‘My village is a graveyard’: Afghans describe devastation after earthquake

Khas Kunar, Afghanistan – Stoori was pulled out from under the rubble of his house in Kunar province after it was destroyed by the magnitude 6 earthquake which struck on the night of August 31. But the guilt of not being able to save his wife haunts him.

“I barely had enough time to pull out the body of my dead wife and place her on the rubble of our collapsed home before my children and I were evacuated,” the grief-stricken 40-year-old farmer says.

Stoori, who only gave one name, is now staying with his children in a sprawling evacuation camp 60km (37 miles) from his village – in Khas Kunar.

“My village has become a graveyard. All 40 families lost their homes. The earthquake killed 12 people in my community and left 22 others badly injured,” he says.

Winter is coming

In all, the UN says half a million people have been affected by the quake.

In this camp, which is lined with tents provided by international NGOs, nearly 5,000 people are sheltering, each with stories of loss and pain.

Thankfully, the camp has access to water and sanitation, and there are two small clinics ready to receive injured newcomers, as well as an ambulance which can be dispatched to collect people.

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Right now, workers are digging a trench to install another water pipe, which will divert water to areas in need around the camp.

Just a few hundred metres away, what were once United States military warehouses have been transformed into government offices coordinating the emergency response.

The Taliban, which returned to power after US-led forces withdrew in 2021 after 20 years of occupation, has been overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster.

Tens of thousands of people are without any shelter at all just weeks before the onset of winter, and the mountainous terrain makes relief and rescue efforts difficult.

Najibullah Haqqani, Kunar’s provincial director for the Ministry of Information and Culture, says the authorities are working through a three-step emergency plan: Evacuate those at risk, provide shelter, food, and medical care in camps, and, eventually, rebuild homes or find permanent housing.

But the situation is becoming more challenging by the day. “Fortunately, we have received support from the government, local businesses, volunteers and international NGOs. They all came and helped with food and money for the displaced people,” he tells Al Jazeera.

‘The smell of dead animals fills the air’

More than 10 days after the tremor, new arrivals join the camp daily, inside the fortified walls of the former US base on the banks of the Kabul River.

Among them is Nurghal, a 52-year-old farmer from Shalatak village who was able to reunite with the surviving members of his family only on Wednesday morning. “From my large extended family, 52 people were killed and almost 70 were left badly injured,” he says. The devastation is “unimaginable”, he adds.

“The weather is cold in our area, and we don’t sleep outside this time of the year. That is why many people were trapped in their houses when the earthquake hit, and they were killed. Everything is destroyed back home, and all our animals are buried in debris. The smell of dead animals fills the air in my village.”

Life before the quake, he says, was stable. “Before the earthquake, we had everything we wanted: A home, livestock, our crops, and land. Now life is in the hospital and tents.”

Women face particular challenges in the aftermath of this disaster, as Taliban laws prevent them from travelling without male guardians – meaning it is hard for them to either get medical assistance or, in the case of female medical workers, to provide it.

The World Health Organization (WHO) asked Taliban authorities last week to lift travel restrictions for Afghan female aid workers, at least, to allow them to travel to help women in difficulties following the earthquake.

“A very big issue now is the increasing paucity of female staff in these places,” Dr Mukta Sharma, the deputy representative of WHO’s Afghanistan office, told the Reuters news agency.

Furthermore, since women have been banned from higher education by the Taliban, the number of qualified female medical staff is dwindling.

Despite these difficulties, the Taliban leadership says it is committed to ensuring that women will be properly treated, by male health workers if necessary.

Haqqani, Kunar’s provincial director for the Ministry of Information and Culture, tells Al Jazeera: “During the emergency situation, the military and volunteers evacuated and cared for everyone. On the second day, UNICEF set up a medical clinic in Nurghal district and they had female doctors as well. We took as many injured people as the clinic could handle there and they were treating everyone, male and female. In any emergency situation, there is no gender-based discrimination; any doctor available will treat any patients coming in. The priority is life saving.”

At a field hospital which has been set up inside the old US barracks by the displacement camp at Khas Kunar, six male doctors and one female doctor, 16 male nurses and 12 female nurses are tending to the injured. Currently, there are 34 patients here, 24 of whom are women and children – most of them were taken to Gamberi from their remote villages by Taliban military helicopters and then transferred the last 50km (30 miles) to the hospital by car.

The hospital’s director, Dr Shahid, who only gave one name, says male doctors and nurses are permitted to treat women and have been doing so without any issue.

‘A curse from the sky’

From his bed in the field hospital, Azim, a farmer in his mid-40s from Sohail Tangy village, 60km (37 miles) away, is recovering from fractures to his spine and right shoulder.

He fears returning to the devastation at home.

“The earthquake was like a curse from the sky. I don’t want to move back to that hell,” he tells Al Jazeera. “The government should give us land to rebuild our lives. My village has become the centre of destruction. My only request is to give us land somewhere else.”

Azim is still coming to terms with the loss of his loved ones. “Yesterday, my son told me that three of my brothers are dead. Some of my family members are in the Kabul and Jalalabad hospitals. And my wife is in Kabul military hospital,” he says.

Back in the evacuation camp, Stoori says he is holding onto hope, but only just.

“If God blesses us, maybe we can go back to our village before the winter comes,” he says.

“We have nothing left except our trust in God, and we ask the international community and authorities for help.”

‘My village is a graveyard’: Afghans describe devastation after earthquake
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UN agency appeals for funds to help tens of thousands of quake-hit Afghans, many still homeless

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BRUSSELS (AP) — The U.N.’s migration agency is appealing for funds for around 134,000 people who need help in Afghanistan, nearly two weeks after an earthquake killed more than 2,200 people in the country’s mountainous east.

Many of the quake-hit Afghans are homeless, sleeping in the open and desperate to return and rebuild. Aid organizations are struggling to get tents and other assistance up the mountains and winter weather is expected in the coming weeks.

“We don’t want to create a camp” for the displaced, the International Organization for Migration’s Chief of Mission in Afghanistan Mihyung Park told The Associated Press.

“Those who are displaced … they’re living in a makeshift type of situation,” Park said in Brussels, after holding talks with European Union officials.

“We are trying to provide our assistance as close we can” to their current location, she added.

The U.N. and its partners have reached at least 60,000 quake survivors with food, and 30,000 have been provided with safe drinking water, he said, adding that malnourished children and pregnant and breastfeeding women have also received specialized nutrition aid.

But the U.N. spokesman said far more resources are needed, stressing the U.N.’s appeal for $139 million to help 457,000 people over the next four months.

Afghanistan was already facing multiple crises, including the return of more than 1.7 million Afghans from Iran and Pakistan in 2025, large-scale internal displacement and severe economic hardship.

That support is even more important as Western countries cut development and humanitarian aid budgets to spend more on their defense, leaving less money for disaster and other support.

“There are many crises in the world,” Park said. Speaking of Afghanistan, she added that IOM is “very afraid that it’s being forgotten.”

The plight of Afghan women is of particular concern. Since the Taliban seized power, they have imposed their interpretation of Islamic law on daily life, including sweeping restrictions on women and girls.

The U.N.’s Dujarric said Thursday that the Taliban have restricted Afghan women working for the U.N. and its contractors from entering U.N. premises in Kabul and other offices across the country – stationing security forces outside to prevent entry.

The restrictions disregard previous arrangements between the U.N. and the Taliban, Dujarric said, and the U.N. has responded by implementing adjustments to protect staff and is assessing “viable options for continuing their principled and essential work.”

UN agency appeals for funds to help tens of thousands of quake-hit Afghans, many still homeless
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Baradar Calls for Continued Aid, Reconstruction After Kunar Earthquake

Twelve days ago, a deadly earthquake struck Kunar and neighboring provinces, causing heavy casualties and massive financial losses.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, during a visit to Kunar, expressed condolences to earthquake survivors and stressed the continuation of humanitarian aid, the reconstruction of affected areas, and the removal of economic obstacles.

He noted that despite limited resources, timely assistance had been provided to the victims, and officials had been instructed to ensure transparent distribution of aid among those in need.

Sayed Massoud, a university professor, stated: “The major blow to our people came on the eve of winter. The Kunar earthquake revealed the world’s failure to adequately assist these victims. The world’s largest countries provided only superficial aid.”

Meanwhile, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that more than 134,000 people affected by the deadly Kunar earthquake are in urgent need of assistance. The head of IOM in Afghanistan stressed that many Afghan earthquake survivors are homeless, sleeping in the open air, and face serious challenges in the upcoming winter.

Twelve days after the deadly earthquake in Kunar, the United Nations announced that aid had been delivered to 60,000 victims. A UN spokesperson warned that restrictions on female staff imposed by the authorities were hindering aid delivery to earthquake survivors.

Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, said: “Those restrictions are putting at serious risk the essential humanitarian assistance currently being delivered by the UN in earthquake-affected areas of Afghanistan. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said that it is engaging with the de facto authorities and calling for the immediate lifting of the restrictions to continue critical support to the Afghan people.”

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Economy, stressing the continuation of assistance, stated that aid is being distributed through humanitarian organizations as well as a committee affiliated with the Islamic Emirate.

Abdul Latif Nazari, Deputy Minister of Economy, said: “International aid reaches our affected compatriots through two mechanisms: first via NGOs and charitable organizations, and second through the committee of the Islamic Emirate. However, we want these aids to be distributed through the Islamic Emirate to ensure greater effectiveness.”

Twelve days ago, a deadly earthquake struck Kunar and neighboring provinces, causing heavy casualties and massive financial losses.

Baradar Calls for Continued Aid, Reconstruction After Kunar Earthquake
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UN: 4.7M Afghan Women and Children Face Severe Malnutrition

Most of the malnourished children are being brought from various provinces to Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital in Kabul for treatment.

The spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General has stated that one in every four people in Afghanistan is facing severe food insecurity, and more than 4.7 million women and children require urgent treatment for malnutrition.

Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, said: “Our colleagues at the World Food Programme warn that the country is facing a rapidly worsening humanitarian crisis in 2025.  WFP pointed out that this year has seen the highest spike in acute malnutrition ever recorded, with more than 4.7 million women and children in need of urgent treatment.”

Most of the malnourished children are being brought from various provinces to Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital in Kabul for treatment.

Roh Afza, grandmother of a sick child, said: “His mother and father are poor. He became malnourished, and we brought him from Kunduz. The doctors there told his father to take him to hospitals in Kabul for admission.”

Bibi Sara, mother of another sick child, said: “We took him to hospitals in Panjshir and Kapisa, but it didn’t help. They told us to bring him to Kabul. We brought him here so he could recover.”

Doctors at Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital also report a rise in the number of patients seeking treatment for malnutrition. They say three to five children with severe malnutrition are hospitalized each day.

Mohammad Arif Hasanzai, head of the hospital’s internal medicine department, said: “Mild and moderate malnutrition cases are few, and we don’t admit them. If they do come, we offer nutritional counseling and send them home. Our hospital has 20 beds for this purpose, and they are always occupied.”

Dr. Dost Mohammad Beikzada said: “One of the main causes we’ve investigated is that many of these children are fed a type of milk known as ‘Russian milk,’ sold by weight in markets. When they consume it, most of them develop swelling and malnutrition.”

Previously, Save the Children also reported that around 37,000 children under the age of five and 10,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women in earthquake-affected areas are suffering from acute malnutrition, and over 91,000 people are in need of nutritional support.

UN: 4.7M Afghan Women and Children Face Severe Malnutrition
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Afghanistan: New restrictions on women nationals working for UN, put aid efforts at risk

UN News

11 September 2025

The United Nations in Afghanistan called on Thursday for the de facto Taliban authorities to lift restrictions barring women national staff from entering its premises. 

A staff member with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) speaks with displaced women in the eastern province of Nangahar in Afghanistan. (file)
© UNOCHA/Charlotte Cans
A staff member with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) speaks with displaced women in the eastern province of Nangahar in Afghanistan. (file)

These measures are putting life-saving humanitarian assistance and other essential services for hundreds of thousands of people affected by a recent deadly earthquake at risk, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) warned in a statement.

On Sunday, the de facto security forces prevented women Afghan staff members and contractors from entering UN compounds in the capital, Kabul.

This was extended to field offices across the country, following written or verbal notifications from Taliban leadership.

Furthermore, security forces are visibly present at the entrances of UN premises in Kabul, Herat, and Mazar-i-Sharif to enforce the measure.

This is particularly concerning in view of continuing restrictions on the rights of Afghan women and girls,” the statement said.

Since returning to power four years ago, the Taliban have issued numerous edicts impacting women’s rights such as prohibiting girls from attending secondary school and banning women from most jobs, including working with non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Travel also curtailed

The UN has also received reports of security forces attempting to bar women national staff from travelling to field locations, including to support women and girls as part of the response to the earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan last month.

They are also being blocked from accessing operational sites for Afghan returnees from Iran and Pakistan.

Support for returnees halted

Since January, over 2.4 million people have returned or been forced to return to Afghanistan from neighbouring countries, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.

As a result of the restrictions, UNHCR has temporarily suspended activities at sites where returnees receive cash support and other assistance so that they can rebuild their lives after years of displacement and exile.

“This decision was taken for operational reasons, as it is not possible to interview and collect information for the 52 per cent of returnee women, without female staff,” the agency said in a statement posted on social media.

Lift the restrictions

The UN is engaging the de facto authorities and calls for the immediate lifting of restrictions to continue critical support to the Afghan people, noting that the current actions disregard “previously communicated arrangements”.

Such arrangements have enabled the United Nations to deliver critical assistance across the country, through a culturally sensitive and principled approach ensuring the delivery of assistance by women, for women,” the statement said.

In the interim, UNAMA and UN agencies, funds and programmes in Afghanistan, have implemented operational adjustments to protect staff and assess options for continuing their essential work.

The statement concluded by recalling that the prohibition on the movement of UN staff and the obstruction of UN operations is a breach of international rules on the privileges and immunities of the organization’s personnel.

 

Afghanistan: New restrictions on women nationals working for UN, put aid efforts at risk
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Woman held by Taliban warns British couple ‘dying’ in prison

Freya Chappell and Maia Davies
BBC News
September 13, 2025

An American woman detained by the Taliban alongside a British couple has told the BBC they are “literally dying” in prison and that “time is running out”.

Faye Hall was arrested with Peter, 80, and Barbie Reynolds, 76 on 1 February when returning to Bamiyan Province, Afghanistan, where the couple lived.

While Ms Hall was released after two months, Peter and Barbie remain in prison and still do not know why they are being held.

The Foreign Office (FCDO) said it was supporting the family of a couple being held in Afghanistan.

“I love them, I know they will be out very soon, don’t ever give up.”

Mr and Mrs Reynolds married in Kabul in 1970 and had lived in Afghanistan for 18 years prior to their arrest – the reason for which has not been confirmed despite four court appearances.

The pair had Afghan citizenship and ran a charity programme in the country, approved by the Taliban when they took power in 2021.

Ms Hall said the group, which also included an interpreter, had flown from Kabul to Bamiyan Province in a privately chartered plane when they were stopped at a check point.

They then spent days on the road being driven between police stations and prisons.

She described the conditions in which they had been held, including cramped cells and a maximum security prison holding “murderers”, fenced with barbed wire and where guards carried machine guns.

PA Media Barbie and Peter Reynolds smile for the camera while stood outside. They are in front of an orange wall behind which long stalks of wood are the tops of two flat buildings are visible. Peter wears a grey cap, black waistcoat and blue long-sleeved top. Barbie wears a turquoise head scarf, a dark blue waistcoat, and a floral long-sleeved blue top.
Peter and Barbie Reynolds lived in Afghanistan for 18 years prior to their arrest in February

She also cautioned that Peter had been getting sicker despite receiving medication from the Qatari government, which he required daily after undergoing heart surgery and cancer treatment.

“We just have these elderly people, they’re literally dying, and time is running out.”

She stressed that the conditions were taking a mental toll as well as physical, because “every day you do not know where you’ll be tomorrow”.

“It’s not a healthy environment and we were the only foreigners there,” she added.

The pair’s son previously told the BBC he feared they would die in prison, cautioning that Peter had suffered serious convulsions and Barbie was “numb” from anaemia and malnutrition.

The UN warned in July that the couple could perish “in such degrading conditions” if they did not receive medical care at once, calling their detention “inhumane”.

The FCDO said: “We are supporting the family of two British Nationals who are detained in Afghanistan. The Minister has met the family to discuss the case.

The UK shut its embassy in Kabul and withdrew its diplomats from the country after the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

The FCDO says support for British nationals in Afghanistan is therefore “severely limited” and advises against all travel to the country.

A spokesperson for the US State Department said the Taliban had a “history of unjustly detaining foreign nationals”.

“They should permanently end their practice of hostage diplomacy and release all those unjustly detained immediately.”

The Taliban’s foreign minister said in July that Barbie and Peter were “in constant contact with their families” and that efforts were under way to secure their release but that “these steps have not yet been completed”.

“Their human rights are being respected. They are being given full access to treatment, contact and accommodation.”

Woman held by Taliban warns British couple ‘dying’ in prison
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With little aid, Afghanistan’s quakes spell ‘inter-generational’ crisis

By  and 

Reuters

  • Quake destroys Afghan homes, livestock, livelihoods
  • Families shelter under tents as winter nears
  • UNDP claims 1.3 mln animals affected in quake
  • NRC: 7,000 livestock killed, irrigation damaged
KARACHI/BAMBA KOT, Afghanistan, Sept 11 (Reuters) – Earthquakes that flattened villages in eastern Afghanistan this month destroyed homes and livestock, the only assets owned by most families, leaving survivors with almost nothing to rebuild as aid runs thin.
At least 2,200 people were killed and more than half a million affected when a powerful earthquake struck the region on the night of August 31 followed by a series of strong aftershocks. The quakes have left tens of thousands of people homeless, with some fearing further landslides.

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“We only need one tent,” he said, adding that officials refused to register his damaged house as uninhabitable.
For many families in rural Afghanistan, homes, land and livestock are all they can call their own.
“In Afghanistan, households store wealth in homes, land and livestock, so when earthquakes destroy these assets, entire balance sheets collapse overnight,” said Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh who specialises in governance in fragile states.
Stephen Rodriques, UNDP’s Resident Representative in Afghanistan, said more than 1.3 million animals were affected in the worst-hit Nangarhar and Kunar provinces, with grain stores and irrigation systems destroyed, threatening food supplies and the next planting season.
More than 7,000 livestock were killed and seven irrigation systems destroyed, with others damaged, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council.
“When those inputs vanish, you see less production, higher food prices and long-term harm to nutrition and health, especially for the poorest households,” said Ilan Noy, chair in the Economics of Disasters and Climate Change at Victoria University in Wellington.
“Without financing, the recovery will take much longer, and will create long-term cascades of consequences from this event that can continue for a very long time, possibly inter-generationally,” he said.

STRAIN UPON STRAIN

Taliban authorities say more than 6,700 homes were destroyed. Families remain in tents as aftershocks persist.
Thomas Barfield, author and president of the American Institute of Afghanistan Studies, said the coming winter would worsen the crisis and that decades of war and migration mean fewer relatives remain to help rebuild.
The quakes add gloom to an economy battered by sanctions, frozen assets and aid cuts since the Taliban takeover in 2021, while over 2 million deportations from Pakistan and Iran this year have further strained food and housing.
“Construction was a huge employer that disappeared after the Taliban takeover, the NGO sector is shrinking with aid cuts, and even the public sector is under strain,” said Ibraheem Bahiss of the International Crisis Group.
“Every year brings droughts and floods, and now earthquakes on top of that, compounding the tragedy Afghans face.”
The United Nations has appealed for $140 million in aid, but pledges lag as donors focus on Gaza and Ukraine and resist funding the Taliban because of its curbs on women aid workers.
Some aid has trickled in following the earthquake, from tents to food supplies, but it is not nearly enough, analysts said.
“Emergency aid is a wet towel in a forest fire, it won’t bridge the gap,” said Obaidullah Baheer, an adjunct lecturer at the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul. He warned that aid flows have already dropped steeply in a country reliant on them for two decades, and that “the real impact will only start to show next year.”

Reporting by Ariba Shahid in Karachi, Mohammad Yunus Yawar and Sayed Hassib in Bamba Kot, Afghanistan; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan

With little aid, Afghanistan’s quakes spell ‘inter-generational’ crisis
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UNICEF Appeals for $22m to Aid Children Affected by Afghanistan Earthquakes

UNICEF has launched a $22 million appeal to aid over 212,000 children in eastern Afghanistan, providing healthcare, clean water, education, nutrition, and psychosocial support after devastating earthquakes.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has announced a $22 million humanitarian programme to meet the urgent needs of vulnerable children and families.

According to a UNICEF statement released on Wednesday, September 10, the initiative aims to reach 400,000 people over the next six months, including more than 212,000 children.

The aid package will provide emergency health services, safe drinking water, psychosocial support, nutrition programmes, and temporary education for children affected by the crisis.

UNICEF said that geographical challenges, weak infrastructure, and social restrictions continue to complicate the delivery of aid to remote and hard-to-reach areas.

The organisation stressed that ensuring equal access for women and girls remains a priority, with female health and social workers being deployed as part of the response.

In its appeal, UNICEF urged the international community to step up financial and logistical support quickly to ensure that families can access essential services before the onset of winter.

The programme highlights the urgent humanitarian situation facing children and families, while underscoring the importance of coordinated international action to prevent worsening conditions in the months ahead.

Humanitarian observers warn that without swift donor support, the gap in resources could leave thousands of families exposed to malnutrition, poor health, and harsh winter conditions.

UNICEF Appeals for $22m to Aid Children Affected by Afghanistan Earthquakes
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Bitter Return: Afghan Migrants Share Painful Tales of Forced Deportation

Local officials say that every day, thousands of families are being deported through the Torkham crossing into Afghanistan.

With the launch of the third phase of the forced deportation of Afghan migrants from Pakistan, the process of returning Afghans has intensified.

Local officials say that every day, thousands of families are being deported through the Torkham crossing into Afghanistan.

Habibullah, who owned a hotel in Rawalpindi, Punjab province, now says that after decades of residence, he has lost all his property and business and was forcibly deported along with his family.

He says: “I had my own hotel and business, but the situation reached a point where dignity became the issue, and I lost everything. Both the hotel and the business are gone. We brought some of our belongings, but a lot was left behind. Dignity is important. Only we ourselves made it back.”

Currently, the living conditions for Afghans in Pakistan have become extremely difficult.

Other recently returned migrants also tell stories of sudden police raids, extortion, and forced detentions.

Khalid, one of the deportees, said: “Sometimes they would detain us, and other times they demanded money. We couldn’t go out to the streets or the markets. They had made life miserable for us.”

Umar Gul, another deportee, said: “They forced us a lot. We lived there for 45 years, but we never truly enjoyed life.”

Local officials in Nangarhar say the deportation of Afghan migrants from Pakistan has accelerated in recent days.

Bakht Jamal Gowhar, head of migrant repatriation at Torkham, said: “The returnees, after receiving assistance from the Islamic Emirate, are being transferred to various provinces of Afghanistan in coordination with partner organizations.”

Meanwhile, Pashtun nationalist parties and former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan have called for an end to the forced deportations of Afghans, but the Pakistani government continues the process at an even faster pace.

Bitter Return: Afghan Migrants Share Painful Tales of Forced Deportation
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Afghanistan quake destroyed 5,230 homes in 49 villages — but the UN hasn’t gotten to 362 others

The Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — An initial United Nations assessment of the impact of Afghanistan’s recent deadly earthquake found 5,230 homes destroyed and 672 damaged in 49 villages — but the U.N. hasn’t been able to get to the vast majority of the remote villages.

Shannon O’Hara, the coordination chief for the U.N. humanitarian office in Afghanistan, said Monday that damaged roads in the country’s rugged and mountainous east where the 6.0 magnitude quake struck have made it extremely difficult to assess the impact in the 441 affected villages. A series of aftershocks ranging from 5.2 to 5.6 in magnitude added to the difficulties, she said.

The earthquake struck on Aug. 31, killing at least 2,200 people, and that figure could rise as more bodies are recovered. The United Nations estimates the quake has affected up to 500,000 people, more than half of them children and some of them Afghans forcibly returned from neighboring Pakistan and Iran.

As an example of the difficulties the U.N. team has faced, O’Hara said it took her more than 6 1/2 hours to get from Jalalabad, the largest city near the quake area, to the worst-hit area roughly 100 kilometers away on the only road — a narrow, single-lane track carved into the mountainside blocked in places by large rocks from landslides.

Many vehicles, including trucks loaded with humanitarian aid, were trying to get up and down the valley to help, she said.

“As we drove towards the epicenter, we saw families walking in the opposite direction — displaced, carrying what little they could. Many were still wearing the same clothes from the night of the earthquake,” O’Hara said. “Mothers and fathers were carrying their children, some with fresh bandages covering their injuries.”

She said the devastation got worse as the U.N. team got closer to the epicenter, with entire villages destroyed and the overpowering smell of dead animals. Some families who have lost their homes and livelihoods were living in crowded tents, while many others were sleeping under the open skies, exposed to rain and cold.

“There was no clean drinking water and no sanitation, with cholera endemic in the region, and initial assessments indicating that 92% of these communities are practicing open defecation,” she said. “The potential for a cholera outbreak is alarming. “

O’Hara, who has been in the quake-affected region for five days, reported the initial assessment at a video press conference with U.N. journalists.

She said the needs are overwhelming — clean water, food, tents, latrines and warm clothing as the region nears the start of winter snows at the end of October.

In visits to three camps for displaced people on Monday, O’Hara said women in particular emphasized their need for clean water and adequate clothing for themselves and for their children.

She said time is of the essence. “Any day, rainfall could cause flash floods in the valleys” where camps for the displaced have been set up and ”additional aftershocks could cause more severe landslides, cutting off access to communities still living near the epicenter,” O’Hara said.

“And snow will cut off access to these mountain valleys,” she said. “If we don’t act now, these communities may not survive the coming winter.”

The United Nations will be issuing an emergency appeal Tuesday for desperately needed funding to help quake survivors, O’Hara said.

She said Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban authorities took the lead in search and rescue operations and there has been no major obstruction to humanitarian operations.

As for women and girls whose activities are drastically curtailed by the Taliban, O’Hara said she had not received any reports of women being left behind by male-only rescue teams, and the U.N. is ensuring that women are part of health teams and aid distribution operations.

Afghanistan quake destroyed 5,230 homes in 49 villages — but the UN hasn’t gotten to 362 others
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