Displaced Afghans flee to large cities for safety: UN

UNITED NATIONS: Afghans displaced by the ongoing fighting between the Taliban and government forces have fled to Kabul and other large cities for safety, with some renting accomodations, many staying with family and friends, while others camping in the open, a UN spokesman said.

"Due to the conflict that we're seeing across the country, many people are arriving in Kabul and other large cities, trying to seek safety for themselves and for their families," Xinhua news agency quoted Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, as saying.

The US and its humanitarian partners have verified 10,350 internally displaced people arriving in Kabul since July 1 till date, Dujarric said.

UN humanitarians have provided food, health, household items, and water and sanitation assistance to some 6,900 displaced men, women and children in Kabul.

Amid reports of the Taliban capturing several provincial capitals, the spokesman said he could only speak on humanitarian operations, not in advances or losses in the fighting.

"We're evaluating, literally on an hour-by-hour basis, the security situation, both in Kabul and in other locations," he said.

"There is no evacuation of UN staff going on."

In one province, Kunar, in eastern Afghanistan, since July 25, tens of thousands of people have been displaced by escalating conflict, Dujarric said. (IANS)

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