U N I T E D   N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network for Central Asia

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e-mail: irin@irin.org.pk


Central Asia
IRIN-CA Weekly Round-up 24
14 - 20 September 2001


CONTENTS:

AFGHANISTAN: Humanitarian response following attacks in US
AFGHANISTAN: Mass movements of people inside the country
AFGHANISTAN: Contingency plans
AFGHANISTAN: Donor response
AFGHANISTAN: UN Reaction to the attack on the US
AFGHANISTAN: Aid workers' trial continues
AFGHANISTAN: Taliban refuse to hand over Bin Laden
PAKISTAN: New waves of refugees
PAKISTAN: Other main developments:
CENTRAL ASIA: Borders close as Afghans flee
TAJIKISTAN: Officials oppose US attack
KYRGYZSTAN: Refugees and officials urge constraint
TURKMENISTAN: Government ready to participate in coalition
IRAN: Government condemns attacks
UZBEKISTAN: Officials ready to discuss cooperation


AFGHANISTAN: Humanitarian response following attacks in US

The United Nations said it would continue to provide the people of
Afghanistan with "as much essential, life-saving assistance" as possible
in a statement issued one day after the UN relocated all 75 members of its
international staff to Pakistan's capital Islamabad. The UN office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) issued two situation reports
on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan during the week. It reported
there were currently an estimated 5.3 million vulnerable people inside
Afghanistan, of whom approximately 1.16 million were internally displaced
persons (IDPs). There are also two million and 1.5 million Afghan refugees
respectively in Pakistan and Iran.

Although national aid staff have remained in the country, including 700
national staff of the UN, many have moved from their duty stations to
safer locations. These staff movements have drastically reduced the
capacity to deliver humanitarian aid inside Afghanistan. Food
distributions to IDPs and other vulnerable people are severely hampered by
the absence of drivers, trucks and fuel. Due to the closure of Afghan air
space, all UN flights to Afghanistan have been suspended. Increases in
food prices are reported along with a devaluation of Afghanistan's
currency, the afghani, against the US dollar (the current exchange rate
is: US $1=As. 80,000).

According to OCHA, an estimated 3.8 million Afghans are dependent on food
aid. Although some food distributions were possible in the week, the
western Afghan region of Herat is one of the few areas where assistance
was able to meet the needs of the large IDP population. WFP distributed
733 mt of wheat to IDPs in four camps between 12 and 18 September, and is
releasing food for other projects in remote areas on a priority basis.
However, WFP reported that it had exhausted all its food stocks in the
northern Mazar-e Sharif region, where many thousands of vulnerable IDPs
are already suffering from high levels of malnutrition.

International aid agencies also withdrew their foreign staff from
Afghanistan and have expressed concern over the impact the pull-out will
have on humanitarian assistance. "The continuance of assistance is crucial
for many of our projects," Sebastian Trives, Afghanistan coordinator for
the French NGO, ACTED, told IRIN. "We want to be out of Afghanistan for as
little time as possible," he added. ACTED has been working in northern and
northeastern Afghanistan.

A group of 14 international NGOs, including the Irish aid agency CONCERN,
issued a joint statement calling on "the United States and its allies to
show restraint" in its response to the recent attacks. CONCERN said the
statement expressed horror at the attacks in the US, but warned against a
"descent into a spiral of violence".

The UN Coordinator for Afghanistan, Mike Sackett, told IRIN on Thursday
that most affected Afghans were innocent villagers unconnected with the
conflict inside Afghanistan, much less terrorism. Sackett said: "We
believe that the situation is so serious for large numbers of people that
we urge those drawing up strategic plans in Washington and Brussels to
bear in mind the very real needs of Afghans in Afghanistan."

AFGHANISTAN: Mass movements of people inside the country

Major new population movements both internally and towards neighbouring
countries have been reported. "There is going to be a massive exodus of
Afghans, but there are not many safe countries they can run to, creating
the worst refugee situation in human history," the chairman of the
department of defence and strategic studies at Quaid-e-Azam University in
Islamabad, Rifat Hussain, warned on Monday.

OCHA said on Tuesday that about half of the southern Afghan city of
Kandahar's population, including many Taliban leaders, had fled to rural
areas and towards the Pakistani border. In addition, about a quarter of
the population "may have left Kabul", according to OCHA. The northeastern
city of Jalalabad is said to have lost almost 65 percent of its
population. Borders between Afghanistan and its neighbours Pakistan and
Iran are officially closed.

Afghans fleeing into Pakistan told IRIN they felt even more vulnerable
following news of the death of the leader of the opposition northern
alliance, Ahmad Shah Mas'ud. He was the target of two Arab suicide bombers
posing as journalists in his office in northern Afghanistan. The Taliban
drove Mas'ud and his supporters out of the capital Kabul in 1996, and now
control 95 percent of the country.

AFGHANISTAN: Contingency plans

Following the withdrawal of all UN international staff and most
international NGO staff from Afghanistan, the UN set up a Crisis
Management Group in Islamabad to provide a central point for the
management of the growing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Central to
this group are the UN Coordinator's Office for Afghanistan, UNHCR, UNICEF
and WFP. Other organisations, including ICRC and NGOs, have also
participated. The group is developing a common strategy for the overall
crisis, and contingency plans.

The UN Coordinator for Afghanistan, Mike Sackett, told IRIN on Thursday
that considerable efforts were being put into coordinating the work of all
the main players, namely UN Agencies and NGOs, and that they were in close
contact with the Resident Coordinators of the UN system in neighbouring
countries. He said contingency planning is focusing both on the resumption
of assistance activities inside Afghanistan as soon as conditions allow,
and on providing Afghans outside the country with aid.

The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Kenzo Oshima, meanwhile, has
mobilised the UN country teams in Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Iran
and Tajikistan, together with the Afghanistan country team located in
Islamabad, to compile regional contingency and preparedness plans under
the direction of the UN Coordinator for Afghanistan.

AFGHANISTAN: Donor response

A total of US $332.6 million has been requested by UN agencies through the
Appeal 2001 for Afghanistan. As of 10 September, US $144.9 million (43.58
percent) has been contributed by donors. An additional US $70.7 million
has been contributed outside the appeal.

Canada announced on 19 September it would contribute US $1 million to
UNHCR to help respond to the emerging Afghan refugee crisis. Maria Minna,
Canada's Minister for International Cooperation, announced that the
donation would be made through the Canadian International Development
Agency (CIDA).

The Irish aid agency, CONCERN, also announced on 19 September, that it had
allocated an initial 250,000 pounds sterling (US $365,000) towards the
situation in Afghanistan. This is in addition to the 1.1 million pounds
sterling (US $1.61 million) the agency had already donated to Afghanistan
and Pakistan, for programme work during 2001. Saudi Arabia is reported to
have pledged US $500,000 to the aid effort.

AFGHANISTAN: UN Reaction to the attack on the US

Members of the UN Security Council said on Tuesday that the Taliban must
immediately comply with Council resolutions, especially those calling on
the group to hand over indicted terrorist Osama bin Laden. The Council
also demanded that the Taliban authorities act swiftly to close all
terrorist training camps in territory under their control.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and French President Jacques Chirac
stressed on Wednesday at UN headquarters in New York the importance of
building a broad international coalition in the fight against terrorism.
"We should focus on the perpetrators, build a broad coalition of nations
that will fight against this," Annan told a new conference. "I think the
Security Council and the General Assembly have given us a base to build
on," he added.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers on Wednesday urged US
leaders to carefully weigh the humanitarian consequences of any actions in
Afghanistan. "It is important to be aware of the already desperate plight
of millions of Afghan civilians, and of the humanitarian consequences to
ordinary people while formulating policy options," said Lubbers while
visiting Washington. He also appealed to Americans to guard against any
xenophobic backlash, amid reports of incidents in the US against Arab and
Muslim communities.

AFGHANISTAN: Aid workers' trial continues

The trial in the Afghan capital, Kabul, of eight foreign aid workers
accused of preaching Christianity is continuing despite the current
situation, a German embassy official confirmed to IRIN on Tuesday. "We've
spoken to Taliban officials at the embassy in Islamabad, and they have
told us that the aid workers are still detained in a jail in Kabul, and
that the Supreme Court is continuing with the trial," Helmut Landes, a
German diplomat in Islamabad, said. The eight, comprising two Americans,
two Australians and four Germans, all from the German-based Shelter Now
International relief agency, were arrested along with 16 Afghan nationals
in early August. The Taliban religious police said they caught two women -
an American and an Australian - showing Christian material to an Afghan
family on a computer in their home in Kabul.  AFGHANISTAN: Taliban refuse
to hand over Osama Bin Laden Afghanistan's ruling Taliban movement on
Friday refused to hand over alleged terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden
and warned that US attempts to apprehend him by force could plunge the
whole region into crisis, AP reported. The refusal by the Afghan
leadership, which has sheltered bin Laden for the last five years, was
announced by the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef. He
spoke after President Bush warned Afghanistan must hand over Bin Laden and
his lieutenants "or they will share their fate." However, there was no
sign that Bush's warning was enough to convince Afghanistan's rulers to
move against Bin Laden, the prime suspect in the 11 September terrorist
attacks in New York and Washington. "Our position on this is that if
America has proof, we are ready for the trial of Osama bin Laden in light
of the evidence,'' Zaeef said. Asked if the Taliban were ready to hand bin
Laden over, he snapped "No'' but his translator said, "No, not without
evidence.''

PAKISTAN: New waves of refugees

UNHCR reported on Wednesday the arrival of some 15,000 Afghan refugees in
Pakistan since the terrorist attacks against the US. "UNHCR is in talks
with Pakistan's government on whether this group can be integrated into
existing camps where shelter and water supplies are readily available, or
whether the authorities will insist that new camps be established to
shelter new arrivals - a time-consuming and expensive exercise," the
agency said. UNHCR has dispatched additional staff to Pakistan and is
supplying thousands of tents, blankets, jerry cans and kitchen sets.

Pakistan, already host to two million Afghan refugees, says it cannot cope
with a new influx, and announced the closure of its border with
Afghanistan on Monday. Border guards were under strict instructions not to
allow anyone into the country, regardless of whether or not they had
documents, a Pakistani senior official told IRIN.

As well as the crossing points at Torkham (Towr Kham) and Chaman, Pakistan
has also sealed off the Nawa pass border near Chitral in Pakistan's North
West Frontier Province (NWFP). The Torkham border crossing, the route used
by many refugees attempting to reach Peshawar, the capital of the NWFP,
was closed on 17 September, even to Afghans with valid documents.

Up to 15,000 Afghans, meanwhile, have arrived in Pakistan's southwestern
Balochistan Province during the past week, according to UNHCR. Some 10,000
Afghans crossed into Quetta, Balochistan's provincial capital, in the days
immediately following the terrorist attacks in the US, UNHCR said. A
further 5,000 refugees were camped near the Chaman crossing point just
inside Pakistan. Despite the border closure, Afghans claimed they could
still cross into Quetta by bribing border guards. [For full report go to
IRIN Separate report of 17 September headlined: PAKISTAN-IRAN: Influx of
Afghan refugees feared]

PAKISTAN: Other main developments

A Pakistani delegation visited Afghanistan on 17 and 18 September in a bid
to convince the ruling Taliban to hand over Osama bin Laden. Following
this, Afghan senior clerics from all over the country met in Kabul to
discuss the request and the threat of US retaliation. The BBC and other
media reported on 20 September that the clerics had now called on Bin
Laden to leave Afghanistan voluntarily. They also passed a resolution
calling for a jihad, or holy war, in response to any US attack on their
country, media sources said.

The Pakistani government had earlier agreed to cooperate with the US in
its fight against terrorism. The president, General Musharraf, made an
extended nationwide television address on 19 September in which he put
forward his reasons for the agreement. He confirmed that the US had
requested the use of Pakistani airspace in the event of an attack on
Afghanistan, and he called for unity against radical elements that would
try to create anarchy during the crisis. Meanwhile, Pakistan's senior
religious body called for holy war against the US and its allies if they
were to attack Afghanistan, AFP reported.

Pro-Taliban demonstrations were seen on the streets of Pakistan's cities
during the week, and a nationwide strike was called by religious parties
for Friday, 21 September. Amid mounting tension, US embassy non-essential
staff and dependents were given permission to leave Pakistan if they
wished to do so on Wednesday. Other foreign nationals have also begun
leaving, and foreign schools have closed temporarily. International aid
agencies have recalled staff from stations outside Islamabad, and some are
temporarily leaving the country.

Pakistan's minority Christian community also expressed fears in the week
of being targeted by Muslim attacks. The Catholic priest of an Islamabad
church told IRIN he feared that Muslims would attack churches in Pakistan
to avenge attacks on mosques in the US which have been reported in the
press.

CENTRAL ASIA: Borders close as Afghans flee

Central Asian countries have closed their borders with Afghanistan,
fearing a new flood of refugees in the crisis triggered by the attacks
against the US on 11 September. In Tajikistan there are already between
12,000 and 16,000 Afghan refugees, and the government is not prepared to
take any more. There are no reports of Afghan refugees trying to cross
into Iran so far, but some Afghan businessmen are reported to be crossing
the border.

A Russian Federal Border Guard spokesman confirmed on Tuesday that
thousands of Afghans had been gathering on islands along the Pyandzh river
that marks much of the Tajik-Afghan border, AP reported. Twelve thousand
refugees were reported on the islands earlier this month, and the Russians
said a further 120,000 Afghans were currently in the area adjacent to the
border.

"They [Central Asian countries] are all deeply in need, and it's the
responsibility of the donor countries to make it possible for those
countries to welcome and help refugees by providing not only support
directly for the refugees but also for those countries," Barnett Rubin,
Director of Studies, Center on International Cooperation, New York
University, told IRIN on Monday. Rubin added that the humanitarian crisis
resulting from recent events could be "extremely disastrous".

TAJIKISTAN: Officials oppose US attack

Tajik officials say they oppose any attack on Afghanistan, and stress that
it could impinge on neighbouring countries. "I consider that the US
doesn't have the right to launch an attack on Afghanistan," a government
official, Ibrohim Usmonov, told IRIN. "Otherwise it will be the same
terrorist act [as 11 September], but on the part of the US, and it will
make our situation worse." Some 10,000 Russian troops patrol the 1,500 km
border with Afghanistan. Russia also urged caution and is reported not to
support the use of bases inside Tajikistan to launch a US attack on
Afghanistan.

The Tajik government has taken precautions against possible infiltration
of Taliban fighters along its border. AFP reported that Tajik armed forces
were placed on alert on Monday following reports that 5,000 Taliban
militia had approached the border.

KYRGYZSTAN: Refugees and officials urge constraint

President Askar Akayev has sent a message of condolence to US President
George W. Bush, and strongly condemned the attacks on the US. Security
measures were stepped up in public buildings and around embassies. The US
Embassy has issued a warning to its nationals advising them to stay at
home and avoid travelling to the south of the country, which harbours
pro-Islamic movements.

Afghan refugees, numbering an estimated 1,500, living mainly in the
capital, Bishkek, called on the US to use restraint. "If this is the last
war to be fought for Afghanistan, we support it. But we ask the US to be
very careful and target only military bases and Taliban centres. We don't
want innocent Afghan civilians to die again," Majid Qiyam, a member of
Bishkek's Afghan refugee community, told IRIN.

The Kyrgyz intelligence apparatus is prepared to share information with
the US on international terrorists acting in Central Asia, in connection
with the recent attacks in New York and Washington, the Russian news
agency Itar-Tass reported on Tuesday. Secretary of the Kyrgyz Security
Council Misir Ashirkulov said an agreement was reached at a meeting with
representatives of the US embassy in Kyrgyzstan. However, Ashirkulov
cautioned against a hasty act of revenge, and said large-scale hostilities
in Afghanistan could have a negative effect in Kyrgyzstan.

TURKMENISTAN: Government ready to participate in coalition

The US has notified Turkmenistan of its plans for possible military action
in retaliation for terrorist attacks in Washington and New York, Itar-Tass
reported on 14 September following a meeting between US Charge d'Affaires
Eric Schultz and Turkmenistan President Saparmurat Niyazov. According to
the report, Schultz said the president supported the idea of setting up an
anti-terrorism coalition and had expressed Turkmenistan's readiness to
participate in it.

IRAN: Government condemns attacks

Iran rejected threats on 16 September from Afghanistan's ruling Taliban,
and said no harm could come to the country, DPA quoted the Iranian
official news agency IRNA as saying. Iran condemned the attacks on the US,
but also fears a massive influx of Afghan refugees. The country, which
already hosts an estimated 1.5 million Afghan refugees, closed its border
with Afghanistan at the weekend. Military and police forces have already
been deployed along the eastern border to prevent refugees flooding into
the country. The interior ministry has called on the governors of the
border provinces of Khorasan and Sistan-Baluchestan to assist relief
agencies offering aid to Afghan nationals on the other side of the Iranian
border. There are no reports, meanwhile, of refugees attempting to cross
into Iran.

Relations between Iran and the Taliban reached a low after Taliban agents
massacred 11 Iranian diplomats and an IRNA reporter at the Iranian
consulate in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif in August 1998.

UZBEKISTAN: Officials ready to discuss cooperation

Uzbekistan has not ruled out offering the US its facilities or airspace
for a possible attack against Afghanistan, the 'Financial Times' reported
on Monday. A foreign ministry spokesman said Tashkent had received no
formal request from the US yet, but was ready to discuss "all possible
forms of cooperation". Uzbekistan has the largest standing army in the
region, and a major airbase close to the Afghan border. The Uzbek
authorities have had to counter Islamic radicalism from its own Islamic
Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), and accuse the Taliban of providing training
bases for IMU extremists.

Islamabad, 20 September 2001


[IRIN-Asia: Tel: +92-51-2211451 Ext 480-4 Fax: +92-51-2211450 or
+92-51-2211475 e-mail: irinasia@irin.org.pk]


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Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2001


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