Taliban to allow camps inside Afghanistan

An official of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) told IRIN on Thursday that permission by Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban government to establish up to nine camps inside Afghan territory should the need arise had been given to Iran. "The majority of the camps’ locations are identified and agreed upon, and we hope to conclude negotiations on the remaining ones," the IRCS director-general for international affairs, Mostafa Mohaghegh, said in the Iranian capital, Tehran. The Taliban had agreed to some camps, but only after the influx became large, he added. While unable to give exact details, Mohaghegh explained that the camps - six in Khorasan Province and up to three in Sistan-Baluchestan - would be located along the border, but within Afghan territory. How far inside the country they would be has yet to be formally announced, but many aid workers expect them to be established along a no-man’s-land, five km from the frontier inside Afghanistan. Commenting on the cooperation of the Taliban authorities during the crisis, Mohaghegh said: "In some cases they were cooperative, in others they weren’t." Regarding areas not yet agreed to, he said discussions were in progress, but it was unclear when they would conclude. At the moment, Iran has established only one camp, near the Iranian border town of Zabol in Sistan-Baluchestan. Located in Afghanistan’s western Nimruz Province in an area controlled by the opposition Northern Alliance, Mohaghegh said it had a capacity for 10,000 people. Regarding their ability to face the crisis, he said: "The IRCS, with the support of other international organisations, can assist up to 200,000." He added, however, that this capacity could be increased if support was forthcoming. The UN says it expects up to 1.5 million Afghan refugees may seek refuge in neighbouring countries, including some 400,000 in Iran and up to one million in Pakistan. This is despite the fact that both countries have closed their borders, fearing a major new influx. Although the UN is pressing them to open their borders, Tehran, like Islamabad, maintains it already hosts over two million Afghans and cannot absorb any more. Tehran would prefer to assist Afghans in need by building camps on the Afghan side of the border, something that could prove particularly problematic in the future, given security and logistical concerns. Meanwhile, in the northeastern city of Mashhad, the UNHCR spokesman, Mohammad Nouri, told IRIN on Friday that although there had been no influx or major population movements, there had been informal reports of new arrivals of people in and around villages and areas near the Iranian border. He added, however, that they had not yet started moving towards the frontier. Asked if he expected a major influx, Nouri said: "It depends on developments inside Afghanistan." He added that winter was approaching, and it was difficult to predict. "Our main concern is for those people living in rural areas that have left the cities and may run out of their food resources," he said. Mohaghegh, who shared Nouri’s views, said: "If the human crisis continues, we may expect waves of IDPs [internally displaced persons] and refugees." In view of the problems, including drought, conflict and this latest crisis, a major influx was still in the offering, he warned.