Enlarge image
Refugees in Afghanistan
Photo: Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times / Getty Images
Since the start of the withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan at the beginning of May, more and more people within the crisis state have been on the run.
According to the UN, almost a quarter of a million residents had left their villages and towns by the end of July.
The Agency for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (OCHA) put the number on Monday at more than 244,000 - more than four times as many as in the same period last year.
Most of the internally displaced people fled the provinces in the northeast and east from armed fighting.
The Taliban regularly reports territorial gains
A total of about 37 million people live in Afghanistan.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that around 30,000 Afghans leave their country every week.
The estimates are based on surveys of migrants and smugglers.
With the start of the official withdrawal on May 1, the Islamist Taliban launched several offensives. In the meantime they have conquered more than 160 of the 400 or so districts, several border crossings and parts of important highways. Since Friday, they have brought five provincial capitals under their control, including the city of Kunduz in the north. Now thousands of people are fleeing from there too. These figures are not yet included in the data from the UN agency. Until a few weeks ago, the Bundeswehr was stationed in Kunduz as part of an international mission (read more here). She withdrew her last soldiers on June 30th.
Since the start of the withdrawal, the number of fatalities and injuries in the civilian population has also risen significantly.
The UN warns that 2021 could be the year with the highest number of civilian casualties.
The US wants to get all of its soldiers back from Afghanistan by the end of August.
Only 650 US soldiers are supposed to stay in Kabul to protect the embassy.
From 1996 until it was overthrown by US-led troops in 2001, the Taliban ruled Afghanistan and massively curtailed human rights, especially women's rights.
as / Reuters / dpa