UNHCR concerned over security in IDP camps

A UNHCR official told IRIN on Thursday that there was growing concern over security in camps inside Afghanistan for internally displaced people (IDPs), following the death of a 12 year-old boy shot at a site near the Iranian border. There are reports that "armed elements of the Taliban" are present in the camp.

The incident took place at the Mahkaki camp in Afghanistan's southern province of Nimruz, where some 5,000 Afghan IDPs are living. "We are still not clear as to the circumstances of the shooting of the boy in the camp," the spokeswoman for UNHCR in Iran, Millicent Mutuli, said.

"We have been told that there are weapons and a Taliban presence inside the Mahkaki camp," she added. "But we cannot confirm that the Taliban are taking refuge in this camp, as we do not have a presence there."

Security has also been a problem at two other border camps in Afghanistan, where there is also said to be a Taliban presence - at Spin Boldak in the south and Maslaq in the western province of Herat. This could put IDPs at risk of being hit by the US-led air strikes targeting Taliban military assets and terrorist training camps.

"This really underlines the need for secure camps outside Afghanistan, as the ones inside are prone to militarisation, and civilians could become human shields. There are also issues of young men being recruited to fight with the Taliban," she said.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society, MSF and a German NGO were said to be supplying the Mahkaki camp. Another 1,500 Afghans are said to be camped outside the site, due to the fact that there was no more room. "There was a suggestion for these people to be moved to another site, but they are mainly Pashtuns [the ethnic group to which most Taliban members belong] and the site is in the opposition Northern Alliance area, which may cause tension," she added.

Meanwhile, UNHCR officials in Pakistan have confirmed that a total of 11 sites for refugees - three in the southwestern Pakistani province of Baluchistan and eight in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) - are now ready and could be opened for use.

The sites in Baluchistan can accommodate some 70,000 Afghan refugees. Initially, they would all rely for water on a tankering system, the UNHCR spokesman in Islamabad, Yusuf Hassan, told reporters on Wednesday. He added that new arrivals at the Killi Faizo temporary staging post on the Chaman border in southwestern Pakistan were being relocated immediately, following reports of deteriorating conditions there. In the NWFP, the eight camp sites in tribal areas could accommodate up to 120,000 refugees, he said.

News of the completion of the camps followed negotiations with the Pakistani government on Wednesday. Islamabad has been reluctant to say yes to receiving more refugees. It is already home to more than two million, and has closed its border with Afghanistan, only allowing those with documents, and the vulnerable, to cross.

Hassan said UNHCR was encouraged by the "renewed momentum" from the Pakistani authorities in facilitating the setting up of the sites, and hoped that decisions reached would be implemented immediately.

At Killi Faizo, in Baluchistan on the border with Afghanistan, the authorities started registering the 80 families who were camping outside the staging post over the past three days. There are now some 2,800 refugees in Killi Faizo alone. UNHCR said the total number of new arrivals from Afghanistan since 11 September was about 135,000.

Of these, at least 75,000 are said to be in the NWFP, with a further 60,000 arriving in Baluchistan. Many are said to be staying either with relatives or friends in existing camps, while some have moved to other cities such as Islamabad and Karachi. Aid workers have said the so-called "invisible" refugees are becoming more visible by the day, as many refugees are crossing unofficially over mountainous terrain.

UNHCR would also aim to increase assistance in the old refugee camps to support additional arrivals. It would focus on strengthening the existing education, health, water and sanitation facilities and services at the sites, Hassan said.