UNHCR: 115,000 Afghans Displaced Since February 26; Humanitarian Crisis Deepens

UNHCR reported as of late March that at least 115,000 Afghans had been displaced since Pakistan launched Operation Ghazab-il-Haq on February 26. Humanitarian organizations warned of severe food insecurity in over 46 districts across eastern, southeastern, and southern Afghanistan affected by border fighting. Aid access to conflict-affected areas was severely restricted due to ongoing military operations. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported food pipelines to Kunar, Khost, and Paktika provinces were disrupted. With Torkham closed to trade, humanitarian supply chains from Pakistan into Afghanistan were also severed, compounding the crisis. International donors had been slow to respond to the new displacement emergency, with humanitarian organizations warning of a looming catastrophe if the conflict continued.