sept. 10 to Sept. 16, a total of 1,037 registered refugees returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan as well as 20 from Iran. 

“Since January, UNHCR has assisted the return of 49,134 Afghan refugees to their home-country,” the statement read. 

Within the past one week, over 26,000 displaced people, undocumented returnees and refugees received humanitarian assistance, according to the statement.