Afghanistan
Security situation
Country of Origin
Information Report
June 2021

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doi: 10.2847/530308

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Acknowledgements
EASO would like to acknowledge the following national departments as the co-drafters of thisreport, together with EASO:
Belgium, Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons, Cedoca(Centre for Documentation and Research)
France, Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless persons (OFPRA), Information,
Documentation and Research Division (DIDR)
Poland, Office for Foreigners, Country of Origin Information Division

The following departments and organisations have reviewed the report:
Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation (ACCORD)
Denmark, Danish Immigration Service (DIS)
Hungary, National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing, Documentation Centre
Norway, Landinfo, the Norwegian Country of Origin Information Centre
Slovakia, Migration Office, Department of Documentation and Foreign Cooperation

It must be noted that the review carried out by the mentioned departments, experts ororganisations contributes to the overall quality of the report but does not necessarily imply theirformal endorsement of the final report, which is the full responsibility of EASO.

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Contents
Acknowledgements................................................................................................................................. 3Contents .................................................................................................................................................. 4
Disclaimer.............................................................................................................................................. 10
Glossary and Abbreviations .................................................................................................................. 11
Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 15
Methodology .................................................................................................................................... 15
Sources ............................................................................................................................................. 16
Structure and use of the report ........................................................................................................ 19
Map ....................................................................................................................................................... 20
1. General description of the security situation in Afghanistan ........................................................... 22
1.1 Background of the conflict.......................................................................................................... 22
1.1.1 Overview of conflicts in Afghanistan ................................................................................... 22
1.1.2 Political landscape ............................................................................................................... 27
1.1.3 Peace talks ........................................................................................................................... 29
1.1.4 International context........................................................................................................... 32
1.2 Actors in the conflict ................................................................................................................... 36
1.2.1 Pro-government forces ....................................................................................................... 36
1.2.2 Anti-government elements ................................................................................................. 43
1.3 Recent security trends and armed confrontations..................................................................... 52
1.3.1 Armed clashes and assaults ................................................................................................ 55
1.3.2 Improvised Explosive Devices ............................................................................................. 55
1.3.3 High profile attacks ............................................................................................................. 56
1.3.4 Targeted killings and conflict-related abduction ................................................................ 56
1.3.5 Aerial attacks and bombings ............................................................................................... 57
1.3.6 Search operations ............................................................................................................... 57
1.3.7 Explosive Remnants of War................................................................................................. 57
1.4 Impact of the violence on the civilian population ...................................................................... 57
1.4.1 Civilian casualties ................................................................................................................ 57
1.4.2 State ability to secure law and order .................................................................................. 61
1.4.3 COVID-19 and health care ................................................................................................... 63
1.4.4 Socio-economic conditions ................................................................................................. 65
1.4.5 Refugees, IDPs, returnees ................................................................................................... 66
1.4.6 Children ............................................................................................................................... 69

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1.5 Geographical overview ............................................................................................................... 71
1.5.1 Urban-rural divide ............................................................................................................... 71
1.5.2 Regional differences ............................................................................................................ 72
1.5.3 Government versus Taliban control .................................................................................... 75
1.6 Mobility....................................................................................................................................... 76
2. Regional description of the security situation in Afghanistan .......................................................... 79
2.1 Kabul City .................................................................................................................................... 79
2.1.1 General description of the city ............................................................................................ 79
2.1.2 Conflict background and actors in Kabul City ..................................................................... 81
2.1.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ........................................... 88
2.2 Badakhshan ................................................................................................................................ 97
2.2.1 General description of the province ................................................................................... 97
2.2.2 Conflict background and actors in Badakhshan .................................................................. 98
2.2.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ......................................... 101
2.3 Badghis...................................................................................................................................... 106
2.3.1 General description of the province ................................................................................. 106
2.3.2 Conflict background and actors in Badghis ....................................................................... 107
2.3.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ......................................... 110
2.4 Baghlan ..................................................................................................................................... 114
2.4.1 General description of the province ................................................................................. 114
2.4.2 Conflict background and actors in Baghlan ....................................................................... 115
2.4.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ......................................... 117
2.5 Balkh ......................................................................................................................................... 121
2.5.1 General description of the province ................................................................................. 121
2.5.2 Conflict background and actors in Balkh ........................................................................... 122
2.5.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ......................................... 125
2.6 Bamyan ..................................................................................................................................... 133
2.6.1 General description of the province ................................................................................. 133
2.6.2 Conflict background and actors in Bamyan....................................................................... 134
2.6.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ......................................... 136
2.7 Daykundi ................................................................................................................................... 138
2.7.1 General description of the province ................................................................................. 138
2.7.2 Conflict background and actors in Daykundi .................................................................... 139
2.7.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ......................................... 141
2.8 Farah ......................................................................................................................................... 144
2.8.1 General description of the province ................................................................................. 144
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2.8.2 Conflict background and actors in Farah........................................................................... 145
2.8.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ......................................... 147
2.9 Faryab ....................................................................................................................................... 150
2.9.1 General description of the province ................................................................................. 150
2.9.2 Conflict background and actors in Faryab ......................................................................... 152
2.9.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ......................................... 155
2.10 Ghazni ..................................................................................................................................... 162
2.10.1 General description of the province ............................................................................... 162
2.10.2 Conflict background and actors in Ghazni....................................................................... 163
2.10.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ....................................... 166
2.11 Ghor ........................................................................................................................................ 169
2.11.1 General description of the province ............................................................................... 169
2.11.2 Conflict background and actors in Ghor.......................................................................... 170
2.11.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ....................................... 172
2.12 Helmand ................................................................................................................................. 176
2.12.1 General description of the province ............................................................................... 176
2.12.2 Conflict background and actors in Helmand ................................................................... 177
2.12.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ....................................... 179
2.13 Herat ....................................................................................................................................... 183
2.13.1 General description of the province ............................................................................... 183
2.13.2 Conflict background and armed actors in Herat ............................................................. 184
2.13.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ....................................... 186
2.14 Jawzjan.................................................................................................................................... 191
2.14.1 General description of the province ............................................................................... 191
2.14.2 Conflict background and actors in Jawzjan ..................................................................... 192
2.14.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ....................................... 195
2.15 Kabul province ........................................................................................................................ 199
2.15.1 General description of the province ............................................................................... 199
2.15.2 Conflict background and actors in Kabul province.......................................................... 200
2.15.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ....................................... 203
2.15.3.2 Displacement................................................................................................................ 210
2.16 Kandahar................................................................................................................................. 211
2.16.1 General description of the province ............................................................................... 211
2.16.2 Conflict background and actors in Kandahar .................................................................. 212
2.16.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ....................................... 214
2.17 Kapisa province ....................................................................................................................... 217
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2.17.1 General description of the province ............................................................................... 217
2.17.2 Conflict background and actors in Kapisa ....................................................................... 218
2.17.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ....................................... 220
2.18 Khost ....................................................................................................................................... 225
2.18.1 General description of the province ............................................................................... 225
2.18.2 Conflict background and actors in Khost ........................................................................ 226
2.18.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ....................................... 229
2.19 Kunar....................................................................................................................................... 234
2.19.1 General description of the province ............................................................................... 234
2.19.2 Conflict background and actors in Kunar ........................................................................ 235
2.19.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ....................................... 238
2.20 Kunduz .................................................................................................................................... 241
2.20.1 General description of the province ............................................................................... 241
2.20.2 Conflict background and actors in Kunduz...................................................................... 242
2.20.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ....................................... 245
2.21 Laghman ................................................................................................................................. 251
2.21.1 General description of the province ............................................................................... 251
2.21.2 Conflict background and actors in Laghman ................................................................... 252
2.21.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ....................................... 253
2.22 Logar province ........................................................................................................................ 256
2.22.1 General description of the province ............................................................................... 256
2.22.2 Conflict background and actors in Logar ......................................................................... 257
2.22.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ....................................... 261
2.23 Nangarhar ............................................................................................................................... 268
2.23.1 General description of the province ............................................................................... 268
2.23.2 Conflict background and actors in Nangarhar ................................................................ 269
2.23.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ....................................... 276
2.24 Nimroz .................................................................................................................................... 282
2.24.1 General description of the province ............................................................................... 282
2.24.2 Conflict background and actors in Nimroz ...................................................................... 283
2.24.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ....................................... 284
2.25 Nuristan .................................................................................................................................. 287
2.25.1 General description of the province ............................................................................... 287
2.25.2 Conflict background and actors in Nuristan .................................................................... 288
2.25.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ....................................... 289
2.26 Paktika .................................................................................................................................... 292
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2.26.1 General description of the province ............................................................................... 292
2.26.2 Conflict background and actors in Paktika ...................................................................... 294
2.26.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ....................................... 298
2.27 Paktya ..................................................................................................................................... 303
2.27.1 General description of the province ............................................................................... 303
2.27.2 Conflict background and actors in Paktya ....................................................................... 305
2.27.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ....................................... 309
2.28 Panjsher province ................................................................................................................... 314
2.28.1 General description of the province ............................................................................... 314
2.28.2 Conflict background and actors in Panjsher.................................................................... 315
2.28.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ....................................... 317
2.29 Parwan province ..................................................................................................................... 319
2.29.1 General description of the province ............................................................................... 319
2.29.2 Conflict background and actors in Parwan ..................................................................... 320
2.29.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ....................................... 322
2.30 Samangan ............................................................................................................................... 327
2.30.1 General description of the province ............................................................................... 327
2.30.2 Conflict background and actors in Samangan ................................................................. 328
2.30.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ....................................... 329
2.31 Sar-e Pul .................................................................................................................................. 333
2.31.1 General description of the province ............................................................................... 333
2.31.2 Conflict background and actors in Sar-e Pul ................................................................... 334
2.31.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ....................................... 336
2.32 Takhar ..................................................................................................................................... 340
2.32.1 General description of the province ............................................................................... 340
2.32.2 Conflict background and actors in Takhar....................................................................... 341
2.32.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ....................................... 344
2.33 Uruzgan................................................................................................................................... 348
2.33.1 General description of the province ............................................................................... 348
2.33.2 Conflict background and actors in Uruzgan .................................................................... 349
2.33.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ....................................... 352
2.34 Wardak province .................................................................................................................... 355
2.34.1 General description of the province ............................................................................... 355
2.34.2 Conflict background and actors in Wardak ..................................................................... 356
2.34.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ....................................... 361
2.35 Zabul ....................................................................................................................................... 368
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2.35.1 General description of the province ............................................................................... 368
2.35.2 Conflict background and actors in Zabul ......................................................................... 369
2.35.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population ....................................... 371
Annex 1: Bibliography ......................................................................................................................... 375
Public sources ................................................................................................................................. 375
Annex 2: Terms of Reference .............................................................................................................. 509

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Disclaimer
This report was written according to the EASO COI Report Methodology (2019).1 The report is basedon carefully selected sources of information. All sources used are referenced.
The information contained in this report has been researched, evaluated and analysed with utmost
care. However, this document does not claim to be exhaustive. If a particular event, person ororganisation is not mentioned in the report, this does not mean that the event has not taken placeor that the person or organisation does not exist.
Furthermore, this report is not conclusive as to the determination or merit of any particularapplication for international protection. Terminology used should not be regarded as indicative of aparticular legal position.
‘Refugee’, ‘risk’ and similar terminology are used as generic terminology and not in the legal sense as
applied in the EU Asylum Acquis, the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the
Status of Refugees.
Neither EASO nor any person acting on its behalf may be held responsible for the use which may bemade of the information contained in this report.
The drafting of this report was finalised on 31 May 2021. Any event taking place after this date is notincluded in this report. More information on the reference period for this report can be found in themethodology section of the ACLED is a project collecting, analysing and mapping information on ‘thedates, actors, locations, fatalities, and types of all reported political violence and protest events
across Africa, the Middle East, Latin America & the Caribbean, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia,
Central Asia & the Caucasus, Europe, and the United States of America’. Its methodology applied forcoding and monitoring of the data is explained in details in its Codebook and in a specificmethodology for Afghanistan. As ACLED points out, the reader should, however, be aware of some
limitations in the data. These limitations are:‘the first is that most of the data is gathered based on publicly available, secondary reports.
This means that the data is in part a reflection of the coverage and reporting priorities of
media and international organisations. One of the effects of this is that it may underestimate the volume of events of non-strategic importance (for example, low-levelcommunal conflict, or events in very isolated areas). We work to address this possibility bytriangulating data sources to include humanitarian and international organisation reports,
rather than media alone; and by conducting ground-truthing exercises in which we present
data to local organisations and partners to assess its validity among people working directlyin conflict-affected contexts.’
Therefore, ACLED's figures in this report are to be considered as an estimate and indication of trends
in violence over a given period of time.
For Afghanistan, ACLED covers political violence and protest spanning from January 2017 to thepresent. Each week, ACLED researches and reviews about 60 sources in English and Dari/Farsi on
political violence in Afghanistan and collects the information into a database.
ACLED codes security incidents as follows:•‘Battles’: ‘a violent interaction between two politically organized armed groups at aparticular time and location.’ ‘Battles can occur between armed and organised state, nonstate, and external groups, and in any combination therein.’ Sub-events of battles are

1 The 2019 EASO COI Report Methodology can be downloaded from the EASO COI Portal, url

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•

•

•
•
•

‘armed clash’, ‘government regains territory’ and ‘non-state actor overtakes territory’. The
sub-event type ‘Armed clash’ occurs when ‘armed, organized groups engage in a battle, andno reports indicate a change in territorial control’.
‘Violence against civilians’: ‘violent events where an organised armed group deliberately
inflicts violence upon unarmed non-combatants’. ‘Violence against civilians includes
attempts at inflicting harm (e.g., beating, shooting, torture, rape, mutilation, etc.) or forcibly
disappearing (e.g., kidnapping and disappearances) civilian actors.’ The following sub-event
types are associated with the violence against civilians event type: ‘Sexual violence’, ‘Attack’,and ‘Abduction/forced disappearance’.
‘Explosions/remote violence’: ‘one-sided violent events in which the tool for engaging inconflict creates asymmetry by taking away the ability of the target to respond.’ They include:
Chemical weapon’, ‘Air/drone strike’, ‘Suicide bomb’, ‘Shelling/artillery/missile attack’,‘Remote explosive/landmine/IED’, and ‘Grenade’.
‘Riots’: are a violent demonstration, often involving a spontaneous action by unorganised,unaffiliated members of society. They include ‘violent demonstrations’, ‘mob violence’.
‘Protests’: ‘public demonstration in which the participants do not engage in violence, thoughviolence may be used against them.’ It includes ‘peaceful protests’, ‘protests withintervention’, ‘excessive force against protesters’.
‘Strategic developments’: ‘contextually important information regarding the activities ofviolent groups that is not itself recorded as political violence, yet may trigger future
events or contribute to political dynamics within and across states.’ It includes ‘agreements’,‘changes to group/activity’, ‘non-violent transfers of territory’, ‘arrests’.

EASO provided analytical graphs on security incidents based on publicly available ACLED data. For
the purpose of this report, only the following types of events were included as violent incidents inthe analysis of the security situation in Afghanistan: battles, explosions/remote violence andviolence against civilians. The reference period for the ACLED data is from 1 January 2020 to 28
February 2021 and EASO downloaded the ACLED curated data files on Central Asia and theCaucasus, including Afghanistan, on 25 March 2021 (url). ACLED identified in its 2019 Codebook
three codes for the geo-precision of events:‘If the report notes a particular town, and coordinates are available for that town, the highest
precision level “1” is recorded. If the source material notes that activity took place in a smallpart of a region, and notes a general area, a town with georeferenced coordinates torepresent that area is chosen and the geo-precision code will note “2” for “part of region”. If
activity occurs near a town or a city, this same precision code is employed. If a larger region is
mentioned, the closest natural location noted in reporting (like “border area”, “forest” or“sea”, among others) is chosen to represent the region – or a provincial capital is used if noother information at all is available – and is noted with precision level “3”. No ACLED event isassociated with the “country” as the smallest location unit available.’In the provincial chapters of this report, the EASO analytical graphs holding the breakdown ofincidents per administrative unit level 2 (districts) do not include the incidents with code 3, as ACLED
has no information about the location of these incidents within the province.
It has to be noted that ACLED made the following statement on its website regarding Afghanistan
data:‘ACLED is currently reviewing trends in coverage between 2019 and 2020 in Afghanistan. We
believe a shift in reporting by the Afghan Ministry of Defense (MOD) and the Taliban’s Voiceof Jihad (VOJ) may have contributed to a trend depicting a reduction in violence. The team iscurrently supplementing coverage by drawing on additional sources. While this review is being
undertaken, we would advise against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in
Afghanistan between 2019 and 2020.’
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On territorial control by the Taliban in Afghanistan, information collected and presented in a map
by the Long War Journal (LWJ) was used in this report, alongside additional sources researched tothe extent possible to corroborate the LWJ findings. One of these additional sources is Bilal Sarwary,
an independent Afghan journalist based in Kabul, who was BBC correspondent on Afghanistan for
more than thirteen years. Bilal Sarwary gives regular updates on the shifting frontlines on his Twitter
account with information gathered from his sources in the field.
The LWJ is a project by the non-profit policy institute the Foundation for Defense of Democracies(FDD). The LWJ’s Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan is based on open-source information, suchas press reports and information provided by government agencies and the Taliban. The LWJ
classifies the level of control as follows:‘“Unconfirmed” district […] has some level of claim-of-control made by the Taliban, but either
has not yet been—or cannot be— independently verified by LWJ research. A “Contested”
district may mean that the government may be in control of the district center, but little else,
and the Taliban controls large areas or all of the areas outside of the district center. A“Controlled” district may mean the Taliban is openly administering a district, providing
services and security, and also running the local courts.’
On internal displacement, the main source used is the ‘Internal Displacement due to Conflict’ datacollection by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA). The UNOCHA
data reported in the displacement sections was extracted on the ‘accessed date’ indicated in the
Bibliography.

Structure and use of the report
This report is not meant to be read as a whole. In the first part a general description is given on the
security situation in Afghanistan including a geographical overview, which is then explained ingreater detail in the second part, holding a regional description of geographic subdivisions (Kabul
City and 34 provinces).
Provinces and districts
The provincial chapters in this report are organised alphabetically and have the following structure:a general description of the province contains information on the geography and population; theconflict background takes a longer term look at the security situation in a province, including thearmed actors active in the province. A section on recent trends in the security situation describes thenature of the violence, targets, locations, and casualties within the timeframe from 1 January 2020 –31 May 2021. Recent security incidents described in sub-sections should be read as illustrations oftrends in the security situation and not as an exhaustive list of incidents. Finally, conflict-induced
displacements are described in a separate section.
Both the general and regional sections provide information from various sources on the relevant
elements and indicators. Information on an indicator as such should never be taken as conclusive
but as indicative for protection assessment and is to be read together with all other indicators andinformation on the region (or province, district).
There are a number of provinces and districts for which the administrative boundaries are unclear.
For example, it is unclear whether the district of Gizab belongs to Uruzgan or Daykundi province. Nor
is it clear whether the district of Gormach belongs to Badghis or Faryab province.
The Managing Director at Alcis, a company providing geographic information services with many
years of experience in Afghanistan, contacted by OFPRA’s Information, Documentation and Research
Division, stated in an e-mail in August 2017 that12Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation‘there is not one unified agreed district and province boundary dataset currently in use. There
are various ‘official’ versions. […] The boundaries within these different datasets havechanged over time. Some districts have been passed across to other provinces foradministrative purposes. Some new districts have been created over time. Some areas within
Afghanistan are still referred to as districts by locals of the area, even though they have neverhad boundaries created for them and never been treated as a district.’
In absence of an official list of districts, EASO chooses in principle to follow the administrative
divisions of the provinces used by UNOCHA, as they produce very clear maps and use the samedivision systematically in all their publications.

13Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation.

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Glossary and Abbreviations
AAN

Afghanistan Analysts Network2

AGEs

Anti-Government Elements3

ALCS

Afghanistan Living Conditions Survey

ANASOC

Afghan National Army Special Operations Command4

ANDSF/ANSF

Afghan National Defense And Security Forces5/Afghan National
Security Forces, an umbrella term which includes:6
ABF (Afghan Border Force)
ALP (Afghan Local Police)
ANA (Afghan National Army)
AAF (Afghan Air Force)
ANP (Afghan National Police)
ANCOF (Afghan National Civil Order Force)
ASF (Afghan Special Forces)
ANA TF (Afghan National Army Territorial Force)
NDS (National Directorate of Security)

Arbaki

Locally recruited or tribal militia

AQ

Al Qaeda7

Attrition

Attrition is unplanned and planned total losses, including Dropped
from Rolls, Killed in Action, Separation, and Other losses[disappearance/captured, disability, death (not in action), retirement,
exempted (i.e. AWOL or permanent medical), or transfer to the
ANA/ANP]8

AWOL

Absent Without Official Leave9

Bacha bazi

Exploitation of boys by wealthy or powerful men for entertainment,
notably for dancing and sexual activities10

Civilian

UNAMA refers to international law for a definition of ‘civilians’:
persons who are not members of military/paramilitary forces ormembers of organised armed groups with continuous combat

2 AAN, About AAN, n.d., url
3 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 102
4 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2020, 23 April 2021, url, p. 67
5 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2020, 23 April 2021, url, p. 67
6 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 104
7 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2020, 23 April 2021, url, p. 67
8 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2020, 23 April 2021, url, p. 24
9 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2020, 23 April 2021, url, p. 67
10 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, 105

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function and are protected against direct attacks unless and for suchtime as they directly participate in hostilities.11
Eid

A Muslim festival, notably Eid al-Fitr or Eid al-Adha12

ETIM

Eastern Turkestan Islamic Movement13

GIRoA, GoA

Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan14

Ground engagements

Ground engagements include kinetic ground operations, stand-off
attacks, crossfire, and armed clashes between parties to the conflict.
Ground engagements include attacks or operations in which smallarms, heavy weapons and/or area weapons systems, i.e. mortars androckets are fired.15

HawalaMoney transfer system

HIG

Hezb-e Islami/Gulbuddin Hekmatyar16

IEC

Independent Election Commission17

IED

Improvised Explosive Device. A bomb constructed and deployed inways other than in conventional military action. IEDs can broadly be
divided into four categories:
Command-Operated IEDs – Radio or remote-controlled IEDs operated
from a distance that can enable operators to detonate a pre-placed
device at the precise time a target moves into the target area.
Magnetic-IEDs are IEDs attached to a magnetic or other device andare a sub-category of command-operated IEDs.
Victim-Operated IEDs – These detonate when a person or vehicle
triggers the initiator or switch which could be a pressure plate (PPIED), a pressure release mechanism, a trip wire or another device,
resulting in an explosion.
Other IEDs – This category includes command-wired IEDs, timed-IEDs
and IEDs where the trigger/switch type for detonation could not be
determined.
Suicide IEDs – Separately from data on IEDs, UNAMA documents
civilian casualties resulting from complex and suicide attacks. Suicide
IEDs are generally either Body-Borne IEDs (BB-IEDs) or Suicide
Vehicle-Borne IEDs (SVB-IEDs). Body-Borne IEDs refer to situations
where a suicide bomber wears an explosive vest or belt, while Suicide
Vehicle-Borne IEDs is defined as the detonation of a vehicle riggedwith explosives by a driver or passenger inside the vehicle, or the

11 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 105
12 Lexico, Eid, n.d., url
13 UN Security Council, Twenty-fifth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2020/53, url, para. 57
14 Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of, The Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan’s Statement over the Peace
Negotiations, 8 September 2019, url
15 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 106
16 International Crisis Group, The Insurgency in Afghanistan’s Heartland, 27 June 2011, url, p. 32
17 Afghanistan, IEC, Afghanistan 2019 Presidential Elections - Final Results by Polling Stations: Province Bamyan, 2020, url

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detonation of a BB-IED by the driver or a passenger while inside thevehicle.18
IMF

International Military Forces19

IMU

Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan20

ISKP, ISIL-KP, IS

Islamic State, also called ISIS, ISIL or Daesh. Islamic State inAfghanistan is referred to as Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP)21

Khost Protection ForceA ‘campaign force’ that was established after 2001 underinternational (CIA/US special forces) control. There are long-standing
allegations against the Khost Protection Force of extrajudicial killings,
torture, beating and unlawful detentions.22

LeJ

Lashkar-e Jhangvi23

LeT

Lashkar-e Tayyiba24

Loya Jirga‘"grand council" in Pashto, is a mass national gathering that brings
together representatives from the various ethnic, religious, and tribal
communities in Afghanistan’25

OFS

Operation Freedom’s Sentinel26

PGF

Pro-Government Forces. Afghan National Security Forces and otherforces and groups that act in military or paramilitary counterinsurgency operations and are directly or indirectly under the controlof the government of Afghanistan27

Red Unit/Red Brigade

In 2015, the Taliban established a ‘special forces’ unit named Red
Unit or Red Brigade (‘sra qet’a’ in Pashto). They are better equipped
and trained and are generally used as a ‘rapid reaction force’.28

RS

Resolute Support; a NATO-led mission29

SIGAR

U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction30

TazkeraAfghan ID document

Tolay

company

18 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 106
19 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 106
20 UN Security Council, Twenty-fifth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2020/53, url, para. 57
21 Ali, O., Hit from Many Sides (1): Unpicking the recent victory against the ISKP in Nangarhar, AAN, 1 March 2020, url
22 Clark, K., Khost Protection Force Accused of Fresh Killings: Six men shot dead in Zurmat, AAN, 21 January 2019, url
23 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, url, p. 20
24 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, url, p. 20
25
RFE/RL, Loya Jirga -- An Afghan Tradition Explained, 20 November 2013, url
26 USDOD, Lead Inspector General for Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, Report to the United States Congress, July 1, 2020–
September 30, 17 November 2020, url
27 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 101
28 Times (The), Helmand teeters after Taliban storm in with British tactics, 21 August 2016, url
29 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 55
30 SIGAR, Quarterly report to the United States Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 55

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

UNAMA

United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan

USDOD

United States Department of Defense

USDOS

United States Department of StateUshrAn Islamic tax (normally 10 %) on certain products, for example
agricultural products.31

31 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban kill HIA commander’s sons in Ghor clash, 13 January 2018, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Introduction
This report was co-drafted by the EASO Country of Origin Information (COI) sector and specialists
from the COI units and asylum offices listed in the Acknowledgements section.
This report aims to provide information on the security situation in Afghanistan, which is relevant for
the assessment of international protection status determination, including refugee status andsubsidiary protection, and in particular for use in EASO’s country guidance developmenton Afghanistan. The terms of reference can be found in Annex 2.

Methodology
This report is an update of the EASO COI report Afghanistan Security Situation first published in
January 2015 and updated annually.32 This report is produced in line with the EASO COI Report
Methodology (2019)33 and the EASO COI Writing and Referencing Style Guide (2019).34
For the assessment of the need for international protection, the terms of reference for this report
have been developed with a focus on the key elements from Article 15(c) of the Qualification
Directive (QD).
Based on various sources consulted by EASO35, these key elements can be broken down into topics
and/or indicators. Examples include: parties to the conflict; intensity level of the violence; nature of
the violence; regional spreading of the violence; targets of the violence; risk of collateral damage;use of arms and tactics; possibility to reach areas – security of transport (roads and airports); andindirect effects of the violence/conflict.
Based upon a study of all the mentioned sources, a list of elements and indicators was drafted,
which served as a basis for the terms of reference (see Annex 2). To make a well-informed
assessment of the fear of persecution or risk of serious harm, information is needed on thesesecurity-related elements and indicators on a regional, provincial or even district level in the countryof origin.
EU+ countries’36 COI specialists, policy and decision experts and UNHCR gave input on the terms ofreference.
The information gathered is a result of research using public, specialised paper-based and electronicsources. The reference period for the description of latest trends and illustrative incidents is from
1 January 2020 until 5 March 2021. Some additional information was added during the finalisation ofthis report in response to feedback received during the quality control process, until 31 May 2021.
To ensure that the drafters respected the EASO COI Report Methodology, a review was carried out
by COI specialists from the countries and organisations listed as reviewers in the Acknowledgements

32

EASO COI reports are available via EASO’s website: url
EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information (COI) Report Methodology, June 2019, url
34
EASO, Writing and Referencing Guide for EASO Country of Origin Information (COI) Reports, June 2019, url
35
The elements, topics and indicators were identified by various sources that have a different position in the legal
hierarchy and provide different levels of detail: The Qualification Directive (Recitals and articles); Case law from the Courtof Justice of the EU in Luxembourg; National State Practice (National legislation; National case law; National policy and first
instance decision practice); Case law from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg; Opinions of experts,
academics and specialised organisations; See the following EASO publications: EASO, Article 15(c) Qualification Directive(2011/95/EU) A judicial analysis, December 2014, url; The Implementation of Article 15(c) QD in EU Member States, July
2015, url
36
EU+ countries are the EU Member States plus the associated countries Norway and Switzerland.
33

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

section. All comments made by the reviewers were taken into consideration and most of them were
implemented in the final draft of this report.

Sources
For data on civilian casualties, the main source used in this report is the United Nations Assistance
Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). UNAMA uses for their reports on Protection of Civilians in Armed
Conflict in Afghanistan a robust methodology to verify reported incidents by corroborating andcross-checking incidents, conducting on-site investigations, and consulting a broad range of credible
and reliable sources. For verification of each incident involving a civilian casualty, UNAMA requires
at least three different and independent sources. Unverified incidents are not included in its
reporting.37 According to analysts, this stringent verification standard also means ‘there may be
many more casualties than UNAMA is able to confirm.’38
In addition, to illustrate examples of incidents which caused civilian casualties in some provinces,
information from The New York Times’ Afghan War Casualty Report was used, among other media
sources. The Afghan War Casualty Report is a weekly and monthly bulletin compiling ‘all significant
security incidents confirmed by New York Times reporters throughout Afghanistan’. As New YorkTimes clarifies ‘the report includes government claims of insurgent casualty figures, but in mostcases these cannot be independently verified by The Times. Similarly, the reports do not include
Taliban claims for their attacks on the government unless they can be verified.’39 Information from
Voice of Jihad,40 the Taliban’s official website, was also used in the report mainly to illustrateexamples of incidents causing civilian casualties in some provinces.
For data on violent incidents, publicly available curated datasets from the Armed Conflict Locationand Event Data Project (ACLED) have been used.
ACLED is a project collecting, analysing and mapping information on ‘the dates, actors, locations,fatalities, and types of all reported political violence and protest events across Africa, the Middle
East, Latin America & the Caribbean, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia & the
Caucasus, Europe, and the United States of America’.41 Its methodology applied for coding andmonitoring of the data is explained in details in its Codebook and in a specific methodology for
Afghanistan.42 As ACLED points out, the reader should, however, be aware of some limitations in thedata. These limitations are:‘the first is that most of the data is gathered based on publicly available, secondary reports.
This means that the data is in part a reflection of the coverage and reporting priorities of
media and international organisations. One of the effects of this is that it may underestimate the volume of events of non-strategic importance (for example, low-levelcommunal conflict, or events in very isolated areas). We work to address this possibility bytriangulating data sources to include humanitarian and international organisation reports,
rather than media alone; and by conducting ground-truthing exercises in which we present

37 UNAMA’s full description of their methodology can be found at: UNAMA, Afghanistan Protection of Civilians in Armed

Conflict Annual Report 2018, 24 February 2019, url, pp. i-ii
38 Bjelica, J. and Ruttig, T., UNAMA Mid-Year Report 2017: Number of civilian casualties still at “record level”, 18 July 2017,url
39 NYT, Afghan War Casualty Report, n.d., url
40 Voice of Jihad, [English], n.d., url
41 ACLED, About Acled, n.d., url
42 ACLED Codebook, n.d., url; ACLED methodology and coding decisions around the conflict in Afghanistan, version 3,
March 2020, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

data to local organisations and partners to assess its validity among people working directlyin conflict-affected contexts.’43
Therefore, ACLED's figures in this report are to be considered as an estimate and indication of trends
in violence over a given period of time.
For Afghanistan, ACLED covers political violence and protest spanning from January 2017 to thepresent. Each week, ACLED researches and reviews about 60 sources in English and Dari/Farsi on
political violence in Afghanistan and collects the information into a database.44
ACLED codes security incidents as follows:
•

•

•

•
•
•

‘Battles’: ‘a violent interaction between two politically organized armed groups at aparticular time and location.’ ‘Battles can occur between armed and organised state, nonstate, and external groups, and in any combination therein.’ Sub-events of battles are‘armed clash’, ‘government regains territory’ and ‘non-state actor overtakes territory’. The
sub-event type ‘Armed clash’ occurs when ‘armed, organized groups engage in a battle, andno reports indicate a change in territorial control’.
‘Violence against civilians’: ‘violent events where an organised armed group deliberately
inflicts violence upon unarmed non-combatants’. ‘Violence against civilians includes
attempts at inflicting harm (e.g., beating, shooting, torture, rape, mutilation, etc.) or forcibly
disappearing (e.g., kidnapping and disappearances) civilian actors.’ The following sub-event
types are associated with the violence against civilians event type: ‘Sexual violence’, ‘Attack’,and ‘Abduction/forced disappearance’.
‘Explosions/remote violence’: ‘one-sided violent events in which the tool for engaging inconflict creates asymmetry by taking away the ability of the target to respond.’ They include:
Chemical weapon’, ‘Air/drone strike’, ‘Suicide bomb’, ‘Shelling/artillery/missile attack’,‘Remote explosive/landmine/IED’, and ‘Grenade’.
‘Riots’: are a violent demonstration, often involving a spontaneous action by unorganised,unaffiliated members of society. They include ‘violent demonstrations’, ‘mob violence’.
‘Protests’: ‘public demonstration in which the participants do not engage in violence, thoughviolence may be used against them.’ It includes ‘peaceful protests’, ‘protests withintervention’, ‘excessive force against protesters’.
‘Strategic developments’: ‘contextually important information regarding the activities ofviolent groups that is not itself recorded as political violence, yet may trigger future
events or contribute to political dynamics within and across states.’ It includes ‘agreements’,‘changes to group/activity’, ‘non-violent transfers of territory’, ‘arrests’.45

EASO provided analytical graphs on security incidents based on publicly available ACLED data. For
the purpose of this report, only the following types of events were included as violent incidents inthe analysis of the security situation in Afghanistan: battles, explosions/remote violence andviolence against civilians. The reference period for the ACLED data is from 1 January 2020 to 28
February 2021 and EASO downloaded the ACLED curated data files on Central Asia and theCaucasus, including Afghanistan, on 25 March 2021 (url). ACLED identified in its 2019 Codebook46
three codes for the geo-precision of events:‘If the report notes a particular town, and coordinates are available for that town, the highest
precision level “1” is recorded. If the source material notes that activity took place in a smallpart of a region, and notes a general area, a town with georeferenced coordinates torepresent that area is chosen and the geo-precision code will note “2” for “part of region”. If
43 ACLED, Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) Guide for Media Users, January 2015, url, pp. 9-10
44 ACLED, Methodology and Coding Decisions around the Conflict in Afghanistan, (Version 3) March 2020, url
45 ACLED, Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) Codebook, October 2017, url, pp. 7-14
46 ACLED, Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) Codebook, 2019, url, p. 29

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

activity occurs near a town or a city, this same precision code is employed. If a larger region is
mentioned, the closest natural location noted in reporting (like “border area”, “forest” or“sea”, among others) is chosen to represent the region – or a provincial capital is used if noother information at all is available – and is noted with precision level “3”. No ACLED event isassociated with the “country” as the smallest location unit available.’In the provincial chapters of this report, the EASO analytical graphs holding the breakdown ofincidents per administrative unit level 2 (districts) do not include the incidents with code 3, as ACLED
has no information about the location of these incidents within the province.
It has to be noted that ACLED made the following statement on its website regarding Afghanistan
data:‘ACLED is currently reviewing trends in coverage between 2019 and 2020 in Afghanistan. We
believe a shift in reporting by the Afghan Ministry of Defense (MOD) and the Taliban’s Voiceof Jihad (VOJ) may have contributed to a trend depicting a reduction in violence. The team iscurrently supplementing coverage by drawing on additional sources. While this review is being
undertaken, we would advise against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in
Afghanistan between 2019 and 2020.’47
On territorial control by the Taliban in Afghanistan, information collected and presented in a map
by the Long War Journal (LWJ) was used in this report, alongside additional sources researched tothe extent possible to corroborate the LWJ findings. One of these additional sources is Bilal Sarwary,
an independent Afghan journalist based in Kabul, who was BBC correspondent on Afghanistan for
more than thirteen years. Bilal Sarwary gives regular updates on the shifting frontlines on his Twitter
account with information gathered from his sources in the field.48
The LWJ is a project by the non-profit policy institute the Foundation for Defense of Democracies(FDD).49 The LWJ’s Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan is based on open-source information,such as press reports and information provided by government agencies and the Taliban. The LWJ
classifies the level of control as follows:‘“Unconfirmed” district […] has some level of claim-of-control made by the Taliban, but either
has not yet been—or cannot be— independently verified by LWJ research. A “Contested”
district may mean that the government may be in control of the district center, but little else,
and the Taliban controls large areas or all of the areas outside of the district center. A“Controlled” district may mean the Taliban is openly administering a district, providing
services and security, and also running the local courts.’50
On internal displacement, the main source used is the ‘Internal Displacement due to Conflict’ datacollection by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA). The UNOCHA
data reported in the displacement sections was extracted on the ‘accessed date’ indicated in the
Bibliography.

47 ACLED, Curated data, Coverage notices, url; See also: Clark, K., War in Afghanistan in 2020: Just as much violence, but noone wants to talk about it, 16 August 2020, url
48 Sarwary, B., (@bsarwary), [Twitter], n.d., url; Sarwary B., [LinkedIn], n.d., url; Intercept (The), Bilal Sarwary, 8 January
2019, url
49 LWJ, About us, n.d. url
50 More information on the methodology used by LWJ can be found at: LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan,
Methodology, n.d., url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Structure and use of the report
This report is not meant to be read as a whole. In the first part a general description is given on the
security situation in Afghanistan including a geographical overview, which is then explained ingreater detail in the second part, holding a regional description of geographic subdivisions (Kabul
City and 34 provinces).
Provinces and districts
The provincial chapters in this report are organised alphabetically and have the following structure:a general description of the province contains information on the geography and population; theconflict background takes a longer term look at the security situation in a province, including thearmed actors active in the province. A section on recent trends in the security situation describes thenature of the violence, targets, locations, and casualties within the timeframe from 1 January 2020 –31 May 2021. Recent security incidents described in sub-sections should be read as illustrations oftrends in the security situation and not as an exhaustive list of incidents. Finally, conflict-induced
displacements are described in a separate section.
Both the general and regional sections provide information from various sources on the relevant
elements and indicators. Information on an indicator as such should never be taken as conclusive
but as indicative for protection assessment and is to be read together with all other indicators andinformation on the region (or province, district).
There are a number of provinces and districts for which the administrative boundaries are unclear.
For example, it is unclear whether the district of Gizab belongs to Uruzgan or Daykundi province.51
Nor is it clear whether the district of Gormach belongs to Badghis or Faryab province.52
The Managing Director at Alcis, a company providing geographic information services with many
years of experience in Afghanistan, contacted by OFPRA’s Information, Documentation and Research
Division, stated in an e-mail in August 2017 that‘there is not one unified agreed district and province boundary dataset currently in use. There
are various ‘official’ versions. […] The boundaries within these different datasets havechanged over time. Some districts have been passed across to other provinces foradministrative purposes. Some new districts have been created over time. Some areas within
Afghanistan are still referred to as districts by locals of the area, even though they have neverhad boundaries created for them and never been treated as a district.’53
In absence of an official list of districts, EASO chooses in principle to follow the administrative
divisions of the provinces used by UNOCHA, as they produce very clear maps and use the samedivision systematically in all their publications.54

51 Norway, Landinfo, Respons. Afghanistan: Gizab-distriktet, 11 December 2014, url
52 Bjelica, J., How Neglect and Remoteness Bred Insurgency and a Poppy Boom: The story of Badghis, 22 February 2017, url
53 Brittan, R., Managing Director Alcis, e-mail to OFPRA, 16 August 2017
54 All relevant maps on Afghanistan by UNOCHA can be found at: UNOCHA, Maps/Infographics – Afghanistan, n.d., url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Map

Map 1: Afghanistan - administrative divisions, source: UNOCHA55

55 UNOCHA, Afghanistan - administrative divisions, January 2014, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

25

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

1. General description of the security
situation in Afghanistan
1.1 Background of the conflict
1.1.1 Overview of conflicts in Afghanistan
On 27 April 1978, during the so-called Saur Revolution, the Afghan communists came to power56,
and President Muhammad Daud Khan was overthrown by young officers of the People’s Democratic
Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e Dimukratik-e Khalq-e Afghanistan57, PDPA) a small ‘Marxist-Leninist
party’58 established on 1 January 1965 in Kabul by Khalq and Parcham as two main factions opposing
each other,59 in a military coup. President Daud and most of his family members were executedduring the revolution.60 Daud had ruled the country since 1973. Following the coup, Nur Muhammad
Tarakai became the new president and Hafizullah Amin the deputy prime minister.61 The PDPA
leaders called their coup the Saur Revolution, the month in the Afghan calendar in which the coup
took place.62 During the military coup, around 60 to 70 tanks were deployed63 by lieutenant-colonel
Muhammad Rafi, and two battalion commanders, majors Muhammad Aslam Watanjar and Sherjan
Mazduryar. Tanks were backed by fighter jets under the command of Colonel Abul Qader, chief of
Air Force.64
President Daud had several enemies [since he arrived in power in 1973]65 and the coup was mainly
triggered by the arrest of the PDPA leaders66 including Amin and PDPA’s top leader Nur Muhammad
Tarakai, who were jailed67 after protests erupted over the killing of PDPA party ideologue Mir Akbar
Khayber on 17 April 1978.68
Following the 1978 coup, tensions between Khalq and Parcham began. President Nur Muhammad
Tarakai of Khalq cracked down on Parcham, detaining or killing hundreds of its members or
supporters while its leaders were sent abroad as ambassadors including Karmal (Parcham’s leader
and deputy leader of PDPA).69 Within the Khalq faction, due to an important quarrel between Amin
and Tarakai, the latter was murdered in September 197970 and Amin took power.71

56 Clark, K., An April Day that Changed Afghanistan 2: Afghans remember the ‘Saur Revolution’, AAN, 27 April 2018,

updated 9 March 2020, url
57 Qaane, E. and Sari Kouvo, Assadullah Sarwari Freed from Prison : What chances of war crimes trials in Afghanistan?,
AAN, 6 January 2017, url
58 Washington Сollege of Law, American university, Afghanistan documentation project, n.d., url
59 Ruttig, T., An April day that changed Afghanistan 1: Four decades after the leftist takeover, AAN, 25 April 2018, url
60 Ruttig, T., An April day that changed Afghanistan 1: Four decades after the leftist takeover, AAN, 25 April 2018, url;
Washington Сollege of Law, American university, Afghanistan documentation project, n.d., url
61 Qaane, E., Afghan war crimes trials in the Netherlands: Who are the suspects and what have been the outcomes?, AAN,
25 March 2020, url; Washington Сollege of Law, American university, Afghanistan documentation project, n.d., url
62 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghanistan still facing aftershocks of 1978 communist coup, 27 April 2020, url
63 ADST, The Saur Revolution: Prelude to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, n.d., url
64 Ruttig, T., An April day that changed Afghanistan 1: Four decades after the leftist takeover, AAN, 25 April 2018, url;
65 ADST, The Saur Revolution: Prelude to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, n.d., url
66 Ruttig, T., An April day that changed Afghanistan 1: Four decades after the leftist takeover, AAN, 25 April 2018, url
67 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghanistan still facing aftershocks of 1978 communist coup, 27 April 2020, url
68 Ruttig, T., An April day that changed Afghanistan 1: Four decades after the leftist takeover, AAN, 25 April 2018, url
69 RFE/RL/Gandhara, The Afghan President (to be) who lived a secret life in a Czechoslovak forest, 4 November 2019, url
70 Blood, P. R. (ed.), Afghanistan: A Country Study, Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 2001, url
71 Qaane, E., Afghan war crimes trials in the Netherlands: Who are the suspects and what have been the outcomes?, AAN,
25 March 2020, url; Blood, P. R. (ed.), Afghanistan: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 2001, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Immediately after the 1978 coup, the Department for the Protection of Afghanistan’s Interests (DeAfghanistan de Gato Satelo Edara, AGSA), an intelligence agency led by Assadullah Sarwari[Khalqi72], was established,73 and was mainly in charge of carrying out arrests and executions.
President Tarakai reportedly announced in March 1979, ‘those who plot against us in the dark will
disappear in the dark’.74
Following Amin’s seizure of power, Workers Intelligence Agency (Kargari Istikhbarti
Muassisaas, KAM), was established in September 1979 and the State Intelligence Agency(Khedamat-e Ettela’at-e Dawlati, KHAD) was established with the help of KGB soon after Babrak
Karmal’s coup in December 1979.75 In 1986, KHAD became WAD (Wazarat-e Amniat-e Daulati, State
Security Ministry76).77
Between 1978 and 1979, Khalq incarcerated and executed almost 5 000 people, including some ofthem in Pul-e Charkhi prison,78 whose names, profession, places of birth and crimes were indicatedin a document known as ‘death list’.79 Victims were allegedly tortured including beatings andelectrical shocks during the interrogation inside the prison.80 While in power, the PDPA used tortureand forced disappearance, and as well as the killing of civilians deliberately.81 According to a former
prisoner, during the night prisoners were brought out of Pul-e Charkhi prison for execution and wereburied [in mass] by a Bulldozer.82
On 15 March 1979, an uprising (qiam in Dari) by rebels took place against the PDPA government inHerat province.83 During the six-day uprising, Afghan pilots, trained by Russians, carried out airstrikes
on the city to recapture it, which resulted in the killing of up to 25 000 people.84 During the same
period, the Afghan government assigned insurgent assassination squads to conduct house to housesearches in Herat city.85 In 1992, a mass grave of 2 000 people was discovered near Herat City, which
may have belonged to the victims of the uprising incident of 1979.86 In April 1979, the PDPA
government forces led by Sadeq Alamyar carried out an attack on Kerala village in Kunar province
against mujahidin groups87, which caused an estimated number of civilians killed in this attack
ranging up to 30088 and ‘between 600 to 1 200’.89

72 AJP, Casting shadows: War crimes and crimes against humanity: 1978-2001, n.d., url, p. 12
73 Qaane, E., AAN, Afghan war crimes trials in the Netherlands: Who are the suspects and what have been the outcomes?,

AAN, 25 March 2020, url; AJP, Casting shadows: War crimes and crimes against humanity: 1978-2001, n.d., url, p. 1274 P. Gossman, An April Day That Changed Afghanistan 3: The legacy of the Saur Revolution’s war crimes, AAN, 30 April
2018, url
75 Qaane, E., Afghan war crimes trials in the Netherlands: Who are the suspects and what have been the outcomes?, AAN,
25 March 2020, url
76 Patang Wardak, D., Why the NDS matters : The emergence of the Afghan intelligence agency after 9/11, Journal ofIntelligence and Terrorism Studies, 19 January 2017, url, p. 4
77 AJP, Casting shadows: War crimes and crimes against humanity: 1978-2001, n.d., url, p. 31
78 Netherlands (The), Netherlands Public Prosecution Service, Afghanistan death lists, 18 September 2013, url
79 Clark, K., Death list published: Families of disappeared end a 30 year wait for news, AAN, 26 September 2013, url; AIHRC,
Afghanistan death list to end uncertainty of relatives, 18 September 2013, url
80 Netherlands (The), Netherlands Public Prosecution Service, Afghanistan death lists, 18 September 2013, url
81 Qaane, E., Afghan war crimes trials in the Netherlands: Who are the suspects and what have been the outcomes?, AAN,
25 March 2020, url
82 BBC News, Kabul’s prison of death, 27 February 2006, url
83 Gammell, C., Failings of inclusivity: The Herat uprising of March 1979, AAN, 15 March 2015, url
84 Gammell, C., Failings of inclusivity: The Herat uprising of March 1979, AAN, 15 March 2015, url
85 Washington Post (The), ‘Grim’ nickname fits Afghan tales of torture, murder, 11 May 1979, url
86 Gammell, C., Failings of inclusivity: The Herat uprising of March 1979, AAN, 15 March 2015, url
87 Clark, K., A 36-year wait for justice? Dutch arrest suspected Afghan war criminal, 1 November 2015, url; Qaane, E.,
Afghan war crimes trials in the Netherlands: Who are the suspects and what have been the outcomes?, 25 March 2020, url
88 Washington Post (The), ‘Grim’ nickname fits Afghan tales of torture, murder, 11 May 1979, url
89 Qaane, E., Afghan war crimes trials in the Netherlands: Who are the suspects and what have been the outcomes?, AAN,
25 March 2020, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

On 25 December 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and on 27 December of the same
year,90 the Soviet special forces attacked Taj Beg palace [in Kabul] and killed President Hafizullah
Amin91 and his family members,92 and designated Babrak Karmal as the new President.93 Amin was
suspected of collaborating with CIA and the leader of Hezb-e Islami, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.94
The Soviet Union undertook full military and political control in Kabul and in large areas across thecountry.95 In early 1980, there were 81 000 Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan. In 1986, their number
reached to 120 000. Before their withdrawal, which began in mid-1988 and was completed in 1989,
the number of Soviet troops in Afghanistan was around 100 000.96 After the Soviet withdrawal, Dr.
Najibullah Ahmadzai, former head of KHAD,97 who had taken power in 1986, remained in control of
the government.98
According to Ehsan Qaane, researcher at AAN, after the PDPA had taken power in 1978, four
successive presidents governed the country: Nur Muhammad Tarakai (1978 - 1979), Hafizullah Amin
(1979), Babrak Karmal (1979 - 1986), and Dr Najibullah (1987 - 1992).99
After the collapse of Dr. Najibullah’s regime in 1992, a period generally referred to as ‘Civil War’100
saw different mujahideen groups who had formed new alliances and fronts fighting for control of
Afghanistan.101 Mujahideen factions were composed of Jamiat-e Islami led by Burhanuddin Rabbani;
Shura-i Nazar (The Council of the North), led by Ahmad Shah Massoud; Hezb-e Islami (founded by
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar); Hezb-e Islami of Khalis; Ittihad-e Islami under the command of Abdul Rasul
Sayyaf); Hezb-e Wahdat created in 1989 as a union of Shia-Hazara parties and Harakat-e Inqilab-e
Islami-Afghanistan led by Mawlavi Mohammad Nabi Mohammad.102
Between April 1992 and March 1993, the battle for Kabul between mujahideen factions and militias
took place,103 which was characterised by severe human rights breaches, including executions,imprisonment, sexual violence, abduction of women and forced marriages. Rape of women and girls
was used by militia leaders as a weapon of war or ‘rewarding’ militants.104 Around 25 000 people
were killed.105
From April 1992, Hezb-e Islami raided Kabul with rocket attacks destroying hundreds of homes andkilling around 1 800 to 2 500 people. Ittihad and Jamiat troops, in retaliation, launched rockets on
civilian residential areas while trying to target Hezb-e Islami positions in the South of Kabul. During
the same period, Wahdat and Ittihad committed severe human rights violations while fighting eachother including the abduction of Hazara people by Ittihad and the abduction of Pashtun, Tajik and
90 Ruttig, T., A turning point in world history: 40 years ago, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, 25 December 2019, url
91 Ruttig, T., A turning point in world history: 40 years ago, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, 25 December 2019, url

RFE/RL, Poisoning, assassination, and a coup: the secret Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, 27 December 2019, url
92 RFE/RL, Poisoning, assassination, and a coup: the secret Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, 27 December 2019, url
93 Ruttig, T., A turning point in world history: 40 years ago, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, 25 December 2019, url;
RFE/RL, Poisoning, assassination, and a coup: the secret Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, 27 December 2019, url
94 Ruttig, T., An April day that changed Afghanistan 1: Four decades after the leftist takeover, AAN, 25 April 2018, url
95 US, Office of the Historian, The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the U.S. response, 1778-1980, n.d., url
96 Ruttig, T., A turning point in world history: 40 years ago, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, 25 December 2019, url
97HRW, Blood-stained hands, past atrocities in Kabul and Afghanistan’s legacy of impunity, 6 July 2005, url
98HRW, Blood-stained hands, past atrocities in Kabul and Afghanistan’s legacy of impunity, 6 July 2005, url
99 Qaane, E., Afghan war crimes trials in the Netherlands: Who are the suspects and what have been the outcomes?, AAN,
25 March 2020, url
100 BBC News, Afghanistan profile – Timeline, updated on: 9 September 2019, url; HRW, Afghanistan: Crisis of Impunity,
July 2001, url, pp. 13-17; International Crisis Group, The Insurgency in Afghanistan’s Heartland, 27 June 2011, url, p. 3
101 HRW, Afghanistan: Crisis of Impunity, July 2001, url, pp. 13-17; International Crisis Group, The Insurgency in
Afghanistan’s Heartland, 27 June 2011, url, p. 3
102 AJP, Casting shadows: War crimes and crimes against humanity: 1978-2001, n.d., url, pp. 57, 59, 66, 82, 88 and 163
103 HRW, III. The Battle for Kabul: April 1992 – March 1993, n.d., url
104 Oxfam International, The Cost of War, Afghan Experiences of Conflict, 1978-2009, November 2009, url, p. 10
105 Dorronsoro, G., Kabul at War (1992-1996): State, Ethnicity and Social Classes, South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic
Journal, 2007, n.d., url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

other non Hazara by Wahdat. For instance, Shafi Diwana (Shafi the mad), a senior commander of
Wahdat tortured and killed prisoners in Qala Khana in Kabul. Wahdat also reportedly held
thousands of prisoners in Dasht-e Barchi area in Kabul, most of whom reportedly disappeared.106
During the civil war, troops belonging to Junbesh-e Mili led by Dostum and stationed in the Naqlia
base (on the road between Kart-e Nau and Shah Shahid areas in Kabul) allegedly committed ‘rape,
murder and looting’, notably in 1993.107
Conflict between mujahideen factions led to the emergence in 1994 of a group called the Taliban.108
The group was made up of Afghan mujahideen, or Islamic rebel fighters, who had fought the Soviet
occupation.109 Jalaluddin Haqqani, the founder of Haqqani Network, allied with the Taliban in the
mid-1990s. He served as Taliban’s Minister for Tribal and Border Affairs.110
The Taliban conquered Kabul in 1996111 and after entering the city the group killed President
Najibullah and his brother and hanged them in Ariana circle in the city,112 and they carried out‘public executions and amputations of one hand and one foot for theft’.113 They killed thousands ofpeople114 including the deliberate and systematic killing of Hazara ethnic civilians after the group
captured Mazar-e Sharif on 8 August 1998.115 They captured Bamyan province in May 1999,116 where
the group destroyed two giant Buddhas statues in March 2001.117
By 2001, the Taliban controlled most of the Afghan territory. But by the end of the year, because of
the 11 September attacks in the US, they were ousted by a US-led military operation.118 The US gave
its support to the mujahideen front opposing the Taliban, at that time known as Northern Alliance.119
In December 2001, based on the Bonn Agreement, an Afghan interim government was formed, led
by Hamid Karzai120, a Pashtun121, who also won the first presidential elections in October 2004.122
The Taliban had reorganised and increased their presence substantially by 2006 in Wardak, Logar,
Zabul and Uruzgan provinces and began expanding along the western edge of Kabul province.123
Other anti-government elements (AGEs) operating in Afghanistan included Hezb-e Islami/Gulbuddin
Hekmatyar (HIG), the Haqqani Network124 and Al Qaeda affiliates, including Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan(TTP), Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LeT), Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LeJ) and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan(IMU).125 This insurgency was characterised by mainly asymmetric warfare: AGEs used roadside and

106 HRW, Blood-stained hands: Past atrocities in Kabul and Afghanistan’s legacy of impunity, 6 July 2005, url
107 AJP, Casting shadows: War crimes and crimes against humanity: 1978-2001, n.d., url, p. 103
108 Giustozzi, A. and Ibrahimi.N., Thirty Years of Conflict: Drivers of anti-Government Mobilisation in Afghanistan, 1978-

2011, January 2012, url, p. 22.
109 CFR, The Taliban in Afghanistan, 15 March 2021, url
110 ASP, The Haqqani Network, the Shadow Group Supporting the Taliban’s Operations, 1 September 2020, url, p. 3
111 International Crisis Group, The Insurgency in Afghanistan’s Heartland, 27 June 2011, url, p. 4; Tolonews, Researchers
blame Pakistan’s ISI for death of ex-president, 19 October 2016, url
112 Tolonews, Researchers blame Pakistan’s ISI for death of ex-president, 19 October 2016, url
113 USDOS, Afghanistan Report on Human Rights Practices for 1996, 30 January 1997, url
114 AI, Afghanistan, Making human rights the agenda, 1 November 2001, url
115 AI, Afghanistan: Thousands of civilians killed following Taleban takeover of Mazar-e Sharif, 3 September 1998, url
116 BBC News, The man who helped blow up the Bamiyan Buddhas, 12 March 2015, url
117 New York Times (The), Afghanistan dispatch, 2 giant Buddhas survived 1,500 years, Fragments, graffiti and a hologram
remain, 18 June 2019, url
118 CFR, The Taliban in Afghanistan, 15 March 2021, url
119 International Crisis Group, The Insurgency in Afghanistan’s Heartland, 27 June 2011, url, p. 5
120 Oxfam International, The Cost of War, Afghan Experiences of Conflict, 1978-2009, November 2009, url, p. 13; UNAMA,
Eighth Anniversary Today of 2001 Afghan Interim Authority, 22 December 2009, url
121 Guardian (The), The Afghan interim government: who's who, 6 December 2001, url
122 New York Times (The), Election of Karzai Is Declared Official, 4 November 2004, url
123 International Crisis Group, The Insurgency in Afghanistan’s Heartland, 27 June 2011, url, pp. 6-7
124 International Crisis Group, The Insurgency in Afghanistan’s Heartland, 27 June 2011, url, pp. 14-15
125 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/68/910–S/2014/420, 18 June 2014, url, para 21

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

suicide bombs and complex attacks, intimidation of civilians and targeted killings to destabilise thecountry. This was countered by searches, clearance operations and bombings by the Afghan
National Security Forces (ANSF) and international military forces.126 According to the United Nations
Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA), the security situation deteriorated after 2005. The
conflict deepened throughout 2007 and 2008, directly affecting around a third of the country.127
From 2010 onwards, the Taliban-led insurgency spread from the country’s south into areas in thenorthern, eastern, western, and central regions of Afghanistan.128 By the end of 2014, a transition of
security responsibility from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to theAfghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) was completed. The support for the further
development of the ANDSF continued ‘under a new, smaller non-combat NATO-led mission(“Resolute Support”)’.129 After the 2014 international military withdrawal, the Taliban have rapidly
expanded their presence countrywide.130 A 2017 report by UN Secretary-General noted that the
Taliban had been able to control larger parts of the country and the emergence of Islamic State in
Iraq and the Levant - Khorasan Province (ISKP) added ‘a new, dangerous dimension’ to thesituation.131 In 2018, fighting intensified particularly in the east, south-east and in some areas within
the south. The Taliban ‘made territorial gains in sparsely populated areas, and advanced theirpositions in areas that had not seen fighting in years’.132 Human Rights Watch noted that although
the Taliban claimed to target government and foreign military facilities only, their indiscriminate useof force killed and injured hundreds of civilians.133
On 29 February 2020, after more than 18 years of conflict, the US and the Taliban signed an‘agreement for bringing peace’ to Afghanistan.134 During the ‘reduction in violence’ (RiV) week, from22 to 28 February 2020,135 a drop in security incidents was recorded between the pro-government
forces and the Taliban.136 However, after the RiV ended with the signature of the Doha agreement,
the Taliban stated that the war would continue not against foreign troops, but against the Afghan
government.137 The Taliban’s Military Commission reportedly sought assurances from the main
Taliban leadership (the Quetta Shura) that they could continue fighting regardless of theagreement.138 Violence resumed immediately after the RiV ended.139 On 12 September 2020, thefirst formal and direct peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban started inDoha.140

126 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Midyear Report 2014, July 2014, url, pp. 54, 56, 58, 59
127 UNAMA, Afghanistan, Annual Report on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, 2008, January 2009, url, p. 1
128 UN Security Council, Report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Afghanistan, (Reporting Period: 1

September 2010 – 31 December 2014), S/2015/336, 15 May 2015, url, p. 2
129 NATO, Inteqal: Transition to Afghan lead, updated 17 November 2020, url
130 International Crisis Group, Afghanistan: Growing Challenges, 30 April 2017, url
131 UN Security Council, Special report on the strategic review of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan,
Report of the Secretary-General, A/72/312–S/2017/696, 10 August 2017, url, p. 3
132 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2018, February 2019, url, p. 8
133 HRW, World Report 2019 - Afghanistan, 17 January 2019, url
134 BBC News, Afghan conflict: US and Taliban sign deal to end 18-year war, 29 February 2020, url
135 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, First Quarter Report: 1 January- 31 March 2020, June
2020, url, p. 3
136 AAN, Voices from the Districts, the Violence Mapped (1): What has happened since the reduction in violence ended? 21
March 2020, url
137 AAN, Voices from the Districts, the Violence Mapped (1): What has happened since the reduction in violence ended? 21
March 2020, url
138 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to peace,stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para. 4
139 Ruttig, T., From Doha to Peace? Obstacles rising in the way of intra-Afghan talks, AAN, 3 March 2020, url
140 USIP, Five things to know about the Afghan peace talks, 14 September 2020, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

1.1.2 Political landscapeThe disputed 2014 presidential election resulted in a political compromise which led to theestablishment of the National Unity Government (NUG), under President Ashraf Ghani and Chief
Executive Abdullah Abdullah. Divisions within the government, particularly between Ghani and
Abdullah and their camps, severely compromised the NUG’s effectiveness.141 According to an
Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN) report from January 2017, ‘its complex power-sharing
arrangements [have] paralysed governance in Afghanistan.’142 A series of violent events in Kabul in
May-June 2017 caused a political crisis, resulting in a ‘significant shift in the political climate’ marked
by a rift between President Ghani and key members of the Jamiat-e Islami party. The crisis also
resulted in the consolidation of power within the NUG around President Ghani143 and in the firsteight months of 2017, the government made progress on high-level appointments, which had
previously been a source of tension.144
The Independent Election Commission (IEC) set a date for the next parliamentary and district council
elections in July 2018,145 which had been set to take place in early 2015. However, as a result of
security challenges and voter registration reforms the long-delayed parliamentary elections were
rescheduled again to October 2018.146 Parliamentary elections were held in 32 provinces on 2021 October 2018.147 Voting in Kandahar was delayed by a week after the assassination of theprovincial police chief in a Taliban-claimed attack two days before the original date of theelections.148 Voting in Ghazni was postponed indefinitely due to security issues and disagreements
around constituencies.149
Although voter turnout in Kabul and other urban centres was reportedly high, technical andorganisational problems occurred at some of the roughly 4 900 polling stations across the country. In
some polling stations machines registering fingerprints and portrait photos aiming to prevent double
voting did not function properly while in others election staff had difficulties handling them.150
In December 2018, the IEC announced a three-month delay for the presidential election which was
originally scheduled for 20 April 2019.151 In March 2019, the elections were postponed again, due to‘problems with the voting process’.152 Presidential candidates included incumbent Ashraf Ghani,
Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, former national security adviser Muhammad Hanif Atmar andalso Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of Hezb-e Islami.153 Interior Minister Amrullah Saleh, once astrong critic of the President, stepped down from his position to join Ghani's team as a candidate forthe post of vice-president.154 Appointing Saleh was seen as an effort from the ethnic Pashtun Ghani

141 FP, NUG One Year On: Struggling to Govern, 29 September 2015, url
142 AAN, What to Watch? Key issues to follow in Afghanistan in 2017, 27 January 2017, updated 9 March 2020, url
143 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/72/392–S/2017/783, 15 September 2017, url, p. 2
144 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/71/932–S/2017/508, 15 June 2017, url, p. 2; UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its
implications for international peace and security, Report of the Secretary-General, A/72/392–S/2017/783, 15 September
2017, url, p. 2
145 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/72/392–S/2017/783, 15 September 2017, url, p. 13
146 Al Jazeera, Afghanistan's elections: All you need to know, 19 October 2018, url
147 Tolonews, Ghazni Elections Could Be Held With Presidential Elections, updated 28 October 2018, url
148 CNN, Kandahar goes to the polls in Afghan parliamentary vote delayed by violence, 27 October 2018, url
149 Tolonews, Ghazni Elections Could Be Held With Presidential Elections, 27 October 2018, url
150 Diplomat (The), Afghan Parliamentary Elections Marred by Technical Troubles and Insecurity, 21 October 2018, url
151 France24, Afghan presidential election delayed until July 20, 30 December 2018, url
152 Reuters, Afghanistan presidential election postponed to September, 20 March 2019, url
153 Adili, A. Y., Afghanistan’s 2019 elections (2): Who is running to become the next president?, AAN, 11 February 2019, url
154 New York Times (The), Afghan Presidential Race Takes Shape as Ghani’s Challengers Emerge, 18 January 2019, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

to neutralise a political opponent and to get the support of the Tajiks, among whom Saleh has astrong backing.155
On 28 September 2019, the presidential elections were finally held, with the lowest election turnout
recorded since the Taliban were ousted in 2001. In the immediate aftermath of the elections, both
frontrunners, incumbent Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, declared victory 156,
which resulted in several months of political impasse.157 After almost three months since theelections, and with delays following allegations of fraud, irregularities, attacks and technicalproblems with biometric devices used for voting158, on 22 December 2019, the IEC announced thepreliminary results showing 50.64 % of the votes (923 868) in favour of Ghani and 39.52 % of thevotes (720 990) in favour of Abdullah Abdullah. This latter rejected the preliminary results, stating
they were based on fraud.159 The election turnover was estimated to be over 1.8 million160, with
31.5 % being composed of women.161
After three days since the announcement of the preliminary results, IEC said that it had registeredaround 16 500 complaints.162 The final results were announced in February 2020, confirming almost
exactly the preliminary outcome.163 Incumbent Muhammad Ashraf Ghani was declared the winner,with 50.64 % of votes. His rival Abdullah Abdullah, who was second with 39.52 % of votes164,
rejected the results, declaring himself the winner165; he announced his intention to form analternative, ‘inclusive’ government, and in the following weeks started appointing some provincial
governors.166 On 9 March 2020, both Ghani and Abdullah held separate inauguration ceremonies
taking the oath of office as the president of Afghanistan.167
After months of tension, on 17 May 2020, President Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, finally signed a
new power-sharing agreement.168 Under agreement, Abdullah is to lead the peace negotiations,becoming the leader of the High Council of National Reconciliation (HCNR) with executive
authorities;169 in addition he has the right to appoint 50 % of the cabinet170, including for some key
ministries, while provincial governors will be appointed based on ‘a rule agreed upon by the twosides’. However, as of 13 June 2020, AAN’s researcher Ali Yawar Adili and co-Director Thomas Ruttig
observed that it was not clear yet whether such a rule had been put in place, noting that a cabinet
had yet to be fully formed.171 On 6 December 2020, Ali Yawar Adili and Rohullah Sorush, researchers
at AAN, indicated that 25 cabinet nominees were presented to the Wolosi Jirga for confirmation
including 14 from Ghani’s side and 11 from Abdullah’s side. Wolosi Jirga reportedly confirmed 20
including 19 ministers and the head of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) (the country’s
155 Reuters, Afghanistan's Ghani launches bid for second presidential term, 20 January 2019, url
156 BBC News, Afghanistan presidential election: Rivals declare victory after record low turnout, 30 September 2019, url
157 Adili A. Y., End of post-election impasse? Ghani and Abdullah’s new power-sharing formula, AAN 20 May 2020, url
158 Reuters, Afghan election runoff likely amid thousands of complaints: officials, 23 December 2019, url
159 Reuters, Afghanistan's Ghani claims narrow win in preliminary presidential vote results, 22 December 2019, url
160 Reuters, Afghan election runoff likely amid thousands of complaints: officials, 23 December 2019, url
161 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/74/753–S/2020/210, 17 March 2020, url, p. 2
162 Adili, A. Y., Afghanistan’s 2019 Election (28): ECC starts final, decisive phase of complaints procedure, AAN, 25 January
2020, url
163 Ruttig T., Afghanistan’s 2019 Elections (30): Final results… and parallel governments?, AAN, 19 February 2020, url
164 IEC, Afghanistan 2019, Presidential election, n.d., url
165 Ruttig T., Afghanistan’s 2019 Elections (30): Final results… and parallel governments?, AAN, 19 February 2020, url;
Reuters, Ghani named winner of disputed Afghan poll, rival also claims victory, 18 February 2020, url
166 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/74/753–S/2020/210, 17 March 2020, url, p. 3
167 New York Times (the), Ghani Takes the Oath of Afghan President. His Rival Does, Too, 9 March 2020, url
168 Adili, A. Y., End of post-election impasse? Ghani and Abdullah’s new power-sharing formula, AAN, 20 May 2020, url
169 Tolonews, Ghani and Abdullah Sign Agreement to Break Political Deadloc, 17 May 2020, url
170 Adili, A. Y., End of post-election impasse? Ghani and Abdullah’s new power-sharing formula, AAN, 20 May 2020, url
171 Adili, A. Y. and Ruttig.T., Between Professionalism and Accommodation: The slow progress on the new cabinet, AAN, 13
June 2020, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

intelligence and security service), and the five others were rejected including four ministers and thehead of central bank. The five that were rejected (four ministerial nominees, plus the head of thecentral bank) were all from Ghani’s electoral camp.172
Since March 2020, new provincial governors were appointed for 26 of the 34 provinces including for
Baghlan, Sar-e Pul, Kandahar, Jowzjan and Logar Provinces in December 2020 and January 2021.
Reportedly, ‘on 6 December 2020, nine women were appointed as second deputy provincial
governors for social and economic affairs, in Badghis, Ghazni, Laghman, Logar, Kapisa, Kunar,
Nimruz, Nuristan and Zabul’.173

1.1.3 Peace talks
After exploratory peace talks in Doha between the US and Taliban representatives collapsed in June
2013, talks did not resume before the new president, Ashraf Ghani, was inaugurated in September
2014.174 In January 2015, the Taliban stated that its preconditions for entering peace talks were theend of foreign military presence, the establishment of an Islamic government and theimplementation of sharia.175 After the death of Mullah Omar was revealed in July 2015, a power
struggle broke out within the Taliban which, at least in part, prevented further progress in the peacetalks.176
In January 2016, the Taliban refused to engage in peace process within the Coordination Group
constituted by the US, Afghanistan, Pakistan and China aimed at advancing the peace talks.177 In
September 2016, the government signed a peace deal with Hezb-e Islami/Gulbuddin Hekmatyar(HIG). Describing HIG as a ‘fading insurgent group’, Borhan Osman explained the likely effect of thisdeal on the battlefield as ‘unlikely to significantly lower the current levels of violence’.178 In June
2017, President Ghani, speaking at the ‘Kabul-process’, ‘an international conference aiming to set
the stage for peace talks and restore security in Afghanistan’, offered the Taliban a ’last chance’ forreconciliation.179 However, according to a September 2017 report of the UN Secretary-General ‘nodiscernible progress has been made in fostering negotiations between the Government and the
Taliban.’180
In February 2018, the Afghan government presented ‘some very concrete proposals for peace talks
with the Taliban’ which, according to AAN, was ‘the most complete peace offer that has been
publicly announced since 2001’. Although President Ghani’s peace plan was offered ‘without any
preconditions’, it was made clear that issues as women’s rights and the basic values of theconstitution would not be negotiated. While the proposal included the prospect of establishing a
Taliban office in Kabul, the possibility of a ceasefire and also lifting the sanctions on those Taliban
leaders who would join the negotiation, the Taliban, in their reply, accused Ghani of ‘missing thepoint’ namely their key demand on the withdrawal of foreign troops.181 In June 2018, ‘President

172 Adili, A. Y. and Sorush, R., Afghanistan’s new – but still incomplete cabinet: no end yet to acting ministers, AAN, 6

December 2020, url
173 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/75/811–S/2021/252, 12 March 2021, url, p. 2
174 Farrell, T. and Michael Semple, Ready for Peace? The Afghan Taliban after a decade of War, RUSI, January 2017, url, p. 3
175 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/69/801–S/2015/151, 27 February 2015, url, p. 3
176 Farrell, T. and Semple, M., Ready for Peace? The Afghan Taliban after a decade of War, RUSI, January 2017, url, p. 4
177 Farrell, T. and Semple, M., Ready for Peace? The Afghan Taliban after a decade of War, RUSI, January 2017, url, p. 3
178 Osman, B., Peace With Hekmatyar: What does it mean for battlefield and politics?, AAN, 29 September 2016, url
179 DW, Ashraf Ghani offers Taliban 'last chance' for peace, 6 June 2017, url
180 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/72/392–S/2017/783, 15 September 2017, url, p. 4
181 Bjelica, J. and Ruttig, T., Who shall cease the fire first? Afghanistan’s peace offer to the Taleban, AAN, 1 March 2018,
updated 9 March 2020, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Ghani called a unilateral halt to all offensive government actions’ over the Muslim holiday of Eid alFitr which the Taliban also joined.182 However, the Taliban rejected the President’s offer to extend
the ceasefire by three months and continued to refuse official negotiations with the Afghan
government.183
On 21 September 2018, Zalmay Khalilzad was nominated as the US Special Representative for
Afghanistan Reconciliation184 and with Russia hosting a meeting in November 2018 on the peace
process that was attended by 11 countries and by the Taliban as well.185 Both tracks of negotiations
continued in 2019. The Moscow meeting in the beginning of February 2019 brought together the
Taliban delegation led by chief negotiator, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai and senior Afghan
politicians led by former President Hamid Karzai. The talks were scheduled just a week after the US
and the Taliban finished six days of negotiations in Doha.186
According to Thomas Ruttig, co-Director of AAN, while in Doha progress was being made in the formof an agreed draft framework, the negotiations so far did not involve the Afghan government, one of
the main three parties to the conflict, since their inclusion is blocked by the Taliban.187 The next
round of talks in Doha, the highest level negotiations yet, began on 25 February 2019 between theinsurgent group and the US involving Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s deputy leader.188
A consultative Loya Jirga – a gathering of Afghan politicians and tribal, ethnic and religious leaders was initially planned to be held in Kabul in March 2019 with the goal of creating a framework for theAfghan government to engage in peace negotiations with the Taliban. The Loya Jirga was eventually
postponed.189 In April 2019, a four-day Loya Jirga was convened to reach out a humanised approachto peace talks with the Taliban, while the latter group refused to negotiate with the Afghan
government.190 In September 2019, US President Donald Trump declared the US-Taliban
negotiations ‘dead’191, after the Taliban killed a US soldier; however, the discussions between thetwo sides resumed within weeks behind the scenes.192
On 29 February 2020, in Doha, the US and the Taliban signed the Agreement for Bringing Peace toAfghanistan.193 The main points outlined in the Doha agreement include guarantees by the Taliban
on not providing protection to groups, such as Al Qaeda, that pose a threat to the US and its allies;
guarantees by the US and their NATO allies to withdraw from Afghanistan; the question of ceasefire

182 Clark, K., The Eid Ceasefire: Allowing Afghans to imagine their country at peace, AAN, 19 June 2018, updated 9 March

2020, url
183 Ruttig, T., Getting to the Steering Wheel: President Ghani’s new set of peace proposals, AAN, 4 December 2018, url
184 USDOS, Zalmay Khalilzad - Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, 21 September 2018, url
185 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2018, February 2019, url, p. 9
186 New York Times (The), In Moscow, Afghan Peace Talks Without the Afghan Government, 4 February 2019, url
187 Ruttig, T., “Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”: First steps in Afghan peace negotiations, AAN, 4 February
2019, url
188 New York Times (The), U.S. and Taliban Begin Highest-Level Talks Yet on Ending Afghan War, 25 February 2019, url
189 RFE/RL, Afghan Loya Jirga Aimed At Discussing Peace Talks Delayed, 3 March 2019, url
190 RFE/RL, Afghanistan opens Loya Jirga to discuss peace talks, 29 April 2019, url
191 Ruttig T., US-Taleban Agreement Still in the Air: Disputes about a ‘ceasefire’ versus ‘reduction of violence’, AAN, 30
January 2020, updated 9 April 2020 url
192 BBC News, Afghan conflict: US and Taliban sign deal to end 18-year war, 29 February 2020, url
193 The full text in English of the US-Taliban agreement, referred in this report as the ‘Doha agreement’, is available on the
AAN website: Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan which is notrecognized by the United States as a state and is known as the Taliban and the United States of America, 29 February 2019,
url; For a detailed explanation of the Doha Agreement and stipulations, see UN Security Council, Eleventh report of theAnalytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant to resolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban
and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to the peace, stability and security of Afghanistan,
S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, pp. 6-7

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situationand the intra-Afghan negotiations.194 However, the Afghan government was not involved in the dealleading to questions about the viability of the agreement.195
Simultaneously with the Doha Agreement, the US signed a joint declaration196 with the governmentof Afghanistan, as an attempt to involve the Afghan government in the discussions, enabling politicalsettlement and a permanent ceasefire, while also re-affirming continued support to the Afghan
security forces and refraining from intervention in domestic affairs, amongst others.197
According to the Doha Agreement, all foreign military forces should withdraw from Afghanistan overa 14-month period, divided into two phases, including 135 days with partial reduction of troops andanother 9.5 months with potential full withdrawal, while in exchange, there should be mechanisms
to prevent Afghanistan being used by group/individual security threats to the US and its allies(specifically the Taliban and Al Qaeda).198 The Agreement also stipulates that the modalities for apermanent ceasefire are to be negotiated in intra-Afghan negotiations, with a mutual release ofprisoners, as a measure for confidence-building. Under the deal, the Afghan government is torelease up to 5 000 Taliban prisoners, in exchange for up to 1 000 Afghan government related
prisoners,199 including soldiers and police officers held by the Taliban. The prisoners release isdescribed as a ‘core demand of the Taliban’ and a delicate issue for the intra-Afghan talks.200 AAN
observed that there are ‘few obligations’ placed on the Taliban in the Agreement.201 The prospect of
the release of Taliban prisoners also led to concerns of a return to violence.202
As of mid-June 2020, the Afghan government said to have released 3 000 prisoners, while the
Taliban has freed 500. President Ghani also announced the decision to release additional 2 000 inorder to pave the way for peace talks with the Taliban.203 However, as of June 2020, there was
reluctance among both Afghan and Western officials about releasing hundreds of Taliban prisoners
considered as particularly dangerous204 and in July 2020, the Afghan government announced that it
will not release 600 ‘too dangerous’ prisoners’.205 In September 2020, 100 ‘dangerous’ Taliban
prisoners were reportedly released by the government.206
According to the UN Security Council, reporting in May 2020:

194 Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan which is not recognized by theUnited States as a state and is known as the Taliban and the United States of America, available at: AAN, 29 February 2020,url
195 US CRS, Afghanistan: Background and U.S. Policy: In Brief, 1 May 2020, url, pp. 3, 7. For a further discussion of the deal’s
provisions, see also Ruttig, T., From Doha to Peace? Obstacles rising in the way of intra-Afghan talks, AAN, 3 March 2020,
url
196 The text (in English) of the Joint Declaration between the US and the Afghanistan government is available at AAN, Joint
Declaration between the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the United States of America for Bringing Peace toAfghanistan, 29 February 2020 url
197 Ruttig, T., From Doha to Peace? Obstacles rising in the way of intra-Afghan talks, AAN, 3 March 2020, url
198 Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan which is not recognized by theUnited States as a state and is known as the Taliban and the United States of America, available from: AAN, 29 February
2020, url p. 2
Ruttig, T., From Doha to Peace? Obstacles rising in the way of intra-Afghan talks, AAN, 3 March 2020, url
199 Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan which is not recognized by theUnited States as a state and is known as the Taliban and the United States of America, available from: AAN, 29 February
2020, url p. 2
200 Zeino E., Peace versus Democracy? Afghanistan between Government Crisis and a U.S. Peace Deal with the Taliban,
Pajhwok Afghan News, 6 April 2020, url
201 Ruttig, T., From Doha to Peace? Obstacles rising in the way of intra-Afghan talks, AAN, 3 March 2020, url
202 Afghanistan Times, More violence feared as freed Taliban inmates may return to the battlefield, 14 June 2020, url
203 RFE/RL, Afghan President Says Taliban Prisoner Release To Be Completed Soon, 11 June 2020, url
204 Reuters, West reluctant for 'dangerous' Taliban prisoners to be freed: sources, 18 June 2020, url
205 France24, Afghanistan says will not release 600 'too dangerous' Taliban, 8 July 2020, url
206 RFE/RL, Afghan government releases 100 ‘dangerous’ Taliban prisoners’, 1 September 2020, url

35

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation‘While the Taliban remain internally disciplined enough to be a formidable fighting force,
there are divisions within the group, which make compromise with its adversaries difficult,and its messaging remains hard-line. The group also appears well prepared for the 2020
fighting season and raising the tempo of its attacks on Afghan government targets while trying
to avoid provoking the United States. Differences in interpretation of the agreement could
lead to periodic crises in its implementation. Hard-line Taliban believe that they can and will
still achieve their aims by force.’207
In mid-June 2020, the Taliban and the Afghan government finally agreed on Doha as the venue for
their first session of high-level ‘intra-Afghan dialogue’,208 but held off confirmation due todisagreements over prisoner releases.209 The release of 5 000 Taliban prisoners by the Afghan
government210 opened the way to a first formal and direct peace talk between the Afghan
government and the Taliban in Doha that began on 12 September 2020.211 AAN published theEnglish translation of the biographies of the Taliban negotiations team headed by Sheikh Mawlawi
Abdul Hakim Saheb, who is ‘currently a member of the Leadership Council [known as Quetta
Council]’.212 Taliban also published the list themselves.213 AAN also published an English translationof intra-Afghan talks rules of procedure (original in Pashto and Dari).214 During the intra-Afghan talks,
the Taliban demanded the establishment of a strict Islamic government while the Afghan
government’s highest priority was the implementation of a ceasefire.215 The Taliban demanded to
implement Hanafi school of Sunni jurisprudence as the main source of legislation in the country in
the future.216 According to the UN Security Council, reporting on 3 February 2021, the peace process
was important to ‘suppressing the long-term threat’ of ISKP and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.217
According to Salaam Times, a news website sponsored by the US armed forces, there has been agrowing division between the Taliban’s military commanders on the ground and the Doha political
team.218 According to a German Federal Government February 2021 report, the peace process with
the Taliban ‘remain extremely fragile’ and has been ‘overshadowed by a sustained high level ofviolence’.219

1.1.4 International context
As part of the bilateral agreement signed between the US and the Taliban on 29 February 2020, theUS agreed to reduce their troops from over 12 000 to 8 600 within 135 days (by mid-July 2020);
NATO and other coalition forces would also reduce their presence proportionally; with thecommitment of a total withdrawal of all US and NATO troops within 14 months (by April 2021),

207 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, p. 3
208 Reuters, Afghan government, Taliban agree to Doha as venue for first peace talks, 15 June 2020, url
209 VOA, Prisoner Release Delays May Jeopardize Start of Intra-Afghan Negotiations, 6 July 2020, url
210 New York Times (The), Afghan peace talks begin this week. Here’s what to know, 10 September 2020, url
211 USIP, Five things to know about the Afghan peace talks, 14 September 2020, url
212 AAN, Translation of the biographies of the Taleban negotiation team, 21 September 2020, url
213 Voice of Jihad, Brief introduction of the members of negotiation team of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, 30
September 2020, url
214 AAN, The rules of procedure for intra-Afghan talks, 2 January 2021, url
215 New York Times (The), What to know about the Afghan peace talks, updated 15 February 2021, url
216 SCR, December 2020 Monthly Forecast - Afghanistan, 30 November 2020, url
217 UN Security Council, Twenty-seventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted
pursuant to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2021/68, 3
February 2021, url, p. 3
218 Salaam Times, Growing intra-Taliban feud threatens to unravel peace process, 17 February 2021, url
219 Germany, the Federal Government, Bundeswehr mission in Afghanistan to be extended, 24 February 2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

depending on ‘action on the obligations’ by the Taliban.220 On 18 June 2020, the US stated they had
fulfilled their commitment under the Doha Agreement of reducing their troops in Afghanistan to
8 600. As for the timeframe set for the full withdrawal of all US and foreign troops, US General Frank
McKenzie, who oversees US forces in the region, said it was an ‘aspirational’ commitment thatwould hinge on certain actions on the part of the Taliban.221 In November 2020, the US troops in
Afghanistan reduced to an estimated number of 4 000 to 5 000, and in January 2021 their number
was decreased to 2 500222 or, by other accounts, 3 500.223 A part of the current remaining US troops
in Afghanistan would focus, in coordination with the Afghan forces, to fight against al-Qaeda and
ISKP, and the rest of the US troops would continue providing training, advise, and assistance to theAfghan security forces as part of NATO-Resolute Support (RS). As of February 2021, in addition tothese US troops, there were 6 346 US contractors in Afghanistan.224
In August 2020, Kate Clark reported that since the Doha agreement of February 2020, the US military
was less involved in direct conflict in Afghanistan.225 According to the US Operation Freedom’s
Sentinel (OFS) report of 30 September 2020, in general the Taliban stopped their offensives against
the US troops and interests in Afghanistan while the group has intensified its attacks against the
ANDSF.226
In June 2020, NATO said they would reduce their troops from around 16 000 to around 12 000
during the course of the following months, in a ‘step-by-step and conditions-based process,reflecting the progress seen on the ground’. At the same time, NATO Allies and Resolute Support
Mission confirmed their financial support to the Afghan security forces until the end of 2020.227
As of February 2021, the number of NATO in Afghanistan was 9 592 and in total, 36 countries
contributed troops to RS, with the US, Germany and the UK as the largest contributors.228 NATO did
not decide on the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan.229 In February 2021, Germany
announced that it has extended its mission within RS to 31 January 2022, which has yet to beapproved by the parliament.230 In March 2021, the German Parliament reportedly approved themission.231
As in the past, Afghanistan’s relations with Pakistan were tense in 2016-2017232 and remained
tenuous in 2018.233 Both countries have been blaming each other for sheltering terrorists234 andescalating border tensions resulted in Pakistan starting to build a fence on the border to prevent the
movement of militants.235 The US Department of Defense (USDOD) noted that even though Pakistani

220 Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan which is not recognized by theUnited States as a state and is known as the Taliban and the United States of America, available from: AAN, 29 February
2020, url p. 2
221 AP, US has hit agreed troop-cut target of 8,600 in Afghanistan, 18 June 2010, url
222 SIGAR, 2021 HIGH-Risk list, url, March 2021, p. 14
223 New York Times (The), US has 1 000 more troops in Afghanistan than it disclosed, 14 March 2021, url
224 SIGAR, Quarterly report to the United States Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 55. CFR, U.S. troop withdrawal fromAfghanistan: What are Biden’s options?, 9 February 2021, url
225 Clark, K., War in Afghanistan in 2020, just as much violence, but no one wants to talk about it, AAN, 16 August 2020, url
226 USDOD, Lead Inspector General for Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, Report to the United States Congress, July 1, 2020–
September 30, 17 November 2020, url
227 NATO, NATO-Afghanistan relations, June 2020, url, p. 2
228 NATO, Resolute Support Mission RSM: Key Facts and Figures, February 2021, n.d., url, pp. 1-2
229 Tolonews, Afghan Govt welcomes NATO’s decision on Afghanistan, 19 February 2021, url; France24, NATO puts holds
on Afghanistan decision, expands in Iraq, 18 February 2021, url
230 Germany, the Federal Government, Bundeswehr mission in Afghanistan to be extended, 24 February 2021, url
231 Reuters, Germany extends military mission in Afghanistan into 2022, 25 March 2021, url
232 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary General, A/71/826–S/2017/189, 3 March 2017, url, p. 4
233 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2018, url, p. 23
234 Daily Pakistan, Pakistan desires peace, stability in Afghanistan: Khawaja Asif, 2 September 2017, url
235 Dawn, Pakistan holds 'keys to war', says Afghan president, 31 January 2019, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

military operations disrupted some militant safe havens, certain groups, such as the Taliban and the
Haqqani Network enjoyed freedom of movement in Pakistan.236 Following Imran Khan’sinauguration as Prime Minister of Pakistan in August 2018, the two countries continued efforts toimprove their relations.237 As part of a ‘confidence-building measure’ and showing that Pakistan
opted for a constructive role in the Afghan peace talks, in October 2018, Islamabad released Mullah
Abdul Ghani Baradar who had been imprisoned since 2010. Mullah Baradar was appointed as a newleader for the Taliban's political office in Qatar, effectively making him the chief negotiator on behalfof the insurgent group for the peace talks with the US.238 However, in January 2019, President Ghani
suggested that Pakistan was a safe haven for militants and their cross-border activities by saying thatthe ‘keys to war are in Islamabad, Quetta, [and] Rawalpindi.’239
During the US-Taliban negotiations, Pakistan played a key role helping to bring the Taliban to thetable.240 In January 2019, during a visit to Pakistan, US Senator Lindsay Graham acknowledged
Pakistan's effort to help the Afghan peace process.241 Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mehmood
was present when the peace agreement in Doha was signed.242
Signs of improvement in the relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan reportedly came withthe visit by Pakistan’s military and intelligence chiefs to Kabul on 9 June 2020, which was described
as an ice breaker for the relations between the two countries.243 The visit occurred ahead of intraAfghan peace dialogue which was set to start in mid-June.244 At the beginning of July 2020, Abdullah
Abdullah announced an official visit to Pakistan as part of the efforts to initiate the intra-Afghantalks.245 In November 2020, Pakistan Prime Minister, Imran Khan, travelled to Kabul and met with
President Ghani to discuss ‘bilateral relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Afghan peace
process, and regional economic development and connectivity’.246
In 2017, there were several accounts of both Russia247 and Iran actively supporting the Taliban.248
Although Russia denied organising talks between Taliban representatives and an Afghan delegation
led by Hamid Karzai, Moscow hosted meetings on the peace process in November 2018249 andFebruary 2019 and according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) it is ‘highly unlikely such ahigh-profile event would be allowed to take place in Moscow without the Kremlin's blessing’.250
Interviewed by the Washington Post, Carter Malkasian, a former senior adviser to American militarycommanders in Afghanistan, observed that Russia had cultivated relations with certain Taliban
elements, mainly in northern Afghanistan, since the beginning of 2015. Russia’s interest in keeping

236 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2018, url, p. 24
237 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary General, A/73/624–S/2018/1092, 7 December 2018, url, p. 7
238 RFE/RL, 'Hopeful Moment': How An 'Afghan-Led, Afghan-Owned' Peace Process Might Look, 29 January 2019, url
239 Dawn, Pakistan holds 'keys to war', says Afghan president, 31 January 2019, url
240 Afzal M., Will the Afghan peace process be Pakistan’s road to redemption?, Brookings Institution, 25 June 2020, url
241 VOA, Taliban, US Open Afghan Peace Talks in Qatar, 21 January 2019, url
242 Afzal M., Will the Afghan peace process be Pakistan’s road to redemption?, Brookings Institution, 25 June 2020, url
243 Tribune, Afghanistan's Abdullah Abdullah to visit Pakistan soon, 5 July 2020, url
244 AA, Pakistan's military, intelligence chiefs visit Kabul, 9 June 2020, url
245 Express Tribune (The), Afghanistan's Abdullah Abdullah to visit Pakistan soon, 5 July 2020, url
246 Tolonews, Imran Khan arrives in Kabul to meet Afghan leaders, 19 November 2020, url
247 Business Insider, Russia appears to now be helping out the Taliban, 28 January 2017 url; Washington Post (The), Russia
is sending weapons to Taliban, top U.S. general confirms, 24 April 2017 url; Giustozzi, A., Afghanistan: Taliban’sorganization and structure, Landinfo, 23 August 2017, url, pp. 9-10. Some observers were more sceptical about Russia’s
direct involvement: see, Atlantic (The), Is Russia Really Arming the Taliban?, 25 August 2017, url
248 WSJ, Iran Backs Taliban With Cash and Arms, 11 June 2015 url; VOA, Afghan Lawmakers to Investigate Growing Ties
Between Taliban, Russia and Iran, 5 December 2016 url; RFE/RL/Gandhara, Mounting Afghan Ire Over Iran's Support For
Taliban, 31 July 2017, url
249 Al Jazeera, Taliban: Russia meeting 'not about direct talks' with Kabul, 9 November 2018, url
250 RFE/RL, 'Intra-Afghan' Talks Under Way In Moscow Amid Continuing Violence, 5 February 2019, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

relations with the Taliban was partly due to their concerns over the threat posed by Islamic State
groups in the region, but also because of their desire to see the US withdraw from Afghanistan.251
At the end of June 2020, the New York Times revealed that Russian military intelligence unit offeredbounties to militias linked to the Taliban for killing US and coalition forces in Afghanistan. US
intelligence officials told the New York Times that the White House had already been briefed about
the intelligence and the US National Security Council had discussed this issue at an interagency
meeting in late March 2020.252 Following this revelation, both Russia and the Taliban denied theexistence of the bounty program. US President Trump and his aides denied being ever briefed on theintelligence.253 In January 2021, Taliban delegation and Russian officials met in Moscow to discussthe ‘intra-Afghan negotiations’ and issues relating to the complete implementation of the US-Taliban
peace deal signed in February 2020.254 In February 2021, Zamir Kabulov, Russian special envoy for
Afghanistan met with Pakistani officials in Islamabad discussing efforts to reach a peaceagreement.255
USDOD reported that Iran continued to pursue ties with the Afghan government, through trade,border security, and investment in shared railroad infrastructure; while at the same time continuing
to provide ‘calibrated’ support to the Taliban.256 Tehran perceived the Taliban as an effective means
to counter US influence on its border. Providing military equipment to them was seen as putting
enough pressure on the United States without the risk of US military retaliation.257 Iran has tried tostrengthen its relationship with some Taliban factions also through economic, diplomatic, andsecurity activities. However, following the US-Taliban agreement in Doha, in Tehran there are fears
that some of most extreme elements of the Taliban – mostly Sunni who are not well disposed
towards predominantly Shia Iran – can take power in a new central government which might result
from intra-Afghan talks.258
According to a UN report of March 2021, Hamdullah Mohib, Deputy Foreign Minister of Afghanistan,
travelled to Tehran on 22 December 2020 to discuss the security situation in Afghanistan and thewithdrawal of foreign forces from the country. On 10 December 2020, Afghan President and thePresident of Iran ‘inaugurated the first three sections of the 225 km long railway that will link the
Iranian city of Khaf in Khorasan Razavi Province with Herat Province in Afghanistan’. Simultaneously,
the Afghanistan Railway Authority started the construction of the final section of railway from
Rozanak to Robat Paryan, both located in Herat Province.259
In January 2021, a Taliban delegation met with Iranian officials in Tehran to discuss ‘relations
between both countries, the situation of the Afghan migrants in Iran, and the current political andsecurity situation of Afghanistan and region’. Earlier in November 2019, Mullah Abdul Ghani
Baradar, director of the Taliban’s diplomatic office in Qatar, met with Iranian Foreign Minister

251 Washington Post (The), Russian bounties to Taliban-linked militants resulted in deaths of U.S. troops, according tointelligence assessments, 29 June 2020, url
252 New York Times (The), Russia Secretly Offered Afghan Militants Bounties to Kill U.S. Troops, Intelligence Says, 26 June
2020, updated 1 July 2020, url; New York Times (The), Trump Got Written Briefing in February on Possible Russian
Bounties, Officials Say, 29 June 2020, url; New York Times (The), Suspicions of Russian Bounties Were Bolstered by Data on
Financial Transfers, 30 June 2020, updated 3 July 2020, url
253 Washington Post (The), Russian bounties to Taliban-linked militants resulted in deaths of U.S. troops, according tointelligence assessments, 29 June 2020, url
254 Diplomat (The), Taliban visit Moscow, voice hope US will honor peace deal, url; RFE/RL/Gandhara, Taliban delegation
discusses peace talks with Russian officials, 28 January 2021, url
255 AP, Russia steps in, trying to aid stalled Afghan peace process, 20 February 2021, url
256 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2019, url, p. 24
257 USIP, Iran and Afghanistan’s Long, Complicated History, 14 June 2018, url
258 Foreign Affairs, What Iran Wants in Afghanistan, 8 July 2020, url
259 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/75/811–S/2021/252, 12 March 2021, url, p. 6

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran.260 During the reporting period, relations between the Taliban and
Iran reportedly improved.261
In an article analysing the latest developments in Afghanistan, in the light of the US-Taliban
agreement and its impact on the democratic achievements of the country, Dr Ellinor Zeino notedthat ‘Afghanistan remains politically, militarily and financially dependent on foreign allies andvulnerable to external conflicts of power and interests.’262

1.2 Actors in the conflict
1.2.1 Pro-government forces
According to the UNAMA annual report of 2020, pro-Government Forces (PGF) are composed of‘Afghan National Security Forces and other forces and groups that act in military or paramilitarycounter-insurgency operations and are directly or indirectly under the control of the Government of
Afghanistan’ and include pro-Government armed groups and International military forces (IMF).263
For more information on the Afghan security institutions, including their mandate and structure,
integrity, and the main reported cases of violations perpetrated by these security forces, see EASOCOI Report Afghanistan, State Structure and Security Forces, August 2020.

Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF)
The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) or the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces(ANDSF) are composed of the Afghan National Army (including Afghan Air Force and Afghan National
Army - Territorial Forces), the Afghan Special Forces, National Directorate of Security (Afghanistan’s
State intelligence and security service, which has special forces that participate in military
operations), Afghan Local Police, Afghan National Police, Afghan National Civil Order Force andAfghan Border Force.264
According to the USDOD report of December 2020, the authorised strength of the ANDSF remained
352 000 ANA and ANP personnel, which included the Afghan Air Force and Afghan Special Security
Forces.265
On 30 January 2021, the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan (CSTC-A), quoted in a
SIGAR report, indicated that as of 29 October 2020, there were 305 021 ANDSF personnel including
186 899 Ministry of Defence (MoD) and 118 122 Ministry of Interior Affairs (MoI) personnel.266
During the same period, there has been a 6 % increase of 16 319 personnel within ANDSF including
15 000 within the MoI compared to the third quarter of 2020 (data from 25 July 2020) as a result of
the transfer of some of Afghan Local Police (ALP) personnel to other parts of the MoI (following thedissolution of the ALP), increased recruiting and low attrition.267

260 Atlantic Council, Iran-Taliban growing ties: What’s different this time?, 16 February 2021, url
261 DW, Taliban buddies up to the Taliban, 3 February 2021, url
262 Zeino E, Peace versus Democracy? Afghanistan between Government Crisis and a U.S. Peace Deal with the Taliban,

Pajhwok Afghan News, 6 April 2020, url
263 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 101 and
107
264 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 101
265 USDOD, Enhancing security and stability in Afghanistan, December 2020, 23 April 2021, url, p. 18
266 SIGAR, Quarterly report to the United States Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 59
267 SIGAR, Quarterly report to the United States Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 59

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

In August 2020, Kate Clark reported that ANDSF was mostly in ‘responsive mode’ during thereporting period, with less involvement of the US military forces in the conflict.268 As of November
2020, ANDSF was reportedly carrying out 96 % of its operations alone.269
According to the New York Times, 3 378 ANDSF personnel were killed in 2020,270 at least 239 were
killed in January 2021271 and at least 257 were killed February 2021.272
Voice of Jihad, the Taliban’s website, claimed that in December 2020, 1 346 government personnel
including ANDSF members joined their group,273 and 1293 ANDSF personnel joined the mentioned
group in January 2021. The latter report contains full names, village, district, province, function anddates. The list also includes a few civil servants including judges.274
On 18 February 2021, Ariana news report that Afghan Commandos freed several prisoners including
16 ANA personnel, four Commandos, two ANP members, one NDS soldier from the Taliban prison in
Qashlaq Kabuli area of Khan Abad district in Kunduz province during a rescue operation in which theprison has been reportedly destroyed. The source cited Afghan ministry of defence indicating thatthe freed ‘prisoners were extensively tortured by the Taliban’.275
According to UNAMA, in 2020, ANDSF caused 1 906 civilian casualties including 674 killed and 1 232
injured, which represented a 13 % increase compared to 2019.276 Taliban reported that during theperiod from January to mid-December 2020, ANDSF caused the death of 872 people including 541
men, 133 women and 198 children.277
Afghan National Army (ANA)The Afghan National Army (ANA) operates under the responsibility of the MoD and is part of theArmed Forces of Afghanistan278 and as of 29 October 2020, ANA counted 186 899 personnel
including Afghan Air Force (AAF), while its authorised strength reduced from about 227 000 to 208
000.279
As of December 2020, around 29 000 ANA personnel were based in checkpoints across thecountry.280 During the last quarter of 2020, ANA removed 58 checkpoints but constructed 55 new
ones. ANA created several checkpoints in and around Lashkar Gah (capital of Helmand province) inretaliation to the Taliban attack, which took place in October 2020.281 In December 2020, ANA’s
205th Corps abandoned around 200 checkpoints to the Taliban in Kandahar due to the attacks by
the latter group.282 Under the Afghan government’s Checkpoint Reduction and Base Development

268 Clark, K., War in Afghanistan in 2020, just as much violence, but no one wants to talk about it, AAN, 16 August 2020, url
269 Tolonews, ANDSF conducts 96 % of operations independently: Khalid, 17 November 2020, url
270 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: December 2020, 31 December 2020, url
271 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2021, 28 January 2021, url
272 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 4 February 2021, updated 25 February 2021, url
273 Voice of Jihad, Preaching and guidance: 1346 Kabul Administration workers joined Islamic Emirate in December 2020, 7

January 2021, url
274 Voice Jihad, ‫ د کابل له ادارې څخه د رابېل شویو افرادو هویت‬،‫ جلب و جذب کمیسیون‬،‫ د دعوت ارشاد‬،‫[ د افغانستان اسالم امارت‬informal‫ي‬translation: ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, preaching and guidance commission, identity of individuals leaving Kabul
administration, 21 February 2021], url
275 Ariana News, Commandos free 24 from Taliban prisons, who had been “extensively” tortured, 18 February 2021, url
276 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 63
277 Voice of Jihad, Annual civilian casualty report for 2020 by Commission for prevention of civilian casualties, 31 December
2020, url
278 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 101
279 SIGAR, Quarterly report to the United States Congress, 30 January 2021, url, pp. 59-60
280 SIGAR, Quarterly report to the United States Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 68
281 USDOD, Lead Inspector General for Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, Report to the United States Congress, 1 October – 31
December 2020, 17 February 2021, url, p. 24
282 SIGAR, Quarterly report to the United States Congress, 30 January 2021, url, pp. 51, 67

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Plan, 9 % of 2 000 vulnerable security checkpoints of ANA (which includes checkpoints that cannot
be protected with artillery fire) would be shut down between 21 June 2020 and 20 March 2021.283
According to the USDOD report, attrition remained a major problem within the ANA, which affected
ANA to reach full strength. The number of personnel dropped from the rolls (DFR) represent 66 % of
attrition in the ANA. DFRs happen for different reasons, including ‘poor unit leadership, low pay ordelays in pay, austere living conditions, denial of leave, and intimidation by insurgents’. Around aquarter of the monthly losses concern soldiers leaving the ANA at the end of the contract. ANA
casualties during combat represent a small number of monthly losses and decreased importantly
compared to earlier reporting periods.284
According to UNAMA, in 2020, ANA caused 1 021 civilian casualties including 313 killed and 708
wounded, which represented a 19 % increase compared to the year 2019.285
Afghan National Army Territorial Force (ANA TF)
In April 2018, President Ghani announced the establishment of the Afghan National Army Territorial
Force (ANA TF).286 The goal was to create a local security force that is more effective, professional,
sustainable and led by MoD. Contrary to the ALP, which is overseen by the MoI, the MoD willcommand and control the locally recruited, but nationally trained ANA TF personnel.287 ANA TF
tolays (companies) operate ‘under six ANA corps and 111th Capital Division in 32 of 34 provinces’.
Currently, there are no ANA TF presence in the 215th Corps, which is responsible for Helmand andNimroz Provinces.288 As of December 2020, there were 126 operational ANA TF tolays across thecountry, with 81 additional tolays (including the 21 that are already operational) are transferrals
from MoI to MoD to support the transfer of up to 10 851 ALP personnel to ANA TF.289 Each tolay
recruits soldiers from a particular district but is led by officers from outside that district, alreadyserving in the regular ANA or being in the ANA reserves.290 ANA TF tolays have a strength of up to
121 soldiers and are aimed at providing local security to counter the Taliban activities and to stopthem from moving towards urban areas and important ‘lines of communication andtransportation’.291
Afghan Air Force (AAF)
The Afghan Air Force (AAF) is ‘the primary air enabler for ANDSF ground forces by providing air-toground fires and special operations forces and lift support to ground forces across Afghanistan’, with
their headquarters in Kabul, they provide command and control of 18 detachments and three wings,
including the Kabul Air Wing, the Kandahar Air Wing and the Shindand Air Wing.292 According to the
USDOD report of June 2020, ‘although human capital limitations remain a long-term concern, theAAF’s increased recruitment and high retention rates enable it to fill key positions. Growing themaintainer cadre to reduce reliance on contractor logistics support (CLS) remains the AAF’s top
challenge.’293

283 USDOD, Lead Inspector General for Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, Report to the United States Congress, 1 October – 31

December 2020, 17 February 2021, url, p. 24
284 USDOD, Enhancing security and stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, url, pp. 36, 37, 58
285 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 64
286 Clark, K., The Afghan Territorial Force: Learning from the lessons of the past?, AAN, 15 January 2019, url
287 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2018, url, p. 39
288 SIGAR, Quarterly report to the United States Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 65
289 SIGAR, Quarterly report to the United States Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 65
290 Clark, K., The Afghan Territorial Force: Learning from the lessons of the past?, AAN, 15 January 2019, url
291 SIGAR, Quarterly report to the United States Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 65
292 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2020, url, p. 45
293 USDOD, Enhancing security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, url, pp. 61

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

As of June 2020, AAF remained one of the most capable forces within ANDSF and ‘continued todemonstrate operational and tactical proficiency’.294 According to SIGAR, the AAF had 136 available
aircraft as of 1 January 2021.295
In 2020, UNAMA attributed 526 civilian casualties including 234 killed and 292 wounded to AAF,
which represented a 126 % increase compared to 2019. On 21 October 2020, Afghan Air Forcecarried out an airstrike against a madrassa in Hazara Qarluq village in Takhar province that killed
nine children, five boys and four girls, aged between five and nine years old and wounded 16 others,
as well as the mullah.296
Afghan National Police (ANP)The Afghan National Police (ANP) operates under the responsibility of the MoI and is the primary law
enforcement agency in Afghanistan, and ‘in some instances, takes part in hostilities.’297
According to USDOD, as of 29 March 2020, ANP counted 99 000 personnel.298 On 30 January 2021,
SIGAR indicated that, as of 29 October 2020, there were 118 122 ANP with an addition of 4 684 MoI
civilian personnel.299 As of December 2020, 66 000 ANP personnel were based in300 5 000checkpoints, 1 054 of which have been identified for reduction or merging. During the last quarter of
2020, ANP closed 98 checkpoints.301 According to Tolonews, ANP has reduced the number of its
checkpoints to 113 bases and 3 700 checkpoints across the country to decrease its role in war andlower the number of its casualties.302
According to the Afghan Bios information, the Afghan National Police, referred here as Afghan
Uniform Police (AUP) is designated to police stations and checkpoints across the country and is often
the first-response service when an incident takes place. ANP is also in charge of conducting staticand mobile checkpoints throughout the country to maintain security. In each of the 34 provincial
capitals, there is a police headquarters, and there is ‘a police station in each of the country’s 364
districts.’303
Attrition remains a major problem within ANP. A large part of the attrition within ANP is due to ‘thecombination of frequent and lengthy deployments to remote checkpoints with minimal provisions
and equipment, difficult living conditions, and the near-constant prospect of attacks contribute to
the high ANP attrition’.304 According to the New York Times’ war casualty reports, ANP personnel(which might include some ALP) were killed across the country in May,305 June,306 July,307 August,308

294 USDOD, Enhancing security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, url, pp. 2
295 SIGAR, Quarterly report to the United States Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 73
296 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 64, 68
297 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 101
298 USDOD, Enhancing security and stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, url, p. 87
299 SIGAR, Quarterly report to the United States Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 59
300 SIGAR, Quarterly report to the United States Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 68
301 USDOD, Lead Inspector General for Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, Report to the United States Congress, 1 October – 31

December 2020, 17 February 2021, url, p. 24
302 Tolonews, Taliban increased presence in areas left by ANDSF, 3 March 2021, url
303 Afghanistan, Afghan Bios, Afghan biographies, Afghan National Police (ANP), 1 July 2020, url
304 USDOD, Enhancing security and stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, url, pp. 87-88
305 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: May 2020, 29 October 2020, url
306 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: June 2020, 4 June 29 October 2020, url
307 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 2020, 30 July 2020, url
308 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: August 2020, 29 October 2020, url

43Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

September,309 October,310 November,311 and December 2020,312 and also in January313 and February
2021.314
According to UNAMA, in 2020, ANP caused 75 civilian casualties including 31 killed and 44 wounded,
which represented a 17 % decrease compared to 2019.315
On 5 September, an ANP personnel shot and killed a civilian man who refused to pay money to pass
the checkpoint at a security checkpoint in Qalat district of Zabul province.316
Afghan Local Police (ALP)In August 2010, the ALP was created as a security initiative led by the MoI and funded by the US
Government.317 Officially, the ALP reports to the MoI at national level but, in practice, since June
2015, it has been subordinated to the AUP (which belongs to the ANP),318 however it is not counted
as part of the ANSF’s authorised strength.319 Since 2001, the Afghan state and international militaryforces have tried to develop a ‘local force model’ in order to fill security gaps and defend theterritory from AGEs. According to an analysis by AAN, although this model has worked in somecases, in others has not proved to be successful mainly due to the fact that ‘local forces have been
co-opted by ethnic, factional or criminal interests and abused the local population’. These factors
have contributed to decision to dissolve the ALP, which has been the main local force for the last ten
years.320 In September 2020, ALP was dissolved, and its funding was stopped by the decision of theUnited States Congress. The US was the only international funder for ALP.321
According to Kate Clark, co-Director, and senior analyst at AAN, in October 2020, there were 18 000
ALP men present in 31 provinces of Afghanistan. The plan was to disarm and retire one third, totransfer one third to ANP and the remaining one third to ANA Territorial Forces.322 While Special
Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) reported on 30 January 2021 that 15 000
ALP personnel were transferred to ANP.323
Kate Clark cited a journalist stating example of ALP in Kunduz:‘The ALP has a bad reputation. It has caused serious problems for locals and has no place
among the people. It has been collecting ‘taxes’ and other revenues and has been forcing
locals to provide food. In fact, many ALP commanders are criminals. They’re involved inrobbery, looting private houses, kidnapping, drug trafficking and even the killing of civilians…
Most of the ALP commanders have links with powerbrokers and warlords and therefore, thejudicial system faces serious challenges in prosecuting them’.324

309 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 1 October 2020, url
310 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2020, 29 October 2020, url
311 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 26 November 2020, url
312 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: December 2020, 31 December 2020, url
313 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2021, 28 January 2021, url
314 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 25 February 2021, url
315 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 64
316 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 70

Clark, K., Civilian casualties worsen as intra-Afghan talks began, says UNAMA’s 2020 report on the protection of civilians,
AAN, 23 February 2021, url
317 SIGAR, Afghan Local Police: A Critical Rural Security Initiative Lacks Adequate Logistics Support, Oversight, and Direction,
16 October 2015, url
318 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the US Congress, 30 April 2016, url, p. 107
319 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the US Congress, 30 July 2017, url, p. 104
320 Clark K., et al., Ghosts of the Past: Lessons from Local Force Mobilisation in Afghanistan and Prospects for the Future,
AAN and GPPI, 1 July 2020, url, pp. 2, 9, 75
321 Clark, K., Disbanding the ALP: A dangerous final chapter for a force with a chequered history, AAN, 6 October 2020, url
322 Clark, K., Disbanding the ALP: A dangerous final chapter for a force with a chequered history, AAN, 6 October 2020, url
323 SIGAR, Quarterly report to the United States Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 59
324 Clark, K., Disbanding the ALP: A dangerous final chapter for a force with a chequered history, AAN, 6 October 2020, url

44Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

In February 2021, UNAMA indicated that, between 1 January 2019 and 31 March 2020, it
documented, with Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), 17
cases of detention of individuals being deprived from liberty for security- or terrorism-related
offences by the ALP. In eight cases, which represent 47 %, detainees indicated ‘credible and reliable
reports of having been subjected to torture and ill-treatment, reporting beating as the maintechnique’. These cases reportedly happened in Badakhshan, Balkh, Kandahar, Nangarhar, Paktika
and Paktya.325
According to UNAMA, in 2020, ALP caused 24 civilian casualties including seven killed and 17
wounded, which represented a 33 % decrease compared to 2019.326
USDOS Trafficking in persons report of June 2020, indicated that local police ‘openly exploited boys
in bacha bazı (sexual exploitation of boys) on a large scale without fear of reprisal’, notably in
Kandahar province.327 Between 1 January and 31 December 2020, UNAMA verified 10 cases of rapeand sexual exploitation against nine boys and five girls including three cases by the Afghan National
Police, two by the Taliban, one by Afghan Local Police, one by Afghan National Army, one by Afghan
National Army-Territorial Force, one by civilians, and one by a pro-government armed group.328
On 21 January 2021, RFE/RL reported that local police in Farah province forced drug addicted people
to work without pay in military compounds. While these claims were rejected by the ALP asbaseless, the source cited provincial offices of the Afghanistan’s Labour and social Affairs Ministry
confirming the allegations.329

Pro-government militias
UNAMA defines pro-government armed groups as follows:‘[O]rganized non-state armed actors engaged in conflict against armed opposition groups.
These groups are distinct from Government Forces and lack legal basis under the laws ofAfghanistan. They include the National Uprising Movements [De Melli Patsun Ghorzang, 330
also referred to as public uprising forces,331], a community-based defence initiative, the Khost
Protection Force, and Paktika-based forces known locally in the southeastern region of
Afghanistan as “Shaheen Forces”. According to sources, these forces, also known as “904Unit”, operate out of “Shaheen Camp” in Urgun district, Paktika province and may have arelationship with National Directorate of Security Special Forces.’332
Arbaki existed in Afghanistan as a specific tribal security structure for hundreds of years.333 The‘term [arbaki] was used for the ALP in many parts of the country’334 before it was dissolved in
September 2020335 and 15 000 of its personnel were transferred to MoI.336
In 2015, the government developed a National Uprising Support Strategy to establish progovernment armed groups in areas in Afghanistan where ANDSF presence was limited. The NDS

325 UNAMA, Preventing torture and upholding the rights of detainees in Afghanistan: a factor for peace, February 2021, url,

pp. 16-17
326 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 64
327 USDOS, Trafficking in Persons Report - Afghanistan, June 2020, url, p. 65
328 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 35
329 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghan police accused of using drug addicts as free labor, 21 January 2021, url
330 Clark, K., Fazl Rahman Muzhary, uprising, ALP and Taleban in Andar: the arc of government failure, AAN, 22 May 2018,url
331 Tolonews, 30 members of public forces killed in Baghlan, 29 June 2019, url
332 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, pp. 101-102
333 Seraj, A., The Arbaki can secure Afghanistan better than the US, Al Jazeera, 5 November 2014, url.
334 Habib, E., The Morphing of the Andar Uprising: transition to Afghan Local Police, AAN, 2 April 2013, url
335 Clark, K.,, Disbanding the ALP: A dangerous final chapter for force with a chequered history, AAN, 6 October 2020, url
336 SIGAR, Quarterly report to the United States Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 59

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

reportedly hired village or tribal elders to ‘propose “national uprising” group members, who NDS
subsequently vets’. The strength of these armed groups varied from 22 to 500 fighters, commanded
by NDS or ANP.337 The Afghan government, NDS and CIA are known to arm strongmen to fight the
Taliban and other militants, but some militia leaders use their new power to fight local turf wars.
According to the LA Times, various militias and personal armed groups also battle amongst
themselves over political influence, ‘power, drug deals and other internal issues.’338
Reuters indicated that in the past years, more than 30 000 villagers were paid and armed by thegovernment with the support of international forces to fight as militia groups against the Taliban
across the country. Although the government disbanded militia groups and stopped paying them,
many maintained their fight against the Taliban and ISKP. ‘The Taliban consider pro-government
militia forces a big threat because they have strong intelligence networks, often both sides knoweach other’s families.’339
AAN’s co-Director Kate Clark described the Khost Protection Force as a ‘campaign force’ that wasestablished after 2001 under international (mainly CIA/US special forces) control. Similar militias
include the Kandahar Strike Force and Paktika’s Afghan Security Guards. There are longstanding
allegations against the Khost Protection Force of ‘extrajudicial killings, torture, beating and unlawful
detentions’.340 UNAMA added that the Khost Protection Force functions outside of the regularmilitary command and control structures.341 In April 2020, Kate Clark noted:‘Despite the many pitfalls associated with local defence forces […] when they work, they work
extremely well, producing determined fighters with local knowledge who protect the civilians
in their areas and often stand their ground more than regular troops because they have
nowhere else to retreat to.’342
According to UNAMA, in 2020, pro-government armed groups caused 107 civilian casualties
including 50 killed and 57 wounded in 2020, which represented a 42 % decrease compared to
2019.343 According to AAN report, Khost Protection Forces and Shaheen Forces continued [in 2020]
killing and injuring civilians including the shooting of a civilian during a search operation in Matun
District of Khost province on 14 October 2020.344

International Military Forces
UNAMA explains the scope of the term ‘International Military Forces’ as follows:
International military forces are composed of all foreign troops operating partly within the
NATO-led Resolute Support Mission and other US Forces-Afghanistan (which also includes
Operation Freedom’s Sentinel). The term also includes Special Operations Forces and otherforeign intelligence and security forces.345
From 2011, there was a gradual transition of security responsibilities from international forces to
ANSF.346 On 31 December 2014, ISAF’s mandate expired and on 1 January 2015, this led to thetransition from NATO’s ISAF combat mission to a new non-combat mission, Resolute Support, with a

337 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2015, February 2016, url, pp. 65-66
338 Los Angeles Times, Afghanistan tries to clean up its militias, both legal and illegal, 31 October 2016, url
339 Reuters, Taliban kill 14 pro-government militia in Afghanistan: Officials, 28 August 2019, url
340 Clark, K., Khost Protection Force Accused of Fresh Killings: Six men shot dead in Zurmat, AAN, 21 January 2019, url
341 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, 22 February 2020, url, p. 57
342 Clark, K., The Afghan Territorial Force: Learning from the lessons of the past?, AAN, 15 January 2019, url; VOA, 26 pro-government Afghans killed in fighting, 21 April 2020, url
343 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 65
344 Clark, K., Civilian casualties worsen as intra-Afghan talks began, says UNAMA’s 2020 report on the protection ofcivilians, AAN, 23 February 2021, url
345 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2015, February 2016, url, p. 80
346 NATO, Inteqal: Transition to Afghan lead, updated 7 January 2015, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

focus on training, advising and assisting ANSF.347 According to NATO, in June 2020, the total Resolute
Support Mission strength was 15 937.348 As of February 2021, the total Resolute Support Mission
strength reduced to 9 592 and in total, 36 countries contributed troops to RS with the US, Germany
and the UK as the largest contributors.349 According to the New York times, the NATO and allied
troops present in the country rely on logistical and force protection of the US troops in
Afghanistan.350
In March 2020, Stars and Stripes, which ‘provides independent news and information to the U.S.
military community’, reported that the US troops have started to move out from their bases inHelmand (Bost Airfield), Laghman (Gamberi base) and a base in Herat province.351 On 1 July 2020,
USDOD indicated that nearly 13 000 US military personnel were serving in Afghanistan352, witharound 8 000 of them assigned to the NATO RS mission.353 According to a SIGAR report of March
2021, in November 2020, the US troops in Afghanistan reduced to 4 000 – 5 000, and in January
2021 to 2 500 personnel.354 In March 2021, the New York Times cited the US, EU and Afghan
officials indicating that there were indeed 3 500 US troops in Afghanistan (1 000 more).355 According
to the US – Taliban deal, the US troops withdrawal from Afghanistan has been planned for 1 May
2021.356
According to UNAMA, in 2020, International Military Forces caused 120 civilian casualties including
89 killed and 31 wounded, which represented à 85 % decrease compared to 2019.357

1.2.2 Anti-government elements
UNAMA in February 2021 indicated that:‘[Anti-Government Elements] include members of the ‘Taliban’ as well as other non-State
organized armed groups taking a direct part in hostilities against Pro-Government Forces
including the Haqqani Network (which operates under Taliban leadership and largely follows
Taliban policies and instructions), Al Qaeda, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Islamic Jihad
Union, Lashkar[-e] Tayyiba, Jaysh Muhammed, groups identifying themselves as Islamic Statein Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province/‘Daesh’ and other militia and armed groups
pursuing political, ideological or economic objectives including armed criminal groups directly
engaged in hostile acts on behalf of other Anti-Government Elements.’358
Information on the main Anti-Government Elements (AGEs) in Afghanistan, primarily the Taliban andIslamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), including their modus operandi, structure, activities andtargeted attacks can be found in EASO COI Report Afghanistan, Anti-Government Elements (AGEs),
August 2020.

347 NATO, Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, updated 27 February 2015, url; UN Security Council, Report of theSecretary-General on children and armed conflict in Afghanistan (Reporting Period: 1 September 2010 – 31 December2014), S/2015/336, 15 May 2015, url, p. 2.; UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report
2019, 22 February 2020, url, pp. 83-84
348 NATO, Resolute Support Mission RSM: Key Facts and Figures, 18 June 2020, url, p. 2
349 NATO, Resolute Support Mission RSM: Key Facts and Figures, February 2021, n.d., url, pp. 1 and 2
350 New York Times (The), US has 1 000 more troops in Afghanistan than it disclosed, 14 March 2021, url
351 Stars and Stripes, US troops have left bases in Helmand, Laghman provinces, officials say, 13 March 2020, url
352 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, June 2020, url, p. 10
353 NATO, Resolute Support Mission RSM: Key Facts and Figures, 18 June 2020, url, p. 2
354 SIGAR, 2021 HIGH-Risk list, url, March 2021, p. 14355 New York Times (The), US has 1 000 more troops in Afghanistan than it disclosed, 14 March 2021, url
356 Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan which is not recognized by theUnited States as a state and is known as the Taliban and the United States of America, 29 February 2020, url, pp. 1-2; USIP,
Afghanistan Study Group Final Report, February 2021, 3 February 2021, url, p. 20
357 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 65
358 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 102

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Taliban
The Taliban is an AGE that has been active in Afghanistan for decades. The Taliban leadership ruled
Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001 when it was removed from power by US/international forces; it
has continued to conduct an insurgency following its removal.359 Since 2001, the group haspreserved some key principles including a strict interpretation of sharia law in areas under its
control.360
The Taliban is structured and position itself as the shadow government of Afghanistan361 and its
commissions and governing bodies replicate the administrative offices and duties of a typical
government.362 The Taliban has become an ‘organized political movement operating a paralleladministration in large swaths of Afghanistan’363 and has evolved to become a ‘local governanceactor’ in the country by gaining and holding territory and thereby undertaking ‘some responsibility
for the well-being of local communities’.364 Regarding militant operations, it is a networked
insurgency, with central leadership at the top and decentralised local commanders who can recruitand mobilise resources at the district level.365
In January 2021, the New York Times reported on the estimates made by the Afghan and the US[sources] indicating that the Taliban had an around 50 000 to 60 000 active fighters and tens of
thousands of part-time armed men and facilitators in Afghanistan.366 According to the Council on
Foreign Relation (CFR) report of 15 March 2021, there were between 55 000 and 85 000 full time
active Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.367
Tolonews cited the Afghan Ministry of Defence stating that during the period between 21 March
2020 and 21 March 2021 (which corresponds to Afghan year 1399), 18 000 Taliban were killedduring clashes.368
The Taliban continued to recruit sufficient young men to keep fighting and the families kept
responding to the Taliban’s demand as a result of the flourishing benefits that the group provides.
For instance, under the Taliban military commission, the ‘Guidance and Invite’ committee operated
in Alingar district of Laghman province to recruit fighters from amongst the mosques and Quranic
schools [madrassas369], and mostly, the current fighters work to recruit friends and relatives.370
In Dasht-e Archi district of Kunduz province, the Taliban recruit from within the local population andare capable of recruiting from the madrassas371 and in Ali district of Helmand province, they359 BBC News, Who are the Taliban?, 27 February 2020, url; see also Giustozzi, A. and Ibrahimi, N., Thirty Years of Conflict:

Drivers of Anti-Government Mobilisation in Afghanistan, 1978-2011, AREU, January 2012, url
360 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Taliban Constitution offers glimpse into militant group’s vision for Afghanistan, 27 April 2020, url
361 New York Times (The), How the Taliban Outlasted a Superpower: Tenacity and Carnage, updated 15 January 2021, url
362 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para. 12
363 Jackson, A. and Amiri, R., Insurgent Bureaucracy: How the Taliban Makes Policy, USIP, Peaceworks No. 153, November
2019, url, p. 6
364 Smith, S. S., Service Delivery in Taliban-Influenced Areas of Afghanistan, USIP, Special Reports No. 465, 30 April 2020,
url, p. 3
365 New York Times (The), How the Taliban Outlasted a Superpower: Tenacity and Carnage, updated 15 January 2021, url
366 New York Times (The), How the Taliban Outlasted a Superpower: Tenacity and Carnage, updated 15 January 2021, url
367 CFR, The Taliban in Afghanistan, 15 March 2021, url
368 Tolonews, 1399 a tough year for Afghan forces: Miakhil, 20 March 2021, url
369 Intercept (The), The CIA’s Afghan death squads, A U.S.-backed militia that kills children may be America’s exit strategy
from its longest war, 18 December 2020, url; AAN, Living with the Taliban (3): Local experiences in Dasht-e Archi district,
Kunduz province, 25 January 2021, url
370 New York Times (The), How the Taliban outlasted a superpower: tenacity and carnage, updated 15 January 2021, url
371 Sediqi, B., Living with the Taleban (3): Local experiences in Dasht-e Archi district, Kunduz province, AAN, 25 January
2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

promote recruitments sometimes via the mosques or during ceremonies such as marriages or
funerals.372
In 2020, the Taliban launched their spring offensive,373 and according to a survey Pajhwok AfghanNews conducted from mid-November 2020 until early February 2021,374 the Taliban controlled 52 %of the territory in Afghanistan including 27 districts375 and the centres376 of 39 districts.377
In December 2020, the Taliban took control of nearly 200 checkpoints (including weapons an
aminations) left by ANA’s 205th Corps in Kandahar province.378
According to a New York Times report of 16 February 2021, the Taliban advanced towards key cities
in Afghanistan including Kunduz, where Taliban captured ‘outposts and military bases, using small
armed drones’, Pul-e Khumri [Baghlan province], where the group captured important highways tocontrol the city, threatening the main vital route to Kabul. The Taliban fighters have carried out
continued attacks on the districts surrounding the city of Kandahar (including Panjwai district) andmoved closer to take the provincial capital.379
On 16 February 2021, Tamim Hamid, investigative reporter at Tolonews, stated that the Taliban
movements were reported in Kunduz, Baghlan, Uruzgan, Kandahar and Helmand provinces, on the
highways that link Kabul to other province and as well as in the outskirts of provincial capitals.380 On
17 February 2021, Tolonews quoted Members of the Afghan Parliament reporting that ‘Dand,
Arghandab, Zhari and Panjwai districts in Kandahar have witnessed growing threats [from the
Taliban] over the past few months. The source also cited Rohullah Ahmadzai, Afghan Defence
Ministry spokesman, stating that Taliban were pushed out in large parts of Maiwand, Arghandab,
and Zhari districts of Kandahar province.381
Following the US-Taliban agreement (signed in February 2020), which stipulated the withdrawal of
the US troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban have increasingly taken control of the highways in the
country,382 and maintained pressure on key transportation routes and cities.383 The Taliban took
control of areas where the ANDSF military left their bases and checkpoints. They also createdcheckpoints on Kunduz-Takhar highway, and the government pulled out checkpoints from Pul-e
Khumri to Mazar-e Sharif highway.384
The Taliban continued a severe winter fight against ANDSF and have been viewed to be preparing
for a major 2021 spring offensive.385 The group appointed designated governors for 11 provinces

372 AAN, Living with the Taleban (2): Local experiences in Nad Ali district, Helmand province, 18 January 2021, url;
373 Clark, K., War in Afghanistan in 2020, just as much violence, but no one wants to talk about it, AAN, 16 August 2020, url
374 For this survey Pajhwok Afghan News interviewed (through telephone interviews or by distributing questionnaires) a

total of 1 266 respondents, randomly selected across the country, see Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make
Exaggerated Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url
375 Farah: Khaki-e-Safid, QalaKah, Bakwa; Ghor: Murghab; Kunduz: Gulbad and GulTepa; Kandahar: Raig; Paktika: Naka;
Herat: Zerkoh, Pushtkoh and KohZwoar; Badakhshan: Yamgan; Nuristan: Mandol; Wardak: Daimerdad; Zabul: Daichopan,
Nawbahar and Khak Afghan; Helmand: Nawzad, Musa Kala, Khansheen, Baghran and Dishu; Ghazni: Gero, Ajristan andNawa; Jawzjan: Zarab; Badghis: Ghormach
376 Farah: Gulistan; Uruzgan: Dihrawod; Kandahar: Aqtash in Kunduz, Maroof and Ghorak; Paktika: Kohistanat in Sar-i-Pul,
Giyan; Ghazni: Zankhan, Rashidan and Waeez; Khost: Qalandar.
377 Pajhwok Afghan News, Gov, Taliban make exaggerated claims of territory they control, 12 February 2021, url
378 SIGAR, Quarterly report to the United States Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 67
379 New York Times (The), The Taliban close in on Afghan cities, pushing the country to the brink, 16 February 2021, url
380 Tolonews, Warring sides prepare for spring offensive despite peace efforts, 16 February 2021, url
381 Tolonews, Kandahar may fall to Taliban because of poor leadership: MPs, 17 February 2021, url
382 New York Times (The), on Afghan highways, even the police fear Taliban’s toll collectors, 12 November 2020, url
383 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/75/811–S/2021/252, 12 March 2021, url, p. 5
384 Tolonews, Taliban increase presence in areas left by ANDSF, 3 March 2021, url
385 VOA, Afghan peace talks under threat as major Taliban spring offensive takes shape, 17 February 2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

including Khost, Nangarhar, Paktya, Paktika, Kabul, Samangan, Kunduz, Takhar, Bamiyan, Laghman
and Parwan. The group also appointed deputy governors and heads of military commissions.386
In March 2021, Anthony Blinken, US Secretary of State, reportedly warned in a letter addressed to
Ashraf Ghani, Afghan President, on the Taliban’s ability to make ‘rapid territorial gains’ throughout
Afghanistan in a ‘spring offensive’.387 According to Tolonews, the Taliban indicated that the group
did not start their spring offensive in 2020 following the February 2020 agreement. During theperiod between 21 March 2020 and 21 March 2021 (which corresponds to Afghan year 1399),
ANDSF reportedly took back control of eight districts from the Taliban.388
According to UNAMA, in 2020, the Taliban caused 3 960 civilian casualties including 1 470 death and
2 490 wounded, which represented a 13 % increase in civilians killed, and a 31 % decrease in civilians
wounded compared to 2019. The group was responsible for 43 % increase in civilian casualties killedby ‘non-suicide IEDs, especially through the use of victim-activated pressure-plate IEDs and vehicleborne non-suicide IEDs’.389

Haqqani network
Haqqani network (HQN) is an UN-designated terrorist organisation.390 It is described as a powerfulfaction of the Taliban.391 According to USDOD, the Haqqani Network continued to be integral part of
Taliban’s attacks against the Afghan Government in Kabul and eastern Afghanistan, for instance the
Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) attack on a convoy in Kabul on 5 September 2019that killed a US service member. Since Sirajuddin Haqqani became the Deputy Leader of the Taliban
in 2015, the Haqqani Network has probably ‘increased the Haqqani Network’s influence within the
Taliban organization, as well as in areas outside of HQN’s normal operating region: Paktika, Paktya,
and Khost Provinces in eastern region.’392
Haqqani reportedly collaborates and keeps close contact with Al Qaeda393 despite the US-deal.394
The UN stated in May 2020 that there were indications that senior figures in Haqqani network and Al
Qaeda were planning to create a joint unit of 2 000 fighters split into two zones of operation, one in
Loya Paktya (Khost, Logar, Paktya, Paktika) and the other in Kunar and Nuristan.395 In Loya Paktya,
Sirajuddin and his forces control these regions by military strength and the support of the local
populations, and Haqqani Network’s presence, notably, in Khost province allows the group an easyborder-cross of arms and people between Afghanistan and Pakistan.396
As of September 2020, Haqqani militants counted around 10 000 militants in Afghanistan, which
represented approximately 20 % of the Taliban’s fighting forces.397 Haqqani network is considered asthe ‘lethal arm of the Taliban’398 and the group ‘has assumed an increasingly influential role in the

386 Tolonews, Taliban reshuffles key posts as new fighting season nears, 6 March 2021, url.
387 BBC News, Afghanistan conflict : US makes a new push for UN-led peace process, 8 March 2021, url
388 Tolonews, 1399 a tough year for Afghan forces: Miakhil, 20 March 2021, url
389 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 17
390 UN Security Council, United Nations Security Council Consolidated List, 18 July 2020, url, p. 152. For a narrativedescription of the group, see United Nations (UN) Security Council, Haqqani Network, n.d., url
391 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghan Spy Agency Says ‘IS-Haqqani’ Cell Busted in Kabul, 6 May 2020, url
392 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2019, 23 January 2020, url, p. 25
393 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, p. 3
394 RFE/RL/Gandhara, UN Monitors: Taliban Maintains ‘Close’’ Ties With Al-Qaeda Despite U.S. Peace Deal, 2 June 2020, url
395 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para. 38
396 ASP, The Haqqani Network, the shadow group supporting the Taliban’s operations, September 2020, n.d., url, p. 2
397 ASP, The Haqqani Network, the shadow group supporting the Taliban’s operations, September 2020, n.d., url, p. 6
398 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Deadly Kabul attacks expose possible division within the Taliban, 7 November 2020, url

50Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Taliban’s military operations’.399 Haqqani network recruited many of its militants from northern
Pakistan and south-eastern Afghanistan, and attracted foreign fighters as well from Uzbekistan,
Chechnya and Turkey.400
In February 2021, UNAMA indicated Haqqani Network operated under the Taliban leadership andmostly followed Taliban policies and directions.401During the same period, Tolonews cited
Rahmatullah Nabil, former head of NDS, who stated that members of Haqqani Network increased
their presence in Afghanistan including its expansion into Badakhshan and Herat provinces.402
Haqqani and ISKP were reportedly working together, including for the launching of a rocket attackon the Afghanistan Presidential inauguration and an assault on a Sikh temple in Kabul in March 2020
that killed 25 people.403
In January 2020, SIGAR reported that RS attributed 91 % of the civilian casualties to AGEs including
4 % to Haqqani Network during the last quarter of 2019 (October – December 2019).404 However, it
is difficult to distinguish Haqqani attacks from Taliban attacks. According to UNAMA, in the past,
Haqqani ‘undertook attacks while maintaining a degree of operational independence.’ There areassumptions that the group was responsible for complex attacks on ‘Government and internationaltargets’ in parts of Kabul with large density of population.405 For example, on 14 May 2020, fivepeople were killed when a truck bomb exploded outside a military court in Gardez, Paktya, injuring
dozens. A spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry blamed Haqqani, which maintains ties to the
Taliban, but the Taliban denied being involved.406
During the third quarter of 2020 (July – September), SIGAR reported that RS attributed 82 % ofcivilian casualties to AGEs including 2 % to Haqqani Network.407 The 24 October 2020 suicide attackat the entrance of a private school in Dasht-e Barchi area in Kabul, which killed at least 24 people
and injured more than 50, was reportedly carried out by Haqqani Network.408 In SIGAR’s lastquarterly report of 2020 (October – December), no casualty was attributed to Haqqani Network.409

Al Qaeda and affiliated groups
Al Qaeda is a transnational extremist Salafist jihadist organisation and UN-designated terroristgroup, as are its affiliate branches.410
Sources indicate that Al Qaeda maintains relations with the Taliban411 and a limited presence inAfghanistan, carrying out its activities mostly under the umbrella of other AGEs, particularly the
Taliban.412 According to the UN Security Council, Al Qaeda and other foreign terrorists that are

399 UNAMA, Afghanistan Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 102
400 ASP, The Haqqani Network, the shadow group supporting the Taliban’s operations, September 2020, n.d., url, p. 6
401 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 102
402 Tolonews, Haqqani Network increases presence in Afghanistan: Nabil, 4 February 2021, url
403 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghan Spy Agency Says ‘IS-Haqqani’ Cell Busted in Kabul, 6 May 2020, url
404 SIGAR, Quarterly report to the United States Congress, 30 January 2020, url, p. 70
405 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 102
406 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Taliban Truck Bomb Kills At Least Five In Eastern Afghanistan, 14 May 2020, url; Diplomat (The), The

Taliban and al-Qaeda: Enduring Partnership or Liability?, 16 June 2020, url
407 SIGAR, Quarterly report to the United States Congress, 30 October 2020, url, p. 76
408 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Deadly Kabul attacks expose possible division within the Taliban, 7 November 2020, url
409 SIGAR, Quarterly report to the United States Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 54
410 UN Security Council, United Nations Security Council Consolidated List, 18 July 2020, url, p. 142
411 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para. 32 and 41
412 UNAMA, Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, 2019, February 2020, url, p. 85

51

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation‘aligned with it, under the protection and influence of the Taliban, pose a long-term global threat’.413
However, in wake of the US agreement, in June 2020, the Taliban went so far as to deny that Al
Qaeda even existed in Afghanistan.414 Michael Semple, former UN advisor quoted by Foreign Policy
magazine, stated that the Taliban has intensified its connections to Al Qaeda since signing the Dohaagreement in February 2020.415 Since the emergence of the “Islamic State” (IS) group, Al Qaeda hassought to discredit it by promoting the Taliban’s Emir as the ‘more theologically correct’ leader for
Afghan Muslims.416
According to the UN Security Council reports issued in May 2020417 and February 2021418, Al Qaeda
was ‘covertly active’ in Badakhshan, Ghazni, Helmand, Khost, Kunar, Kunduz, Logar, Nangarhar,
Nimruz (only mentioned in the May 2020 report), Nuristan, Paktya and Zabul with an estimatednumber of 400 to 600 members reported in May 2020 and between 200 to 500 in February 2021.419
During the same period,, UNAMA reported that Al Qaeda maintained a limited presence with 400 to
600 fighters present primarily in Khost, Kunar, Nuristan, Paktya and Zabul provinces.420
In what the UN calls an ‘unusual move’, Al Qaeda released on its media site Thabat, a summary of
attacks it claimed to have carried out in March 2020, which shows ‘hundreds of alleged attacks
carried out in Afghanistan’ leading to ANDSF casualties. The UN stated that the statistics appeared to
be exaggerated.421 On 11 May 2020, Tolonews quoted security officials claiming that Al Qaeda andJaish-Mohammad group (based in Pakistan) fight alongside the Taliban against ANDSF in eastern
provinces of Afghanistan including Nangarhar, Kunar and Nuristan Provinces. The Taliban reportedly
denied the claim.422 Tolonews quoted Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum stating that members of AlQaeda including Nasruddin (grandson of Osama Bin Laden) and Saifuddin Haqqani (the son of
Sirajuddin Haqqani) were present in the Ghormach and Bala Murghab districts [Badghis province] inFebruary 2021.423

Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan / Jundullah
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), which is also referred as Jundallah424, has ‘lost its
independent status’ and is now part of the Taliban forces carrying their activities in Faryab and Zabul

413 UN Security Council, Twenty-fifth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant

to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2020/53, 20 January
2020, url, para. 8414 Joscelyn, T., Taliban falsely claims Al Qaeda doesn’t exist in Afghanistan, LWJ, 15 June 2020, url; Roggio, B., Analysis:
Taliban is caught in a lie by denying Al Aqda’s presence in Afghanistan, LWJ, 17 June 2020, url
415 FP, Factional Struggles Emerge in Virus-Afflicted Taliban Top Ranks, 9 June 2020, url
416 Diplomat (The), The Taliban and al-Qaeda: Enduring Partnership or Liability?, 16 June 2020, url
417 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para. 33-34
418 UN Security Council, Twenty-seventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted
pursuant to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2021/68, 3
February 2021, url, para. 64
419 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para. 33-34; UN Security Council, Twentyseventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant to resolution 2368 (2017)
concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2021/68, 3 February 2021, url, para. 64
420 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 103
421 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para. 43
422 Tolonews, Al Qaeda, Jaish-Mohammad align with Taliban in East: officials, 11 May 2020, url
423 Tolonews, Dostum, Al-Qaeda footprint seen in North of Afghanistan, 17 February 2021, url
424 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para. 84, footnote 40

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Provinces, according to the UN Security Council reported in early 2020 and the group was led byMohammad Yuldash425 (also named as Abdulaziz Yuldash), who was killed in Ghormach district(Badghis province), in November 2020.426 The group suffered material losses, its members engaged
in criminal activities such as smuggling drugs via the northern route.427
According to the UN Security Council report of February 2021, the number of IMU members were
estimated to be up to 700 people in Afghanistan including family members and around 70 Central
Asians who left ISKP and joined IMU.428

Islamic State Khorasan Province
The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) is a UN-designated terrorist organisation in Afghanistan429
with operational ties with local groups.430 It is a Salafi-Jihadist organisation that believes it is revivinga pure form of Islam maintaining that this can only be achieved by an armed jihad that will replace
existing governments with an Islamic state, ideally a transnational Islamic caliphate, and which
permits mass-casualty attacks against non-combatants as legitimate in its aims.431
In 2020, several ISKP senior figures, including its leader Aslam Farooqi, were captured by Afghan
forces.432 Previously, it was reported that senior leaders have gone further into the mountains, gone
into hiding, fled to Kunar, or crossed into Pakistan.433 As of May 2020 reporting, ISKP in Kunar is
directed by the ISKP-Deputy leader, Sheikh Matiullah Kamahwal, though it is unclear who is now theleader of ISKP nationally following Farooqi’s capture.434
ISKP used to have a presence spread over seven districts in Nangarhar. However, the May 2020 UN
Security Council report states that ‘interlocutors of the Monitoring Team maintained that ISIL-K has
no permanent organized presence in the north of Afghanistan, although the Team has received
reports of small groups of foreign fighters believed to be members of ISIL-K operating in Talibancontrolled areas of the north.’435

425 UN Security Council, Twenty-fifth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant

to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2020/53, 20 January
2020, url, para. 61
426 UN Security Council, Twenty-seventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted
pursuant to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2021/68, 3
February 2021, url, para. 66
427 UN Security Council, Twenty-fifth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant
to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2020/53, 20 January
2020, url, para. 61
428 UN Security Council, Twenty-seventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted
pursuant to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2021/68, 3
February 2021, url, para. 66
429 UN Security Council, Twenty-fifth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant
to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2020/53, 20 January
2020, url, para. 8; UN Security Council, United Nations Security Council Consolidated List, 18 July 2020, url, p. 154
430 Jadoon, A. and Mines, A., Taking aim: Islamic State Khorasan’s leadership losses, CTC Sentinel, September 2019, url, p.
14
431 Osman, B., Bourgeois Jihad: Why Young, Middle-Class Afghans Join the Islamic State, USIP, Peaceworks No. 162, June
2020, url, p. 4
432 Tolonews, “Key” Daesh leaders arrested in Kabul: NDS, 11 May 2020, url; RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghan Forces Capture Key
Figures from Islamic State’s South Asia Branch, 12 May 2020, url
433 Stars and Stripes, ISIS in Afghanistan was ‘obliterated’ but fighters who escaped could stage resurgence, 10 February
2020, url; Al Jazeera, Weakened ISIL's sectarian agenda exacts heavy toll in Afghanistan, 2 April 2020, url; Ali, O., Hit from
Many Sides 1: Unpicking the recent victory against the ISKP in Nangarhar, AAN, 1 March 2020, url
434 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para. 71
435 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para. 66

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

ISKP cells continue to be present ‘throughout Afghanistan’,436 including in Kunar and probably inparts of Nuristan province.437 Smaller groups of supporters were said to be in locations such as in
Kapisa, Baghlan,438 and Faryab.439 In March 2020, AAN reported that some small groups of 15-20
ISKP fighters were still operating in remote districts of Nangarhar (Deh Bala, Pachir wa Agam,
Khogyani) in villages with a dominant ISKP mindset.440
Other reporting on ISKP presence relate to reported clearance and arrest operations. On 14 March
2020, the Taliban claimed that their Mujahideen (fighters) cleared several villages in Mungai Districtof Kunar Province.441Afghan forces have also conducted anti-ISKP operations and claimed to havemade ‘hundreds’ of arrests in Jalalabad and Kabul, as of May 2020.442 Local media also quoted the
Badakshan Governor in April 2020, following the ISKP defeats in Helmand and Nangarhar Provinces,saying that the group tied its links with Al-Qaeda (composed of foreign fighters) to build a new‘Caliphate’ based in Dara-i Khustak, Jurm District of Badakhsan Province. Local officials claimed inlocal media that there were 600 Daesh and Al-Qaeda families (some from Asian countries) settled in
the Dara-i Khustak. In addition to Jurm District, in Warduj and Raghistan Districts of Badakhshan
Province, other insurgent groups including Ansarullah network, the eastern Turkestan group, andthe Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan are ‘working directly’ with ISKP and Al-Qaeda.443
According to AAN analyst Obaid Ali, as of March 2020, the government controlled most of the lowlying areas of Nangarhar, while the Taliban expanded their controls over the remote areas where
ISKP had the majority of its remaining bases.444 Regarding the ISKP, a UN Security Council report
noted that:‘it remains capable of mounting attacks in various parts of the country, including Kabul, butsome of those claimed may have arisen wholly or partly from a tactical accommodation with
the Haqqani Network. The main risk of ISIL-K resurgence in the context of the Afghan peace
process may lie in its ability to present itself as the only defiant terror group in the country
and attract new recruits and funding accordingly.’445
The UN report remarked that according to its information ‘debate continues’ about the extent towhich ISKP can carry out high profile attacks, especially complex operations in Kabul, noting that
there is alleged involvement and assistance from the Haqqani Network. Attacks ISKP claims for itself
may have been carried out by Haqqani Network. ISKP’s strategic capability is described as limited in
Afghanistan.446 The UN stated that ISKP has carried out four attacks in Kabul in the first threemonths of 2020, compared to four such attacks during all of 2019, with no clear reason for theincrease.447 Senior Afghan security officials have reportedly drawn the conclusion about ISKP’s
436 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para. 72
437 RFE/RL, The Taliban, The Government, And Islamic State: Who Controls What In Afghanistan, 31 May 2020, url
438 USDOD, Lead Inspector General for Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, Report to the United States Congress, 1 October – 31
December 2019, 5 February 2020, url, p. 5
439 UN Security Council, Twenty-fifth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant
to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2020/53, 20 January
2020, url, para. 53
440 Ali, O., Hit from Many Sides 1: Unpicking the recent victory against the ISKP in Nangarhar, AAN, 1 March 2020, url
441 Voice of Jihad, Daesh militants face major defeat in Kunar as entire province rescued from its evil, 14 March 2020, url
442 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para. 72
443 Ariana News, Daesh, Al-Qaeda to establish Islamic Caliphate in Badakhshan, 21 April 2020, url
444 Ali, O., Hit from Many Sides 1: Unpicking the recent victory against the ISKP in Nangarhar, AAN, 1 March 2020, url
445 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, p. 4
446 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para. 73, 76
447 UN) Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para. 75

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

operations that ‘all the attacks claimed by ISKP depended on the same supply and logistics chain
used for supplying attacks by the Taliban’ including the Haqqani network. All groups outsourced
their logistics to a ‘single criminal-terrorist network’ with a monopoly likely supported by corrupt
officials. Afghan officials refuted several ISKP-claimed attacks attributing them to Taliban or Haqqani
actors.448
In the UN Security Council report of May 2020, Afghan officials ‘cautioned’ that ISKP ‘still retained
cells throughout Afghanistan for the purpose of carrying out high profile attacks.’ 449
On 6 May 2020, NDS carried out three attacks against ISKP hideouts in Kabul province, including two
in PD11 and one in Shakar Dara District (outside of Kabul City), in which five insurgents were killed
and eight others wounded. The group was composed of members of ISKP and Haqqani Network led
by those involved in several attacks including the [March 2020] attack on Sikh temple in Kabul.450
While this attack was claimed by ISKP, AAN reported that some Afghan officials pointed to Haqqani
Network and Indian officials have said the Pakistani Lashkar-e Tayyiba were the perpetrators.451
Despite ISKP’s deteriorated military capabilities in Nangahar and Kunar provinces and to maintainterritorial control in the latter provinces, the group reportedly claimed responsibility for several
recent high-profile attacks, including the May attack on a maternity hospital in Kabul, the August
attack in Jalalabad city prison and the November attack on Kabul University, and as well as themurder of a female Afghan journalist in Nangarhar on 10 December.452 The ISKP’s August 2020
attack in Jalalabad notably demonstrated group’s new tactic and surge in its capabilities.453
On 15 June 2020, The News International reported that ISKP is reaching out to 8 000 foreign jihadists
who are present in Afghanistan including 6 500 Pakistani nationals.454 The UN Security Council reportof January 2021 reported that there were an estimated number of 1 000 to 2 200 ISKP fighters
across several provinces of Afghanistan.455
The UN Security Council report of February 2021 indicated that:‘in June 2020, Shahab al-Muhajir, also known as Sanaullah was appointed by the ISIL core tolead ISIL-K. The communiqué announcing the appointment, written in Arabic and translated
into Pashto, referred to al-Muhajir as an experienced military leader and one of the “urban
lions” of ISIL-K in Kabul who had been involved in guerrilla operations and the planning ofsuicide and complex attacks. Al-Muhajir was also appointed chief of the Al-Sadiq office of ISIL,
which covers the “Khorasan” region, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives,
Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Central Asian States.’456
According to UNAMA, in 2020, ISKP caused 673 civilian casualties including 213 killed and 460
wounded, which represented a 45 % decrease compared to 2019. Majority of the civilian casualties

448 Osman, B., Bourgeois Jihad: Why Young, Middle-Class Afghans Join the Islamic State, USIP, Peaceworks No. 162, 1 June

2020, url, pp. 9-10
449 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para. 72
450 Tolonews, Afghan forces raid Daesh hideout north of Kabul, 6 May 2019, url
451 Foschini, F., Blood in the Abode of Peace, 1 April 2020, url
452 UN Security Council, Twelfth report of the Secretary-General on the threat posed by ISIL (Da’esh) to international peaceand security and the range of United Nations efforts in support of Member States in countering the threat, S/2021/98, 29
January 2021, url, para. 34
453 UNOCHA, Humanitarian needs overview, Afghanistan, 19 December 2020, url, p. 6
454 The News, ISKP in Afghanistan, 15 June 2020, url
455 UN Security Council, Twelfth report of the Secretary-General on the threat posed by ISIL (Da’esh) to international peaceand security and the range of United Nations efforts in support of Member States in countering the threat, S/2021/98, 29
January 2021, url, para 35
456 UN Security Council, Twenty-seventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted
pursuant to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2021/68, 3
February 2021, url, para. 60

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

caused by ISKP were resulted by ‘mass-casualty suicide attacks and mass-shootings in Kabul and
Jalalabad’.457

1.3 Recent security trends and armed confrontations
According to ACLED data, between 1 January 2020 and 28 February 2021 there were 8 660 security
incidents recorded in Afghanistan, of whom 5 682 were coded as battles, 2 435 explosions/remoteviolence, 9 riots and 534 incidents of violence against civilians.458 It has to be noted that ACLED madethe following statement on its website regarding Afghanistan data:‘ACLED is currently reviewing trends in coverage between 2019 and 2020 in Afghanistan. We
believe a shift in reporting by the Afghan Ministry of Defense (MOD) and the Taliban’s Voiceof Jihad (VOJ) may have contributed to a trend depicting a reduction in violence. The team iscurrently supplementing coverage by drawing on additional sources. While this review is being
undertaken, we would advise against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in
Afghanistan between 2019 and 2020.’459

Figure 1: Afghanistan - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence, riots and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data460

According to the UN Security Council report of March 2021, 25 180 security incidents took place inAfghanistan in 2020, which represented a 10 % increase compared to the same data in 2019.461
According to several UN reports, issued between March 2020 and March 2021, the security situationin Afghanistan remained volatile or highly volatile462 and deteriorated in 2020.463 In August 2020,
Kate Clark reported that in Afghanistan there has been as much violence in 2020 as in 2019.464 On 18

457 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 18
458 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan, update 25 March 2021,

url
459 ACLED, Curated data, Coverage notices, url; See also: Clark, K., War in Afghanistan in 2020: Just as much violence, but

no one wants to talk about it, AAN, 16 August 2020, url
460 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan, update 25 March 2021,url
461 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/75/811–S/2021/252, 12 March 2021, url, p. 6
462 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/74/753–S/2020/210, 17 March 2020, url, para. 21; UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan
and its implications for the international peace and security, Report of the Secretary-General, A/74/897–S/2020/549, 17
June 2020, url, para. 18; UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace andsecurity, Report of the Secretary-General, A/75/378–S/2020/809, 18 August 2020, url, para. 18; UN Security Council, The
situation in Afghanistan and its implications for the international peace and security, Report of the Secretary-General,
A/75/634–S/2020/1182, 9 December 2020, url, para. 18
463 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for the international peace and security, Report of
the Secretary-General, A/75/811–S/2021/252, 12 March 2021, url, para. 17
464 Clark, K., War in Afghanistan in 2020, just as much violence, but no one wants to talk about it, AAN, 16 August 2020, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

December 2020, the UN General Assembly report on situation in Afghanistan indicated that violence
remained high in Afghanistan and that acts committed by the Taliban, including Haqqani Network, aswell as Al-Qaida, and ISKP (Islamic State of Khorasan Province) and ‘other terrorist and criminalgroups’ continue to be a threat to the security and stability of Afghanistan.465 The UN Security
Council report of 3 February 2021 stated that the situation in Afghanistan remained challenging.466
In their annual report released in February 2021, UNAMA stated that:‘fighting continued throughout the year [2020], but two temporary ceasefires during
successive Eid holidays largely held, and there was a drop in the number of civilian casualties
documented in the first nine months. In stark contrast, the last three months of the year
marked an uncharacteristic rise in civilian casualties – a critical indicator of the nature of theconflict. The year ended with increased focus on levels of violence and diminishing hopes forlasting peace’.467
On 29 February 2020, the US and the Taliban signed an agreement for bringing peace toAfghanistan.468 After signing the deal, the Taliban almost immediately resumed469 and intensified
attacks against ANDSF.470 The group carried out more than 4 500 attacks in the 45 days following thesigning of the deal across Afghanistan.471 As reported in May 2020, Taliban have not launched any
attacks on international forces since the deal was made in February; however, they have increased
their attacks on Afghan government forces472, including 76 attacks in 24 provinces within a week ofsigning the agreement.473 The US also resumed ‘defensive’ air strikes474, the first of which came fivedays after the deal.475 Agence France Presse (AFP) stated that since the US-Taliban agreement,
Taliban attacks have been less frequent in cities but have continued to target Afghan government
forces in rural areas; for example, a Taliban attack killed 11 pro-government militiamen in June
2020.476
As indicated by the UN Security Council, on 19 March 2020, the Afghan acting Minister of Defence
announced an ‘active defence posture’ in response to the Taliban attacks. ‘The day after high-profile
attacks on 12 May targeting a hospital in Kabul and a funeral in Nangarhar, Mr Ghani announced
that the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces would return to an “offensive posture”, with aresumption of operations against the Taliban.’477

465 UN General Assembly, Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 10 December 2020, The situation in Afghanistan,

A/RES/75/90, 18 December 2020, url, para. 6
466 UN Security Council, Twenty-seventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted
pursuant to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2021/68, 3
February 2021, url, para. 57
467 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 11
468 BBC News, Afghan conflict: US and Taliban sign deal to end 18-year war, 29 February 2020, url
469 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, report of theSecretary-General, A/74/897–S/2020/549, 17 June 2020, url, para 18
470 USDOD, Lead Inspector General for Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, Report to the United States Congress, 19 May 2020,
url, p. 11
471 Reuters, Taliban step up attacks on Afghan forces since signing U.S. deal: data, 1 May 2020, url
472 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Taliban Militants Kill Afghan Regional Police Chief in Latest Attack, 8 May 2020, url
473 New York Times (The), Taliban ramp up attacks on Afghans after Trump says “no violence”, 6 March 2020, url
474 Military Times, US resumes airstrikes against Taliban to halt attack on Afghan forces, 4 March 2020, url; See also:
Reuters, U.S. Forces conduct airstrikes on Taliban in Afghanistan, 5 June 2020, url
475 Military Times, US resumes airstrikes against Taliban to halt attack on Afghan forces, 4 March 2020, url
476 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Bomb Blamed on Taliban Kills 11 Pro-govt Afghan Militiamen, 6 June 2020, url; The News, Attack
blamed on Taliban kills seven Afghan policemen, 14 June 2020, url
477 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/74/897–S/2020/549, 17 June 2020, url, p. 5

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Between 24-26 May 2020, a three-day ceasefire was declared between the Taliban and thegovernment on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr (Muslim holiday).478 After the brief ceasefire, sources citedby Long War Journal (LWJ) indicated that the Taliban increased their attacks again in June 2020,
intensifying assaults on government forces.479 Tolonews cited Afghan government sources claiming‘the Taliban initiated on average 30 attacks on the Afghan security forces each day after the Eid alFitr ceasefire.’480 In the second week of June, according to the MoI, 222 attacks were carried out in
29 provinces by the Taliban.481
In June 2020, Tolonews quoted Afghan officials stating that ANDSF and the Taliban were fighting
each other in Takhar, Jawzjan, Paktya, Helmand, Khost, Ghor, Kunduz, Badghis, Kandahar,
Samangan, Faryab, Ghazni, Logar, Herat and Badakhshan provinces of Afghanistan.482 Widespreadfighting between the ANDSF and AGEs over the control of the Afghan highways was also reported ina July 2020 Tolonews report. The source indicated that as a result of [continued] fighting between
the Taliban and ANDSF, insecurity has significantly increased on the highways, including on the
Kabul-Logar-Paktya, Kabul-Baghlan, Baghlan-Kunduz, Pul-e Khumri-Samangan, Kabul -Jalalabad andKabul-Kandahar highways.483
In December 2020, fighting continued in all Southern provinces of Afghanistan including in
Kandahar, Helmand, Zabul, Uruzgan and Nimroz.484 Taliban reportedly carried out attacks against the
ANDSF forces on the districts surrounding provincial capital of Kandahar, and carried out anoffensive in Helmand. The government responded with ‘heavy air and ground assaults’.485 Following
continued attacks in Helmand, the Taliban captured Nad Ali district, and reached to “doorsteps” ofthe provincial capital, Lashkargah. ANA battalion and the police (who left their checkpoints in otherareas of the And Ali district) focused their strength in the provincial capital and in Chanjir area tostop Taliban’s advancements to the centre.486 ANA reportedly gave a ‘reckless’ response to the
Taliban attacks487 as observed by UNAMA in 2020 indicating:‘Often, the Afghan National Army used indirect fire in populated residential areas, frequently
in defence against Taliban attacks, repeatedly harming entire families when artillery shells or
mortars landed on their home. As a result, seven out of 10 civilian casualties from the use ofindirect fire by the ANA were women (22 per cent) and children (48 per cent).’ 488
Tolonews documented ‘166 security incidents, including magnetic IED blasts, roadside bomb blasts,
targeted attacks and Taliban offensives’ in Afghanistan in February 2021.489 On 17 March 2021,
Tolonews cited John Sopko, the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, statingthat ‘security remains the most crucial and enduring high-risk area for Afghanistan.’490 On 20 March
2021, Tolonews quoted security agencies stating that clashes between ANDSF and the Taliban took
place in at least 40 % of the territory in Afghanistan during the last few weeks.491

478 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghanistan’s mass release of Taliban prisoners revives peace process, but seen as “big gamble”, 28

May 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghans sides agree to rare cease-fire during Eid al-Fitr, 24 May 2020, url; BBC News,
Afghanistan: Taliban announce three-day Eid ceasefire with government, 24 May 2020, url
479 Roggio, B., Taliban ramps up attacks after ending unilateral ceasefire, 16 June 2020, url
480 Tolonews, After ceasefire, Taliban average “30 attacks per day”: sources, 4 June 2020, url
481 Tolonews, 171 Govt forces killed in a week in Taliban attacks: officials, 15 June 2020, url
482 Tolonews, ANDSF fighting Taliban in 15 provinces amid peace efforts, 26 June 2020, url
483 Tolonews, Fierce widespread fighting surges to control highways, 7 July 2020, url
484 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (14 – 20 December 2020, 23 December 2020, url, p. 1
485 Military.com, Scores of Taliban militants killed as fighting rocks insurgents bastion, 13 December 2020, url
486 AAN, Living with the Taliban (2): Local experiences in Nad Ali district, Helmand province, 18 January 2021, url
487 Clark, K., Civilian casualties worsen as intra-Afghan talks began, says UNAMA’s 2020 report on the protection ofcivilians, AAN, 23 February 2021, url
488 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 63
489 Tolonews, 270 people killed in Afghanistan in the past month, 1 March 2021, url
490 Tolonews, Taliban violence remains high in Afghanistan, says Sopko, 17 March 2021, url
491 Tolonews, 1399 a tough year for Afghan forces: Miakhil, 20 March 2021, url

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1.3.1 Armed clashes and assaults
In 2020, UNAMA observed an increase in civilian casualties caused by ground engagements for the
first time since 2016, which represents 36 % of all civilian casualties in 2020. Between 1 January and
31 December 2020, ground engagements in Afghanistan caused 3 154 civilian casualties including
872 killed and 2 282 injured, and the number of people killed by ground engagements represented a
14 % increase compared to 2019.492
Between May 2020 and February 2021, several armed clashes took place between ANDSF and AGEs,
for example in Kunduz493, Paktya and Paktika494, Ghor495, Khost496, Kapisa497, Kandahar498, Laghman499
and Balkh.500 On 23 February 2021, Reuters reported that there has been a surge in clashes
throughout Afghanistan.501

1.3.2 Improvised Explosive Devices
Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are unconventional explosive weapons that can take any formand can be activated in different ways, targeting soldiers and civilians alike.502 IEDs can be operated
by the victim (Victim Operated IEDs) or by the attacker (Command-Operated IEDs). CommandOperated IEDs are radio or remote-controlled allowing operators to detonate a pre-placed device ata specific time. Victim-Operated IEDs on the other hand detonate when a person or vehicle triggers
the initiator or switch (pressure plate or pressure release mechanism, trip wire or another device).
Another category is suicide IEDs where either the attacker wears an explosive vest or belt, or avehicle is rigged with explosives by a driver or passenger inside.503
Although pressure plate IEDs are typically used by AGEs to target security forces, they are planted on
public roads routinely used by civilians. Accordingly, their use is inherently indiscriminate as the‘effects cannot be directed against a specific target.’504
UNAMA indicated that in 2020, ‘suicide and non-suicide IEDs continued to cause grave harm tocivilians across Afghanistan’ by anti-Government Elements. During the period between 1 January
and 31 December 2020, suicide and non-suicide IEDs caused 3 042 civilian casualties including 872
killed and 2 170 injured, which represents a 30 % decrease compared to the year 2019. During thesame period, pressure-plate IEDs caused 878 civilian casualties including 488 killed and 390 injured,
which represents a 35 % increase compared to 2019.505 In February 2020, the Taliban published a

492 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 71
493 Tolonews, “3 police, 5 Taliban killed” in Kunduz clashes, 15 May 2020, url; Tolonews, 4 Policemen killed in Kunduz

clashes, 2 February 2021, url
494 TKG, Clashes in Paktia and Paktika leave 35 Taliban fighters killed, 17 May 2020, url
495 Ariana News, Nine police killed in Ghor, Kandahar clashes, 13 June 2020, url
496 Afghanistan Times, Armed conflict in Khost leaves eight dead, 13 June 2020, url
497 Khaama Press, Taliban militants suffer heavy casualties in Kapisa clashes, 15 June 2020, url; Ariana News, Clashes
underway in Kapisa, 16 Taliban militants killed, 19 June 2020, url
498 Ariana News, Taliban killed, wounded in Kandahar clashes, 17 June 2020, url
499 Khaama Press, 22 Taliban militants killed, wounded on Kabul-Jalalabad highway, 7 July 2020, url
500 Tolonews, 9 ANA soldiers were killed in Balkh clashes, 24 January 2021, url
501 Reuters, Blasts, clashes intensify across Afghanistan, 23 February 2021, url
502 NATO, Improvised explosive devices, 12 December 2018, url
503 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Special Report - Increasing Harm to Afghan Civilians
from the Deliberate and Indiscriminate Use of Improvised Explosive Devices, October 2018, url, p. 10
504 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Special Report - Increasing Harm to Afghan Civilians
from the Deliberate and Indiscriminate Use of Improvised Explosive Devices, October 2018, url, p. 8
505 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed ConflictAnnual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 44 and 48

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

magazine titled Haqiqat (fact), in which it was indicated that an IED could be planted by the Taliban
fighters on a public road to target the enemy as long as civilians were informed in advance.506
In its quarterly report of 30 January 2021, SIGAR reported on an increase in the number of ‘magnetic
or small, vehicle-adhering bombs (often called “sticky bombs”)’ in Kabul City used by the Taliban andother AGEs to target Afghan government officials, civil-society leaders, and journalists.507 During theperiod between 20 January and 19 February 2021, 39 IED blasts reportedly took place in Kabul.508

1.3.3 High profile attacks
During the period from 1 January to 31 December 2020, UNAMA documented 1 906 civilian
casualties including 764 killed and 1 142 injured from attacks that deliberately targeted civilians,
which represented a 33 % decrease compared to 2019.509
According to UNAMA, in 2020, suicide attacks (including complex attacks) by AGEs caused 746
civilian casualties including 145 killed and 601 injured, which represented a 64 % decrease compared
to 2019.510

1.3.4 Targeted killings and conflict-related abduction
In 2020, UNAMA documented 1 086 conflict-related abductions, 99 % of which attributed to the
Taliban, which caused 113 civilian casualties including 77 killed and 36 injured. These numbers
represent twice the level of abduction-related casualties compared to 2019.511
According to UNAMA, in 2020, targeted killings, including ‘assassinations’ of civilians, caused 1 248
civilian casualties including 707 killed and 541 injured, which represented a 45 % increase comparedto the same period in 2019. 94 % of these civilian casualties were caused by Anti-Government
Elements. Of these, 761 civilian casualties, including 459 killed and 302 injured, were attributed to
the Taliban, amounting to a 22 % increase compared to 2019.512
According to UNAMA Special Report, in 2020, 14 Human Rights defenders and 9 journalists havebeen deliberately killed and 2 (Human Rights defenders and journalists) were targeted and killed in
January 2021. According to the source, in nearly all cases, no one claimed responsibility for thesekillings.513
During the period between January 2020 and February 2021, several targeted killings and conflict
related abductions with impact on civilian population took place across Afghanistan.514

506 Voice of Jihad, ‫[ مجله حقیقت‬informal translation: ‘Haqiqat (Truth) magazine’], 22 February 2020, url, p. 39
507 SIGAR, Quarterly report to the United States Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 51
508 Tolonews, 51 people killed in Kabul security, crime incidents in a month, 19 February 2021, url
509 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 52
510 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 46
511 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 58
512 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 16
513 UNAMA, Special Report: killing of human rights defenders, journalists and media workers in Afghanistan, 2018-2021,

February 2021, url, pp. 8-10
514 Khaama Press, Media staff killed in Afghanistan’s southern province Helmand, 2 January 2020, url; Tolonews, Unknown
gunmen kill head of a primary court in Herat, 18 February 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report:
March 2020, 26 March 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report, April 2020, 29 October 2020, url;
Khaama Press, Taliban militants open fire on youths who were playing cricket, 15 April 2020, url; New York Times (The),
Afghan War Casualty Report: June 2020, 29 October 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: June
2020, 4 June 29 October 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 2020, 30 July 2020, url; NewYork Times (the), Afghan War Casualty Report: August 2020, 29 October 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War
Casualty Report: September 2020, 1 October 2020, url; New York Times (the), Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2020,
29 October 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 25 February 2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

1.3.5 Aerial attacks and bombings
According to UNAMA, during the period from 1 January to 31 December 2020, airstrikes by ProGovernment Forces caused 693 civilian casualties including 341 killed and 352 injured, which
represented a 34 % decrease compared to 2019. UNAMA attributed 526 civilian casualties, including
234 killed and 292 injured, to the Afghan Air Force, which represented a 126 % increase compared to
2019. UNAMA attributed 17 % of airstrike civilian casualties of all airstrikes in 2020 to theinternational military forces in Afghanistan.515

1.3.6 Search operations
In February 2021, UNAMA noted that‘search operations are a military tactic used in Afghanistan by Pro-Government Forces tocapture or kill persons they believe to be Anti-Government Element targets, usually involving
entering and searching homes or other civilian structures, and often carried out at night.
Often referred to as “night raids”.’ 516
According to UNAMA, in 2020, search operations, which are also referred as ‘night raids’ caused 21
civilian casualties including 19 killed and two injured by pro-Government forces, which represented
a 94 % decrease compared to 2019. Of these, 15 civilian deaths were attributed to the Afghan
national security forces.517

1.3.7 Explosive Remnants of War
According to UNAMA, Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) refer to unexploded ordnance (UXO) andabandoned explosive ordnance (AXO). During the period from 1 January to 31 December 2020,
UNAMA documented 394 civilian casualties including 103 killed and 291 injured caused by Explosive
Remnants of War, which represented a 24 % decrease compared to 2019. The source also indicatedthat ‘children made up almost eight out of every ten civilian casualties from explosive remnants ofwar, amounting to 314 child casualties (84 killed and 230 injured)’.518

1.4 Impact of the violence on the civilian population
1.4.1 Civilian casualties
Year

CivilianskilledCivilians
injuredTotal civilian
casualties

Q1 2021

573

1 210

1 783

2020

3 035

5 785

8 820

2019

3 403

6 989

10 392

2018

3 804

7 189

10 993

2017

3 440

7 019

10 459

2016

3 527

7 925

11 452515 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 66
516 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 107
517 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 62, 64, 107
518 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 77, 10561

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

2015

3 565

7 470

11 035

2014

3 701

6 834

10 535

2013

2 969

5 669

8 638

2012

2 769

4 821

7 590

2011

3 133

4 709

7 842

2010

2 794

4 368

7 162

2009

2 412

3 557

5 969

Figure 2: Source: UNAMA Protection of civilians in armed conflict

In 2020, UNAMA documented 8 820 civilian casualties, including 3 035 killed and 5 785 injured,
because of the armed conflict, which represented a 15 % decrease compared to 2019 and ‘thelowest number of civilian casualties since 2013.’519 The decrease of civilian casualties as compared to2019 was due to a decrease of civilian casualties from suicide attacks by AGEs,520 including by the
Taliban and ISKP; the decrease in airstrikes by international military forces;521 and the decrease ofcivilian casualties resulting from ‘search operations by PGFs’.522
The lowest number in civilian casualties in 2020 was documented in the first quarter of the year (564
deaths and 823 injured), which coincided with the reduction in violence (RIV) week prior to thesigning of the agreement between the US and the Taliban on 29 February in Doha.523 However, thefigures revealed an increase in the second quarter of 2020 (740 deaths and 1 388 injured),524 forwhich sources reported a spike in violence, leading to civilian casualties.525 According to SIGAR,
during the second quarter of 2020, civilian casualties increased by nearly 60 % compared to the firstquarter of the year, and by 18 % compared to the same period in 2019.526 As reported by the
UNAMA, the start of the Afghanistan Peace Negotiation on 12 September in Qatar did not bring adecrease in civilian casualties.527 On the contrary, the fourth quarter of 2020 revealed the highest
number in civilian casualties in 2020 (891 deaths and 1 901 injured), which was a 45 % increase
compared to the same period of 2019.528
As reported by UNAMA, ground engagements were the leading cause of civilian casualties in 2020
(36 % of all civilian casualties), followed by the use of IEDs (34.5 %) and targeted killings (14 %).
Ground engagements caused 3 154 civilian casualties (872 deaths and 2 282 injured) in 2020,
compared to 3 061 civilian casualties in 2019. The use of indirect fire weapons—including artillery
shells, mortars, and rockets—in populated areas caused the largest number of civilian casualties of
519 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 11
520 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Third Quarter Report: 1 January to 30 September 2020,

October 2020, url, p. 1; UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February
2021, url, pp. 15, 17
521 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Third Quarter Report: 1 January to 30 September 2020,
October 2020, url, pp. 1, 11
522 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 15
523 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 11-12
524 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/75/634 – S/2020/1182, 9 December 2020, url; UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed
Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 11
525 AAN, Voices from the Districts, the Violence Mapped (1): What has happened since the reduction in violence ended?, 21
March 2020, url; Washington Post (The), Afghanistan’s civilian casualties rise following U.S.-Taliban peace deal, 19 March
2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan Deaths Pile Up in Uncertainty Over U.S. Deal With Taliban, 27 June 2020, url
526 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 July 2020, url, p. 65
527 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Third Quarter Report: 1 January to 30 September 2020,
October 2020, url, p. 3; UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February
2021, url, p. 11
528 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 11, 13

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

this incident type.529 Ground engagements constituted almost a quarter of civilian casualties
attributed by UNAMA to the Taliban.530
According to UNAMA, 62 % of civilian casualties in 2020 (1 885 deaths and 3 574 injured) were
attributed to AGEs: 45 % to the Taliban, 8 % to ISKP, and 9 % to undetermined AGEs.531 While thesefigures reveal a 15 % overall decrease in civilian casualties attributed to AGEs compared to 2019, thenumber of civilians killed by AEGs increased by 13 %. The decrease in civilian casualties caused by
AGEs in 2020, as compared to 2019, was due to the absence of election-related attacks532 and to thedecrease in civilian casualties from complex and large scale suicide attacks in urban centres by AGEs,
especially the Taliban, following the U.S.-Taliban agreement.533 However, UNAMA reported on theincrease in civilian casualties from non-suicide IEDs and targeted killings attributed to AGEs.534
Moreover, reporting on a 79 % decrease in civilian casualties from Taliban-conducted suicide
attacks, including complex attacks, compared to 2019,535 UNAMA noted that in 2019 the Talibancaused the highest number of civilian casualties from suicide attacks since UNAMA began its
systematic documentation in 2009.536 In the last quarter of 2020, SIGAR Resolute Support (RS)attributed about 93 % of civilian casualties to AGEs (43 % to the Taliban, 41 % to unknown
insurgents, and 9 % to ISKP).537
UNAMA attributed 826 civilian casualties (202 deaths and 624 injured) to undetermined AGEs which
represented a 158 % increase compared to 2019.538 Afghanistan Independent Human Rights
Commission (AIHRC) documented 2 107 civilian casualties (857 deaths and 1 250 injured) caused byunknown actors, which, according to AIHRC data, was more than a 100 % increase compared to
2019.539 The increase in the number of civilian casualties neither claimed by, nor attributed to anygroup by UNAMA coincided with the decrease in claims of responsibility by the Taliban and ISKP.540
Furthermore, as reported by UNAMA, suicide and non-suicide IEDs constituted 78 % of all incidents,
which were attributed to undetermined AGEs and caused high numbers of civilian casualties,
particularly in provincial capitals.541
In 2020, the leading cause of harm to civilians by AGEs were suicide and non-suicide IEDs, whichcaused 3 042 civilian casualties (872 deaths and 2 170 injured). This figure revealed a 30 % decrease
compared to 2019, which was due to a 64 % reduction in civilian casualties from suicide IEDs,
including complex attacks.542 Non-suicide IEDs used by AGEs caused 2 296 civilian casualties (727deaths and 1 569 injured) and the number of civilians killed by non-suicide IEDs, particularly by
victim-activated pressure-plate IEDs and vehicle-borne non-suicide IEDs,543 increased by 43 %compared to 2019, while the number of civilians injured decreased by 10 %.544 Pressure plate IEDs
caused 35 % more civilian casualties compared to 2019, with the Taliban responsible for almost all
incidents.545 Furthermore, UNAMA documented 769 civilian casualties (182 killed and 587 injured)
529 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 15
530 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 43
531 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 17, 41
532 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 40-41
533 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 11
534 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 11, 15, 41
535 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 17-18, 41
536 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 46
537 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United Stated Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 54
538 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 18, 41, 43
539 AIHRC, Report Summary: Civilian Casualties in 2020, 28 January 2021, url
540 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 13, 18, 41,44541 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 44
542 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 15-16, 44
543 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 17-18
544 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 15-16, 47
545 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 16

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situationfrom IED attacks, which targeted civilians or civilian objects, particularly the employees of the
Afghan government.546
According to UNAMA, pro-government armed groups, which caused 2 231 civilian casualties (841
deaths and 1 390 injured),547 were responsible for 25 % of civilian casualties in Afghanistan in
2020.548 A 24 % decrease compared to 2019549 resulted from a decrease in civilian casualties caused
by international military forces550 and PGF’ search operations, particularly after the agreement
between the U.S. and the Taliban reached on 29 February 2020. International military forces caused
120 civilian casualties (89 deaths and 31 injured), which was the lowest number since UNAMA
started the systematic documentation in 2009.551 As reported by AIHRC, PGF and the international
military forces were responsible for 1 249 civilian casualties in 2020 (386 deaths and 863 injured),compared to 1 490 civilian casualties in 2019.552 However, as noted by SIGAR, the number of civilians
killed by ANDSF airstrikes increased by over 11 % in the fourth quarter of 2020, accounting to 54 %of all ANDSF-caused casualties in 2020.553
Next to the reduction of civilian casualties due to international military offensives in 2020, thefigures for civilian casualties attributed by UNAMA to the ANA, including the Afghan Air Force (AAF),
were the highest since UNAMA started systematic documentation in 2009.554 The AAF caused 76 %of civilian casualties from airstrikes in 2020, which was a 126 % increase compared to 2019 and thehighest number of civilian casualties caused by AAF since in 2009.555
ANSF caused 1 906 civilian casualties (674 deaths and 1 232 injured), which was a 13 % increase incomparison to 2019 and the highest number since 2016. In the interview with EASO on 27 July 2020,
co-Director of the AAN Kate Clark noted that ‘government forces do not always discriminate in theirtargeting, as seen in the recent UNAMA Protection of Civilians midyear report which detailed civilian
casualties resulting from indirect fire and airstrikes. The ANSF have never taken civilian casualties
seriously. They have never done proper investigations and compensation. There is rarely any
disciplinary action.’556
In the first quarter of 2021, the number of civilian casualties increased by 29 % when compared tothe same period of 2020, reaching the figure of 1 783 civilian casualties (573 deaths and 1 210
injured). The leading causes of civilian casualties in the first quarter of 2021 were groundengagements (38 %), non-suicide IEDs (31 %), and targeted killings (19 %). According to UNAMA,
AEGs were responsible for 61 % of civilian casualties in the period, while the use of non-suicide IEDs
by AEGs increased by 117 % compared to the first quarter of 2020.557

546 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 44
547 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 19
548 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 13, 17, 61
549 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 19
550 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 13, 19
551 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 19
552 AIHRC, Report Summary: Civilian Casualties in 2020, 28 January 2021, url
553 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United Stated Congress, 30 January 2021, url, pp. 53-54
554 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 11, 13, 15,19555 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 16
556 Clark K., AAN, online video interview with EASO, 27 July 2020, in EASO, COI Report Afghanistan - Security Situation,

September 2020, p. 41
557 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, First Quarter Update: 1 January to 31 March 2021, 14
April 2020, url, pp. 1-4

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

1.4.2 State ability to secure law and order
The World Justice Project’s (WJP) Rule of Law Index 2020 ranked Afghanistan 122 out of 128
countries558, allocating it to the last place in the ‘order and security’ factor.559 In its report for the
first quarter of 2020, UNAMA noted ‘an increase in civilian deaths from intentional targeting ofcivilians,’ as compared to 2019, referring particularly to March 2020 mass-shooting incidents by ISKP
and targeted killings, abductions, and planting of IEDs by the Taliban.560 UN Secretary-Generalreported in December 2020 on 389 targeted killings perpetrated in the period from 13 July to 12
November 2020, which represented a 21 % increase compared to the same period in 2019.561
Following the explosion in a Sikh temple in Shorbazar area of Kabul in March 2020, ‘Sikhs andHindus’ accused the government of negligence, as reported by local media.562 Similarly, theexplosion in Wazir Akbar Khan mosque in Kabul at the beginning of June 2020 was reported to cause‘strong anger and a public outcry over the fragile security situation in the country.’563 As reported by
the Associated Press (AP) in February 2021, targeted killings, whose perpetrators remained
unknown, increased tensions in the country: with the Afghan government blaming the Taliban andthe Taliban denying its responsibility, ‘suspicions’ were reported to start raising ‘that militias run byprominent warlords both allied with and opposed to the government are creating chaos.’564 As
noted by the Washington Post in January 2021, no other case, except the killing of the executive
director of the non-profit Free and Fair Election Forum of Afghanistan on 23 December 2020, forwhich the police arrested two Taliban members, was ‘reported solved and no official tally of the tollhas been released,’ which created an environment of ‘wider fears’ and ‘raised speculation about anarray of possible origins and motives’ of the killings.565
In 2020 and the beginning of 2021, judicial officials continued to be targeted.566 As reported by
UNAMA in June 2020, ‘no case of an attack against the judiciary was ever sufficiently investigated toindict the crime.’ In a situation of ‘poor security and direct threats to judges,’ female judges inparticular were reported to be reluctant ‘to work in remote districts.’567 According to SIGAR, in July
2020, the Afghan government reported on an absence of a prosecutor in 193 districts out of 398
districts and the dispatching of 24 prosecutors to 17 previously insecure districts by the Attorney
General’s Office to meet ‘their anticorruption strategy benchmark to introduce at least 20
prosecutors to insecure districts.’568
In February 2020, as reported by the UN Secretary-General, the Afghan cabinet endorsed theregulation prepared by the Government and Media Joint Committee to protect journalists andmedia workers. The Council reported also on the arrest of eight out of 18 persons suspected ofthreatening AIHRC human rights defenders involved ‘in researching of the practice of bacha bazi’ in

558 WJP, Rule of Law Index 2020, n.d., url, p. 6
559 WJP, Rule of Law Index 2020, n.d., url, pp. 26, 33
560 UNAMA, Afghanistan Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, First Quarter Report, April 2020, url, pp. 4-5
561 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/75/634-S/2020/1182, 9 December 2020, url, para. 18
562 Tolonews, 25 Killed in Attack at Dharamshala, Sikh Temple in Kabul, 25 March 2020, url
563 Tolonews, Burial Held for Imam Killed by Blast, Public Outcry Continues, 4 June 2020, url
564 AP, Crime, conflict, chaos crushing Afghan hopes for tomorrow, 4 February 2021, url
565 Washington Post (The), The mysterious murder of an Afghan election monitor sends a chill through Kabul, 9 January
2021, url
566 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/75/634-S/2020/1182, 9 December 2020, url, para. 45; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United Stated
Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 50; BBC News, Afghanistan: A year of violence on the road to peace, 28 February 2021,
url
567 UNAMA, Afghanistan’s Fight Against Corruption Crucial for Peace and Prosperity, June 2020, url, pp. 40-41
568 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United Stated Congress, 30 October 2020, url, p. 118

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Logar province.569 Throughout 2020, the Taliban570 and government officials continued threatening
journalists even after the government dropped a proposed law to impose restrictions on media.571
UNAMA reported on a ‘sharp’ increase in the number of targeted killings of human rights defenders
in 2020.572 As noted by UNAMA, targeting of journalists and civil society leaders in various locationsin the country, including Kabul’s green zone, influenced also by the lack of claims of responsibility by
any of the groups, ‘has generated a climate of fear among the civilian population of the country in an
unprecedented way.’573
As reported by HRW, a local radio station correspondent was shot dead alongside at least threeprotestors and two police officers in May 2020 during the protests ‘over allegations of unfair bread
distribution during a lockdown implemented between March and June to stop the spread of COVID19’ in Chaghcharan, the provincial capital of Ghor. As the police and protesters disagree on who had
opened fire first, the results of the investigation by the government were not made public.574
In 2020, a rise in criminality was reported across the country.575 The increase in criminality in Kabul
city,576 even in its relatively safe central areas,577 reportedly turned the Afghan capital into ‘one of
the most dangerous places for businessmen, foreigners, local officials and ordinary people.’578 Crime
cases reported by media in 2020 and the first quarter of 2021 comprised kidnapping of adults579 andchildren,580 robberies and burglaries,581 murder,582 gunfire,583 and accidental killing during a gunfightbetween criminal groups.584 According to the researcher Fabrizio Foschini, Kabul police faced
corruption and a lack of staff to investigate criminal cases; moreover, criminals and the police werereported to have tight relations in some of the neighbourhoods, which prevented legal
prosecution.585

569 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/74/753–S/220/210, 17 March 2020, url, para. 47, 48
570 Npr, Amid A Wave of Targeted Killings In Afghanistan, She’s No. 11 On A Murder List, 21 March 2021, url
571 HRW, Afghanistan – Events of 2020, n.d., url
572 UNAMA, Special Report: Killing of Human Rights Defenders, Journalists and Media Workers in Afghanistan, 2018-2021,
February 2021, url, p. 22
573 UNAMA, Special Report: Killing of Human Rights Defenders, Journalists and Media Workers in Afghanistan, 2018-2021,
February 2021, url, p. 25
574 HRW, Afghanistan – Events of 2020, n.d., url
575 AP, Crime, conflict, chaos crushing Afghan hopes for tomorrow, 4 February 2021, url; New York Times (The), They Fight
Suicide Bombers. But Can Afghan Police Fight Crime? 8 February 2020, url
576 Foschini, F., Kabul’s Expanding Crime Scene (Part 1): The roots of today’s underworld, AAN, 11 February 2020, updated
on 9 March 2020, url; New York Times (The), They Fight Suicide Bombers. But Can Afghan Police Fight Crime? 8 February
2020, url; Tolonews, Kabul Residents Call on Security Forces to Crackdown on Crime, 22 February 2020, url; Tolonews,
Crime Rate in Kabul Rising Despite Govt’s Assurances: Residents, 8 May 2020, url
577 Foschini, F., Kabul’s Expanding Crime Scene (Part 2): Criminal activities and the police response, AAN, 21 February 2020,
updated 9 March 2020, url
578 Bakhtiari, D., Kabul Accommodate the Richest and the Poorest – Never Feel Secure, Daily Outlook Afghanistan, 22
March 2020, url
579 Tolonews, Kidnapped for Ransom, Kabul Man Shares Ordeal, 10 March 2021, url
580 Tolonews, Eight-Year-Old Boy Abducted, Killed in Kabul, 16 March 2020, url; AP, Crime, conflict, chaos crushing Afghanhopes for tomorrow, 4 February 2021, url
581 Foschini, F., Kabul’s Expanding Crime Scene (Part 2): Criminal activities and the police response, AAN, 21 February 2020,
updated 9 March 2020, url; Tolonews, Kabul Residents Call on Security Forces to Crackdown on Crime, 22 February 2020,
url; Tolonews, Armed Robberies Persist, Kabul Residents Demand Action, 5 January 2021, url; AP, Crime, conflict, chaos
crushing Afghan hopes for tomorrow, 4 February 2021, url
582 New York Times (The), They Fight Suicide Bombers. But Can Afghan Police Fight Crime? 8 February 2020, url; Tolonews,
2 Killed in Kabul Amid Rising Crime in City, 20 March 2020, url
583 Tolonews, Nine Men ‘Mysteriously’ Killed in Kabul, 16 February 2020, url; Tolonews, Kabul: 1 Killed, Another Woundedin Criminal Incidents, 7 March 2021, url
584 Tolonews, Crimes in Kabul's 'Most Secure Areas' Alarm Residents, 24 May 2020, url
585 Foschini, F., Kabul’s Expanding Crime Scene (Part 2): Criminal activities and the police response, AAN, 21 February 2020,
updated 9 March 2020, url

66Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Besides Kabul, the cities of Jalalabad, Herat, and Mazar-e Sharif were reported to face ‘similar spikes
in criminal activity.’ In 2019, Kunduz was reported to face a deterioration in security situation ‘due toa lack of governance, a resurgent Taliban and an increasing crime rate’, while police were reported
to be unable to stop robberies and extortions in the city.586 The criminal incidents in the major cities,
reported by local media in 2020 and the beginning of 2021 comprise incidents of kidnapping,587
armed robberies588, and murders.589 In January 2021, Pajhwok Afghan News quoted the governor of
Herat, stating that 42 people were arrested over the period of the previous three months on chargesof kidnappings, 17 were charged with terrorist attacks, 16 with armed robberies, nine withcorruption, and 50 others with other crimes committed in the province.590 The same month, theBalkh authorities stated that they ‘accelerated efforts at controlling crimes.’591
In June 2020, USDOD reported that ‘insurgent, terrorist, and criminal networks’ were getting
revenues from ‘drug trafficking, illegal taxation, extortion, illicit mining, and foreign financial
support’ while corruption undermined ‘ANDSF readiness and combat power.’592
According to the 2020 Asia Foundation survey, almost half of the respondents ‘strongly agreed’ that
the Afghan National Police (ANP) was ‘honest and fair with the Afghan people’, which displayed an
8 % increase compared to 2019. Moreover, 54 % of the respondents ‘strongly’ agreed and 28 %‘somewhat’ agreed that ANP ‘helps improve security in the country’.593
More detailed information on the state structure and governance in Afghanistan, including on state
judiciary, its capacity, integrity, effectiveness in prosecution can be found in EASO COI ReportAfghanistan, State Structure and Security Forces, August 2020.

1.4.3 COVID-19 and health care
In its report for the second quarter of 2020 UNOCHA noted that GoA-imposed lockdown measures
were not strictly enforced after April 2020.594 At the end of February 2021, Afghanistan started a
COVID-19 vaccination programme, initially aiming at vaccination of security force members, healthworkers, and journalists.595
As reported by UNAMA, in April 2020, a Taliban spokesperson posted on Twitter that the Taliban
would suspend the fighting if COVID-19 occurred in an area under their control to enable necessary
services by health professionals.596 While initially the Taliban rejected the call of the government of
Afghanistan (GoA) for a nationwide ceasefire to ensure a safe passage for health workers, later thegroup declared a three-day ceasefire, which coincided with the Eid al-Fitr (24 – 26 May 2020)
celebration.597 This was followed by another ceasefire during the Eid al-Adha (31 July – 2 August2020).598 In October 2020, UNAMA reported that the COVID-19 crisis did not lead to any

586 Latifi, A. M., Ehsan, E., Surviving Kunduz: Crime and violence swamp neglected Afghan city once hailed as model ofgovernance, The New Arab, 2 August 2019, url
587 Tolonews, Calls Mounts for Rescue of Kidnapped Boy, 1 December 2020, url
588Khaama Press, Clash between police forces, armed robbers leave 3 dead, wounded, 16 April 2020, url
589 Khaama Press, Three Civilians Including A Child, Found Dead: Herat, 19 December 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News,
Crimes at peak in Mazar-i-Sharif, complain residents, 20 January 2021, url
590 Pajhwok Afghan News, In 3 months, 134 crime suspects arrested in Herat, 2 January 2021, url
591 Pajhwok Afghan News, Crimes at peak in Mazar-i-Sharif, complain residents, 20 January 2021, url
592 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, url, pp. 17, 32
593 Asia Foundation (The), Afghanistan Flash Surveys on Perceptions of Peace, Covid-19, and the Economy: Wave 1
Findings, 23 November 2020, url, p. 36
594 UNOCHA, HAG Quarterly Report, April to June 2020, n.d., url, p. 8
595 Reuters, Afghanistan begins COVID-19 vaccination drive amid rising violence, 23 February 2021, url
596 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Special Report: Attacks on Healthcare during the Covid19 Pandemic , June 2020, url, p.5
597 Ramachandran, S., COVID-19 and Afghanistan’s Conflict Dynamics, CACI Analyst, 26 May 2020, url
598 Reuters, Taliban announce three-day ceasefire in Afghanistan for Eid al-Adha, starting Friday, 28 July 2020, url

67Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

humanitarian ceasefire,599 noting also that both AGEs and PGFs were responsible for security
incidents, including deliberate attacks of healthcare, which significantly disturbed healthcaredelivery.600
According to researcher Ashley Jackson, the Taliban started the initiatives to distribute handsanitizer and enforce quarantine measures as early as March 2020.601 In March 2021, The New YorkTimes reported that the Taliban was allowing health workers employed by the government to enter
the areas under their control.602 In April 2020, Al-Jazeera reported on the Taliban-launched publicawareness campaign in the areas under the Taliban control, which were welcomed by the Afghan
Ministry of Public Health. A person who described himself ‘as the Taliban’s newly-appointed directorof public health of the Baghlan province,’ was quoted to state that ‘public awareness campaigns’
were administered by the Taliban ‘health commission’ and that the Taliban was ‘distributing
pamphlets with advice on prevention of coronavirus.’603 The group was also reported to ‘move its
fighters from the battlefields for the COVID-19 campaign,’ to enforce lockdowns in the affectedareas,604 to disseminate personal protection equipment,605 and to order people who were suspectedof being infected with COVID-19, particularly those who returned from Iran, to quarantine.606 As
reported by The Economist in May 2020, the Taliban used social media to show ‘militants handingout masks and advice on public health.’ The GoA and aid charities were reported to welcome theinitiatives as both needed to cooperate with the Taliban to provide services in rural areas.607
In 2020, health facilities and medical workers in Afghanistan continued to be targeted andthreatened,608 despite the need for healthcare services increased because of COVID-19 pandemic.609
In the period between 1 January and 31 December 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO)recorded 89 incidents that occurred in 18 Afghanistan’s provinces and affected 72 healthcare
facilities, 57 of which were closed, 11 damaged, two destroyed, and another two looted. The
provinces with the biggest numbers of closed healthcare facilities were Nuristan (17), Nangarhar(15), Helmand (10), and Kandahar (8). Both of the two healthcare facilities that were reported
destroyed were located in Helmand.610 As summarized to UNOCHA, ‘the periodic, prolonged, or
permanent closure of critical health facilities’ due to the conflict and deliberate targeting ofhealthcare institutions affected 1.4 million Afghans ‘across at least 18 provinces.’611
According to UNOCHA, a total of 420 incidents affecting the work of humanitarian organisations
were recorded from January to June 2020. The access of aid agencies to the population was

599 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Third Quarter Report: 1 January to 30 September 2020,

October 2020, url, p. 2
600 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Special Report: Attacks on Healthcare during the Covid19 Pandemic, June 2020, url, pp. 3-4
601 Jackson, A., For the Taliban, the Pandemic Is a Ladder, 6 May 2020, url
602 New York Times (The), Where a Vaccination Campaign Faces Skepticism, War and Corruption, 23 February 2021,
updated 22 March 2021, url
603 Al Jazeera, Taliban launches campaign to help Afghanistan fight coronavirus, 6 April 2020, url
604 Al Jazeera, Taliban launches campaign to help Afghanistan fight coronavirus, 6 April 2020, url
605 New York Times (The), Where a Vaccination Campaign Faces Skepticism, War and Corruption, 23 February 2021,
updated 22 March 2021, url
606 Al Jazeera, Taliban launches campaign to help Afghanistan fight coronavirus, 6 April 2020, url; Economist (The), The
Taliban are joining Afghanistan’s fight against covid-19, 9 May 2020, url
607 Economist (The), The Taliban are joining Afghanistan’s fight against covid-19, 9 May 2020, url
608 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Response Plan – Afghanistan 2018-2021: 2020 Year-End Monitoring Report,
January – December 2020, url, pp. 10-11
609 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Response Plan – Afghanistan 2018-2021: 2020 Year-End Monitoring Report,
January – December 2020, url, pp. 11, 38
610 WHO, Afghanistan – Attacks on Health Care (January 01 – December 31, 2020, 11 January 2021, url
611 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Response Plan – Afghanistan 2018-2021: 2020 Year-End Monitoring Report,
January – December 2020, url, p. 11

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

restricted due to Fighting and government and Taliban checkpoints as well as increased cases ofabductions of humanitarian workers.612
The COVID-19 pandemic was reported to cause the rise in polio cases due to difficulty for polio
teams to reach distant areas and the return of Afghans from Pakistan.613 On 30 March 2021, as
reported by UNAMA, AEGs conducted an attack on the polio vaccination campaign in Jalalabad,killing ‘three female vaccinators in two separate attacks.’ The same day a vaccination office inJalalabad city was damaged by IED and ‘another female polio vaccination worker escaped an attack
targeting her.’ While the sources attributed the attacks to ISKP, no group claimed responsibility forthe attacks.614
The COVID-19-related restrictions limit U.S. and NATO military advisors to ‘only limited, missionessential, face-to-face advising with their Afghan counterparts.’615

1.4.4 Socio-economic conditions
In July 2020, the World Bank reported on a significant decline of the Afghanistan economy in thefirst half of 2020 in the situation of decreasing aid, insecurity, and political uncertainty and theimpacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on industry and service sectors.616 The overall decline of the
Afghan economy for 2020 was estimated at 5.5 – 7.4 %.617 In January 2021, SIGAR reported on theinability of the Afghan government to collect sufficient domestic revenue due to the overall
economic downturn and the pandemic, while pledge assistance from donors was reported to
decline.618
According to the 2020 UNDP report, 75% of Afghanistan’s population were living in households inwhich all working members were engaged in vulnerable employment, characterized by informal andinsecure jobs.619 In the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, opportunities for informal employment
diminished, particularly affecting urban population. According to Seasonal Food Security Analysis(SFSA), 59 % of Afghan households reported on a reduction in incomes and 55 % on a loss of
employment.620 The rise in prices for basic commodities and household debts affected food security
across the country. 621 Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) reported that the cost ofa ‘minimum food basket’622 in January 2021 was 17 % higher than the four-year average, while
wages at the national level fell up to 5 %; moreover, FEWS reported that casual labour wages wereat minimum levels in past four years of monitoring.623 In the current economic and social conditions,612 UNOCHA, HAG Quarterly Report, April to June 2020, n.d., url, pp. 2, 8-11
613 New York Times (The), Where a Vaccination Campaign Faces Skepticism, War and Corruption, 23 February 2021,

updated 22 March 2021, url
614 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, First Quarter Update: 1 Januar to 31 March 2021, 14
April 2020, url, p. 5
615 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United Stated Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 57
616 World Bank (The), Afghanistan Development Update – Surviving the Storm, July 2020, url, pp. II, 3
617 World Bank (The), Afghanistan Development Update – Surviving the Storm, July 2020, url, pp. III, 15; see also UNOCHA,
Humanitarian Response Plan – Afghanistan 2018-2021: 2020 Year-End Monitoring Report, January – December 2020, url,
p. 5
618 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United Stated Congress, 30 January 2021, url, pp. 117, 119
619 UNDP, Afghanistan – Coronavirus Socio-Economic Impact Assessment, 22 July 2020, url, p. 6
620 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Needs Overview – Afghanistan, December 2020, url, p. 41
621 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/75/634-S/2020/1182, 9 December 2020, url, pp. 13-14
622 The minimum food basket (MFB) comprises imported wheat flour, local rice, vegetable oil, mixed beans/pulses, andsugar. MFB is ‘expected to support a six-person household in Afghanistan for one month,’ see, FEWS NET: Afghanistan
Food Security Outlook, February to September 2021, n.d., url, p. 3.
623 FEWS NET: Afghanistan Food Security Outlook, February to September 2021, n.d., url, p. 3

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

many households were reported to adopt negative coping mechanisms, including child labour andchild marriages.624
The World Bank estimated that the poverty rate might rise to 61-72 % during 2020;625 according to
UNOCHA estimations, 93 % of Afghans are expected to live on less than USD 2 per day in 2021.626 In
2020, 16.9 million Afghans, which is 42 % of the country’s population, were defined to be at “crisis”
and “emergency” levels of food insecurity.627 The emergency threshold for acute malnutrition wasrecorded in 27 out of 34 provinces. Among these, the provinces of Farah, Faryab, Jawzjan, Kandahar,
Uruzgan, Paktika, Takhar, Panjsher, Kapisa, and Kunar were reported to face critical situations.628
According to the most recent Afghanistan Living Conditions Survey (ALCS), which covers the years
2016-17, dwellings of 83 % of Afghans were constructed of non-durable materials.629 The survey
found that 72 % of Afghanistan’s urban population lived in slums or inadequate housing while anaverage urban household size was estimated at 7.3 persons.630 Based on the 2020 SFSA, UNOCHA
noted that 73 % of the rural population lacked access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene
services.631 According to the 2020 Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) report, the vast majorityof the Afghan population had limited access to electricity, especially in rural areas.632

1.4.5 Refugees, IDPs, returnees
Afghanistan has ‘a long history of protracted international displacement,’633 caused by ‘conflict,violence, and poverty’.634 Millions of Afghans left the country since large-scale displacement started
during the civil war, which erupted in 1979635 with the Soviet invasion, fleeing mostly to Pakistan and
Iran. While some of the refugees returned to Afghanistan in the early 1990 ‘following tightening ofasylum conditions in receiving countries,’ the emergence of the Taliban caused a new wave ofdisplacement. The overturn of the Taliban regime in 2001 marked the ‘beginning of a massive waveof returning Afghans’. For the period between 2001 and 2015, UNHCR assisted the return of 4.8
million Afghans, while many Afghans reportedly returned to the country without assistance.636
Afghanistan is the second largest country of origin of refugees in the world.637 UNHCR reported that
as of the middle of 2019 the number of Afghan refugees increased ‘by just under 1 %’ and remained
at 2.7 million, with Pakistan and Iran hosting the most refugees (1.4 million and 951 000
respectively).638 As of mid-2020, the figures remained the same.639 Based on the October 2020 data

624 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Needs Overview – Afghanistan, December 2020, url, p. 7; UNOCHA, Humanitarian Response

Plan – Afghanistan 2018-2021: 2020 Year-End Monitoring Report, January – December 2020, url, p. 5
625 World Bank (The), Afghanistan Development Update – Surviving the Storm, July 2020, url, p. 5
626 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Needs Overview – Afghanistan, December 2020, url, pp. 10-11
627 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/75/634-S/2020/1182, 9 December 2020, url, para. 64; UNOCHA, Humanitarian Needs Overview –Afghanistan, December 2020, url, pp. 22, 34, 52, 81, 135
628 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Needs Overview – Afghanistan, Humanitarian Programme Cycle 2021, December 2020, url,
p. 23
629 Afghanistan, NSIA (CSO), Afghanistan Living Conditions Survey 2016-17, 23 September 2018, url, p. XXXIII
630 Afghanistan NSIA (CSO), Afghanistan Living Conditions Survey 2016-17, 23 September 2018, url, pp. XXXIII, 26
631 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Needs Overview – Afghanistan, December 2020, url, pp. 16, 102
632 Bertelsmann Stiftung, BTI 2020 Country Report — Afghanistan, 2020, 29 April 2020, url, p. 9633 UNHCR and The World Bank, Fragility and population movement in Afghanistan, 3 October 2016, url, p. 1
634 UNHCR, Afghanistan; Priority Areas of Return and Reintegration: A synopsis, January 2020, url, p. 3
635 UNHCR, The Afghanistan Situation: Strengthening International Solidarity & Achieving Solutions, 6 July 2019, url
636 UNHCR and The World Bank, Fragility and population movement in Afghanistan, 3 October 2016, url, p. 1
637 IOM, World Migration Report 2020, 27 November 2019, url, p. 39
638 UNHCR, Mid-Year Trends 2019, 10 March 2020, url, p. 6
639 UNHCR, Mid-Year Trends 2020, 30 November 2020, url , p. 12

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situationof the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, UNHCR reported on 780 000 Afghan refugees and
2 250 000 undocumented Afghans residing in Iran.640
A spike in returns was registered in 2016641, when around one million documented andundocumented Afghans returned to the country. In 2017, the number of returns from Pakistan and
Iran exceeded 610 000, with more than 450 000 undocumented returnees arriving from Iran.642 In
2018, a total of 805 850 undocumented returnees from Pakistan and Iran were registered, with over
773 000 of them coming from Iran.643 In 2019, UNHCR registered a total of almost 505 000 returns,
with around 485 000 undocumented Afghans returning from Iran and almost 20 000 from
Pakistan.644
According to IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) data for 2012-2020, the total inflow of
returning migrants and arriving IDPs to Afghanistan’s 34 provinces between 2012 and 2020, as
assessed on 30 June 2020, reached almost 8 642 500, comprising around 3 882 000 returnees and4 760 500 IDPs. Herat province was reported to host the highest number of IDPs (around 901 500),
61 % of whom were displaced by the conflict and 39 % by natural hazards, while Nangarhar province
accommodated the highest number of returnees (524 100).645

Internal displacement
Throughout 2020, the displacement of many Afghan civilians was caused by the war and armed
clashes between the ANDSF and AGEs.646 According to UNOCHA data, 380 000 Afghans weredisplaced during the period of 1 January – 31 December 2020.647 Displacements took place across 32
of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces, with the north-eastern, northern, and southern provinces receiving
the highest numbers of IDPs.648 Citing the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation, AIHRC noted that
war and insecurity caused the displacement of 74 087 families, with 30 715 families originating in
the northern and north-eastern region, 17 020 in the south-western region, 10 329 in the central
region, 9 317 in the eastern region, 6 087 in the western region, and 619 in the southern region.649
For the period between 1 January 2021 and 12 April 2021, UNOCHA reported on 92 608 Afghans
who had to flee their homes due to the conflict; ‘some level of forced displacement’ was recorded in
27 of 34 provinces, with the eastern region, north-eastern, and southern regions receiving thehighest number of IDPs.650 For instance, as reported by local authorities, clashes between ANDSF
and an unnamed Non-State Armed Group (NSAG) forced thousands of people to flee their homes inseveral districts of Nangarhar province in February 2021.651

640 UNHCR – Iran, Refugees in Iran, n.d., url
641 UNHCR, Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees 2018-2019, October 2018, url, p. 6
642 UNHCR and IOM, Returns to Afghanistan in 2017: Joint IOM-UNHCR Summary Report, 28 February 2018, url, p. 4
643 IOM, Return of Undocumented Afghans – Weekly Situation Report, January-December 2018 – 1-5 January 2019, 5January 2019, url
644 IOM, Return of Undocumented Afghans – Weekly Situation Report, 29 December 2019 – 4 January 2020, 4 January
2020, url
645 IOM, DTM Afghanistan, Baseline Mobility Assessment, Summary Results Round 10, Jan – June 2020, 1 October 2020, url,
p. 6
646 AIHRC, Report Summary: Civilian Casualties in 2020, 28 January 2021, url
647 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Snapshot of Population Movements (January to December 2020, 23 January 2021, url
648 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Conflict Induced Displacements – Actual displacements between 1 January 2020 and 31
December 2020, 18 April 2021, url
649 AIHRC, Report Summary: Civilian Casualties in 2020, 28 January 2021, url
650 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Conflict Induced Displacements – Actual displacements between 1 January 2021 and 12 April
2021, 18 April 2021, url
651 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update, 1 – 7 February 2021, 7 February 2021, url, p. 2; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update, 15 – 21 February 2021, 21 February 2021, url, p. 2; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update, 22 – 28 February 2021, 28 February 2021, url, p. 2

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

According to IOM 2020 Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), almost 4.8 million IDPs have remainedin host communities since 2012.652 As reported by UNOCHA in April 2020, around 111 000 of
245 000 people, who were displaced in the western provinces in 2018-2019 mainly because ofdrought, were living in displacement sites, often not able to return to their homes due to conflict intheir areas of origin.653 According to the Whole of Afghanistan REACH Initiative (WoA) Assessment
conducted from July to September 2020, 87 % of ‘non-recent IDPs’ planned to stay in their host
location in the short term, with more than 50 % having no intention to ever return to their place oforigin.’654
As reported by UNOCHA in December 2020, many IDPs were ‘renting or squatting in insecure
housing, including in informal settlements on private land on the fringes of major cities.’ As revealedby the WoA Assessment, 28 % of IDPs were living in shelters that were ‘either significantly damaged
or destroyed.’655 ‘Moderate or severe hunger’ was recorded among 86 % of displaced communities
in Parwan, followed by Faryab (80 %), Nimroz (74 %), and Sar-e Pul (63 %).656
UNOCHA noted on the negative coping mechanisms, such as early and/or forced marriages, childlabour, and begging being practiced by vulnerable groups, including IDPs, with the situation
exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.657 In July 2020, around 35 % of displaced households
reported ‘loss or severely diminished access to services due to COVID-19’, with 30 % of displacedhouseholds reporting ‘feeling unsafe travelling to or being at health facilities due to insecurity’.
Moreover 44 % of the IDPs stated they were ‘unable to access healthcare due to distance and thelack of transportation options’.658

Deportations and voluntary returns
According to UNOCHA, in 2020, around 860 000 Afghans returned from Iran and 7 900 from
Pakistan; around 6 000 were deported to Afghanistan from Turkey, and a small number of Afghans
returned to Afghanistan from Europe.659 For the same period, IOM reported on almost 860 100
undocumented returns from Iran and around 6 700 from Pakistan.660 With the total of nearly
866 000 undocumented returns from Iran and Pakistan, that were registered by IOM in 2020, thisyear became the ‘largest ever return year’ IOM recorded for undocumented Afghan migrants,661
compared to around 500 000 returns in 2019662 and 805 000 in 2018.663 UNCHR reported on the
return of ‘only 947 refugees’ from Iran to Afghanistan in 2020, relating the ‘significant’ decrease inreturns of Afghan refugees, compared to 2019, to insecurity and instability in Afghanistan and

652 IOM, Afghanistan – Baseline Mobility Assessment Summary Results, January – June 2020, 1 October 2020, url, p. 1
653 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Snapshot of Population Movements - January to March 2020, 21 April 2020, url
654 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Needs Overview – Afghanistan, December 2020, url, p. 21
655 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Needs Overview – Afghanistan, December 2020, url, pp. 17, 21
656 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Needs Overview – Afghanistan, December 2020, url, p. 34
657 UNOCHA, COVID-19 and the Afghanistan Response HRP Revision – June 2020, 8 June 2020, url, p. 6
658 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Needs Overview – Afghanistan, December 2020, url, p. 24
659 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Snapshot of Population Movements (January to December 2020, 23 January 2021, url
660 IOM, Return of Undocumented Afghans – Weekly Situation Report, 20 – 31 December 2020, 31 December 2020, url,

p. 1
661 IOM, Return of Undocumented Afghans – Weekly Situation Report, 20 – 31 December 2020, 31 December 2020, url,
p. 1
662 IOM reports on a total number of 496 526 as of 28 December 2019, see IOM, Return of Undocumented Afghans –Weekly Situation Report, 15 – 28 December 2019, 28 December 2019, url, and a total number of 504 977 as of 4 January
2020, see IOM, Return of Undocumented Afghans – Weekly Situation Report, 29 December 2019 – 4 January 2020, 4January 2020, url
663 IOM, Return of Undocumented Afghans – Weekly Situation Report, 20 – 31 December 2020, 31 December 2020, url, p.
1

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COVID-19 pandemic.664 Herat was the province, for which the largest number of returns from Iranwas estimated (178 000), followed by Nimroz, Faryab (69 000 each), and Ghor (59 000).665
In the period between 1 January and 18 March 2021, IOM recorded a total of almost 224 100
undocumented returns from the two countries: almost 221 700 from Iran and around 2 400 from
Pakistan. Among the returnees from Iran, 15 150 Afghans were reported to return voluntarily, whilealmost 17 100 were deported.666 IOM assisted the return of almost 85 000 undocumented Afghans
in 2020 and more than 8 500 the period between 1 January and 28 February 2021.667
As reported by UNOCHA in December 2020, the high number of undocumented Afghan returnees
from Iran was due to the economic decline in the region and the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic.668 In relation to Iran, media sources mentioned reduction in employment
opportunities,669 increase of living costs, and hostility of local population towards undocumented
Afghans.670 On 5 May 2020, Iranian border guards were reported responsible for deaths of 45 out of
57 Afghan migrant workers trying to cross to Iran from Herat, as they allegedly forced them toreturn to Afghanistan by entering at gunpoint the river dividing the two countries.671 As reported by
RFE/RL, on 26 November 2020, Iranian lawmakers submitted a draft legislation, which would subject‘undocumented migrants entering or residing in Iran’ to prison sentences up to 25 years.672
As noted by the UN Secretary-General in December 2020, deportations constituted 37 % of total
returns from Iran in 2020; more than 9 000 Afghans were deported from Turkey.673
As a precautionary measure linked to the outbreak of COVID-19, UNHCR temporarily suspended thereturn of registered Afghan refugees from Pakistan, Iran, and other countries as of 4 March 2020.674
As of 30 April 2020, voluntary repatriation from Iran was resumed by UNHCR upon request by the
Iranian Bureau for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants Affairs.675
For the information on refugees, returnees, and IDPs, please refer to the August 2020 EASO COI
Report Afghanistan - Key socio-economic indicators. Focus on Kabul City, Mazar-e Sharif and HeratCity.

1.4.6 Children
With 48 % of its population being younger than 15 years, Afghanistan is one of the four countries in
the world with the highest proportion of persons under the age of 15.676 UNAMA named Afghanistan‘one of the deadliest places in the world to be a child’ in its yearly report for 2020.677 Save The

664 UNHCR – Iran, Refugees in Iran, n.d., url
665 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Snapshot of Population Movements (January to December 2020), 23 January 2021, url
666 IOM, Return of Undocumented Afghans – Weekly Situation Report, 12 – 18 March 2021, 18 March 2021, url, p. 1
667 IOM, 2020-21 Undocumented Afghan Return Statistics, 10 March 2021, url
668 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Needs Overview – Afghanistan, December 2020, url, pp. 7, 21; UNOCHA, Humanitarian

Response Plan – Afghanistan 2018-2021: 2020 Year-End Monitoring Report, January – December 2020, url, p. 8
669 New Humanitarian (The), On the move: Conflict, refugee returns fuel Afghanistan displacement, 20 January 2020, url;
Tolonews, Nearly 340,000 Afghans Repatriated from Iran Since January: IOM, 23 June 2020, url
670 New Humanitarian (The), US-Iran tensions push Afghans home to conflict, 6 February 2020, url
671 Reuters, Exclusive: Afghan lawmakers say 45 migrants drowned after Iranian guards forced them into river, 7 May 2020,
url, see also HRW, Victims of Iran-Afghan Border Drowning Deserve Justice, 28 May 2020, url
672 RFE/RL, Afghan Migrants Could Face ‘Shocking’ Punishments in Iran Under Draft Law, 1 December 2020, url
673 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/75/634-S/2020/1182, 9 December 2020, url, para. 65
674 UNHCR, Afghanistan Border Monitoring update, 21 April 2020, url, p. 1
675 UNHCR, Afghanistan Border Monitoring update - COVID-19 Response (31 May-6 June 2020), 9 June 2020, url, p. 1
676 Afghanistan, NSIA, Afghanistan Living Conditions Survey 2016-2017: Highlights Report, 2018, url, p. 5
677 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 30

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Children listed Afghanistan as one of the ten worst conflict-affected countries to be a child,underlining that Afghanistan had the biggest figures for killed and injured children.678
According to UNAMA, children accounted for 30 % of all civilian casualties in Afghanistan in 2020:
during 2020, UNAMA documented 2 619 child casualties (760 deaths and 1 859 injured), which was
a 17 % decrease compared to 2019.679 With the figure of 1 195 casualties (304 killed and 891
injured), ground engagements between PGFs and AGEs constituted the leading cause for childcasualties in 2020, with the indirect fire causing ‘the vast majority’ of them.680 The second and third
causes for child casualties were non-suicide attacks by AEGs, which caused 517 casualties (150 childdeaths and 367 injured), and explosive remnants of war, which lead to 314 casualties (84 deaths and
230 injured) among the children.681 Explosive remnants of war (ERW) caused disproportional harm
to children, who constituted 80 % of all civilian casualties from ERW.682 Moreover, as noted by
UNAMA and UNOCHA, children injured by ERW suffer from long-lasting impacts of the injuries dueto physical disabilities and psychological trauma.683
AGEs were responsible for 42 % of child casualties in 2020 (1 098 casualties, including 281 deaths
and 817 injured), which was a 28 % decrease compared to the year before. Among AGEs, 36 % ofchild casualties were attributed to the Taliban, 4 % to undetermined AGEs, and 2 % to ISKP.684 PGFs
caused 37 % of child casualties (962 casualties, including 337 deaths and 625 injured), which was a 7% decrease compared to 2019. Although there was a 12 % decrease in child casualties from airstrikes
by the Afghan Air Force and international military forces when compared to 2019, airstrikes
constituted the fourth leading cause of child casualties (299 casualties, including 146 deaths and 153
injured).685
Between 1 January and 31 December 2020, UNAMA documented 62 incidents that affectedchildren’s access to education, comprised of attacks on education facilities, targeting of educational
personnel, and threats against education facilities and their staff. Most of the incidents occurred in
the eastern (16 incidents), north-eastern (14 incidents), and northern (10 incidents) regions. In theincidents, 30 students were killed and 53 injured.686 According to UNOCHA, four schools were burntand 27 were damaged between January and September 2020.687 In June 2020, UN Secretary-Generalreported that the ANA used six schools for military purposes while one school was used bygovernment and pro-government forces.688
Underlining that the numbers of child recruitment by parties to the armed conflict must be higher
than documented, UNAMA reported on the recruitment and use of 196 boys in 2020, occurring
mostly in the northern and north-eastern regions; 172 of the cases were attributed to the Taliban.689
As noted by UNAMA, the mission was continuously receiving reports on recruitment and use ofchildren by the ANSF across the country: according to unverified reports, the children were used by
ANP, ALP, and ANSF in general, as bodyguards and drivers and were engaged in combat roles and at

678 Save The Children, 2020: Gender Matters, n.d., url, p. 12
679 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 30
680 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 31
681 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 31-32
682 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 16, 32
683 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 32, 77-78;

UNOCHA, Humanitarian Response Plan – Afghanistan 2018-2021: 2020 Year-End Monitoring Report, January – December
2020, url, p. 7
684 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 30-31
685 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 31
686 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 38
687 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Response Plan – Afghanistan 2018-2021: 2020 Year-End Monitoring Report,
January – December 2020, url, p. 11
688 UN Security Council, Children and armed conflict, Report of the Secretary-General, A/74/845-S/2020/525, 9 June 2020,
url, para. 23
689 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 33-34

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checkpoints; cases of sexual exploitation, including bacha bazi, were also reported.690 Noting on ‘thenotable progress’ undertaken by the Afghan MoI to stop and prevent child recruitment through theChild Protection Units established in the ANP recruitment centres, which prevented 187 underageboys ‘from enlisting the ranks’ of the ANP in 2020,691 UNAMA underlined that the use of children ‘forservice and sexual purposes’ by ANP and, to a lesser extent, ‘for combat functions’ by Afghan
National Army-Territorial Force and ALP remained of ‘grave concern’.692
As revealed from the WoA Assessment, COVID-19 pandemic increased risks for child recruitment
and use of children by armed groups, child marriage, and child labour.693 In its yearly report, UNAMA
similarly noticed that with the rise of unemployment and poverty, many children became ‘forced toseek employment in order to support their families, and in doing so attempt to join the ranks ofparties to the conflict.’694
In 2020, UNAMA verified 19 incidents of abduction of children, which involved 55 children: 18 of theincidents were attributed to the Taliban and one to a pro-government armed group.695
In 2020, UNAMA-documented cases of rape and sexual violence were reported to affect nine boys
and five girls and were attributed to the ANSF, including ANP (three cases), ALP, ANA, Afghan
National Army-Territorial Force, and a pro-government armed group (one case each), the Taliban(two cases), and civilians (one case). However, as underlined by UNAMA, the reporting on andverification of incidents related to sexual violence, including the practice of bacha bazi, remained
difficult due to social stigmatization of the victims.696
The Child Rights Protection Law was enacted by President Ghani in March 2019. Defining ‘a child as aperson who has not “completed” the age of 18’, the law aims to end recruitment and use of children
as well as the practice of bacha bazi, which is in line with the 2018 revised Penal Code.697 In March
2020, the AAN researcher Rohullah Sorush noted that the ratification of the legislation to protect therights of children by the Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament) remained blocked due to adisagreement over ‘the definition of a child’ as ‘a small group of MPs, mostly religious scholars
and/or with a jihadi background’ saw ‘the definition of a child as under-18’ as a contravention to thesharia.698 UNAMA noted in its 2020 report that the ‘attempts to pass the Child Act throughParliament’ remained unsuccessful ‘due to disagreement on the definition of a child in the text as aperson who has not completed the age of 18.’699

1.5 Geographical overview
1.5.1 Urban-rural divide
According to the Afghanistan National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA), around 71 % of
the population (23.4 million) is estimated to live in rural areas and 24.4 % (8 million) in urban areas
in 2020-2021; 4.6 % (1.5 million) of the population is officially estimated to pursue a nomadic way of

690 UNAMA, Afghanistan Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Midyear Report: 1 January – 30 June 2020, July 2020, url,

p. 20; UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 34
691 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 34
692 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 33
693 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Needs Overview – Afghanistan, Humanitarian Programme Cycle 2021, December 2020, url,
p. 35
694 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 34
695 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 32
696 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 35
697 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict 2019, February 2020, url, p. 23
698 Sorush, R., Child Rights Protection Law in Afghanistan: Can the parliamentary chaos be resolved, AAN, 18 March 2020,
url
699 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 34

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life.700 According to NSIA, urban areas display a higher population growth because of rural-urban
migration.701
Afghanistan’s history is characterised by a structural urban-rural divide.702 In 2019, media sources
described the Afghan rural population as living ‘in absolute or near-absolute poverty’703 and facing
realities of war as ‘a part of daily life’704 in contrast with urban dwellers, who have more
opportunities to gain income and include a class of urban elites and persons engaged in ‘family
politics’.705 According to Foreign Policy (FP), the urban-rural divide, the lack of services and jobs inrural parts of the country, and the lack of trust in the government were behind the decision of many
Afghans to join the Taliban.706
In 2015, the Taliban set as an objective to ‘capture and hold towns and provincial capitals.’707 During
2018, as reported by the UN Secretary-General, the Taliban temporarily captured 21 district
administrative centres, which was ‘the second highest level since the security transition to theAfghan forces at the end of 2014.’708 In the end of August and beginning of September 2019, theTaliban conducted large-scale offensives against provincial capitals of Kunduz, Baghlan, and Farah.709
As noted by USDOD in June 2020, the Taliban resumed its attacks after the seven-day reduction inviolence (RIV), preceding the U.S.-Taliban Agreement signed on 29 February 2020. The Taliban
fighters were reported to target primarily ‘ANDSF and GIRoA checkpoints and convoys in rural
areas,’ refraining from conducting high-profile attacks in urban population centres as well as fromtargeting facilities of the U.S. and the coalition.710 In December 2020, UN Secretary-General reported
on attacks conducted by the Taliban on ‘several district administrative centres across the country’ in
2020, noting that the group ‘increased pressure on provincial capitals such as Kunduz, Lashkar Gah
and Tirin Kot.’711
In its report for 2020, UNAMA noted on a decrease in the number of Taliban-attributed suicide
attacks on urban settlements. Suicide and non-suicide IEDs were reported to cause numerous
civilian casualties particularly in provincial capitals.712 As reported by AP in February 2021, vehicleborne IEDs, detonated by remote control or timer, constituted most bomb attacks in Kabul city in‘recent months.’713

1.5.2 Regional differences
While the fighting decreased at the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020 ‘in line with seasonal
trends during the winter months,’ the provinces of Kandahar, Helmand, Nangahar, and Balkh were

700 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan, 1 June 2020, url, p. iii
701 Afghanistan, NSIA, Afghanistan Statistical Yearbook 2018-19, July 2019, url, p. 3
702 Giustozzi, A. and Ibrahimi, N., Thirty Years of Conflict: drivers of anti-Government Mobilisation in Afghanistan, 1978-

2011, January 2012, url, pp. 7-8
703 Asey, T., The Price of Inequality: The Dangerous Rural-Urban Divide in Afghanistan, Global Security Review, updated 9
June 2019, url
704 Feroz, E., Let’s face the truth, rural Afghanistan has been lost, TRT World, 16 April 2019, url
705 Asey, T., The Price of Inequality: The Dangerous Rural-Urban Divide in Afghanistan, Global Security Review, updated 9
June 2019, url
706 FP, Feeling Abandoned by Kabul Many Rural Afghans Flock to Join the Taliban, 24 September 2020, url
707 BBC News, Why are the Taliban resurgent in Afghanistan?, 5 January 2016, url
708 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/73/777-S/2019/193, 28 February 2019, url, p. 6
709 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, 22 February 2020, url, p.35
710 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, url, p. 17
711 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/75/634-S/2020/1182, 9 December 2020, url, p. 5
712 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 42-44
713 AP, Officials: Roadside bombs in Afghanistan kill 3, wound 20, 21 February 2021, url

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the most active conflict areas between November 2019 and February 2020.714 In March 2020,
acceleration of violence was reported particularly due to Taliban attacks on ANSF and consequent
increase in civilian casualties, predominantly in the northern and north-eastern regions.715 Between
February and May 2020, the highest number of security incidents was recorded in the southern
region, followed by eastern and northern regions. As reported by UN Secretary-General in June
2020, based on UNAMA data, the incidents in these three regions accounted for 59 % of all incidents
recorded in Afghanistan in that period. Between March and June 2020, ‘the highest amount ofconflict activity’ was reported in the provinces of Kandahar, Helmand, Wardak, and Balkh.716
Reporting on the situation in Wardak, Kunduz, and Nangarhar provinces after the signing of the
Doha Agreement 29 February 2020, AAN researcher Andrew Quilty noted that NDS raids in theprovince of Maidan Wardak and Nangarhar ‘ceased almost entirely around the time the Dohaagreement was signed.’ However, the civilians ‘living close to frontlines’ in Maidan Wardak, andparticularly those residing close to main roads, GoA-held district centres, and the capital Maidan
Shahr, reported on the increased incidents of the use of fire and explosive munitions by thegovernment forces.717
In June 2020, as reported by Tolonews, the ANSF was fighting the Taliban in Takhar, Jawzjan, Paktya,
Helmand, Khost, Ghor, Kunduz, Badghis, Kandahar, Samangan, Faryab, Ghazni, Logar, Herat, andBadakhshan provinces, as reported by Afghan officials.718 In its midyear report, UNAMA noted thatthe conflict caused the biggest number of civilian casualties in Balkh and Kabul provinces, resulting in
344 and 338 civilian casualties respectively. Other provinces with large numbers of civilian casualties
reported were Nangarhar (281), Faryab (233), and Kunduz (205 civilian casualties). Moreover, over
50 % of civilian casualties caused by airstrikes of Afghan Air Forces between January and June 2020
occurred in Kunduz and Balkh provinces.719
As reported by UNAMA in October 2020, despite ‘the national trend of an overall reduction in
civilian casualties,’ the provinces of Balkh, Samangan, Jawzjan, Badakhshan, Ghor, Kapisa, Logar,
Khost, and Bamyan saw an increase in civilian casualties in the period between 1 January 2020 and
30 September 2020, when compared to the figures of the same period in 2019. Noticeable, civilian
casualties in Balkh, Samangan, and Badakhshan were reported to more than double.720 In December
2020, the UN Secretary-General reported that the highest number of security incidents occurred in
the southern region, followed by the northern and eastern regions. While the total number ofincidents in these regions accounted for 62 % of all security incidents, the highest numbers of
security incidents were recorded in Kandahar, Helmand, Nangarhar, and Balkh.721 As reported by
SIGAR, heavy clashes between U.S., Afghan, and Taliban forces in Helmand in October 2020 and
Kandahar in the last months of 2020 forced ‘thousands of families’ to leave their homes.722

714 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/74/753-S/2020/210, 17 March 2020, url, p. 5
715 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, First Quarter Report: 1 January- 31 March 2020, June
2020, url, p. 3
716 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/74/897-S/2020/549, 17 June 2020, url, p. 5
717 Quilty, A., Taleban Opportunism and ANSF Frustration: How the Afghan conflict has changed since the Doha agreement,
AAN, 12 October 2020, url. The report is based on 53 interviews conducted in Maidan Wardak, Kunduz, and Nangrahar
between June and August 2020.
718 Tolonews, ANDSF Fighting Taliban in 15 Provinces Amid Peace Efforts, 26 June 2020, url
719 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Midyear Report: 1 January – 30 June 2020, July 2020,
url, pp. 5, 16
720 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Third Quarter Report: 1 January to 30 September 2020,
October 2020, url, p. 6
721 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of the
Security-General, A/75/634-S/2020/1182, 9 December 2020, url, p. 5
722 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United Stated Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 51

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Reporting on civilian casualties, UNAMA noted that ‘spikes’ in civilian casualties caused by groundengagements were recorded during the Taliban offensives against Kunduz city in May 2020 and
Lashkargah city in October 2020. Furthermore, 48 % of civilian casualties from Taliban pressure-plate
IEDs was recorded in the southern region, where 243 civilians were killed and 173 injured in 116
documented incidents of this type. Most of these incidents were recorded in Kandahar and Helmand
provinces.723
In January 2021, clashes between ANSF and an NSAG were reported to continue in the easternregion in Nangarhar, Kunar, Laghman, and Nuristan provinces;724 in February, the fighting intensified
particularly in Nangarhar districts.725 In January and February 2021, UNOCHA reported on ongoingfighting between ANSF and an NSAG in Helmand, Kandahar, Uruzgan, and Zabul provinces.i In
January 2021, fighting, military operations, IED attacks, and checkpoints were reported in Badghis,
Herat, Farah, and Ghor,726 with the situation remaining unstable in these provinces in February
2021.727 In both months, fighting was reported in Badakhshan, Baghlan, Kunduz, and Takhar
provinces;728 clashes between ANSF and a NSAG and IED attacks were reported in the provinces ofKabul, Logar, Maidan Wardak, Khost, Ghazni, Paktika, Paktya,729 and Kapisa;730 the fighting wasreported to continue also in Balkh, Faryab, Sar-e Pul, Jawzjan, and Samangan provinces.731
As reported by the UN Secretary-General in January 2021, ISKP was facing ‘challenges in its ability to
seize and hold significant territory’ in Nangarhar and Kunar provinces, where it claimed
responsibility for several high-profile attacks.732 In its 2020 report, UNAMA noted that mass-casualty
incidents and/or suicide attacks and mass shootings in the cities of Kabul and Jalalabad and a suicide
attack in Kuz Kunar district of Nangarhar province brought more than 95 % of civilian casualties
attributed to ISKP.733
In June 2020, a research study on ISKP’s ‘Kabul cell’ by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP)
revealed that ISKP had cells in Afghanistan’s urban centres and recruited men and women frommiddle-class families, with many university students of non-Pashtun origin, predominantly from
Kabul City and the surrounding urban centres of Parwan, Kapisa, and Panjsher provinces. According
to the research, except of a small number of ‘original Kabulis’ and Uzbeks originated from theprovinces of Jawzjan, Takhar, and Faryab, the members of ISKP’s Kabul cell comprise young people
from the areas of muqawamat (anti-Taliban resistance), who have either settled in Kabul or visit it
regularly.734

723 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 43, 49
724 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (18 – 24 January 2021), 27 January 2021, url, p. 2
725 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (15 – 21 February 2021), 24 February 2021, p. 2; UNOCHA,

Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (22 – 28 February 2021), 2 March 2021, url, p. 2
726 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (25 – 31 January 2021), 3 February 2021, url, p. 2
727 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (1 – 7 February 2021), 10 February, url, p. 2; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (22 – 28 February 2021), 2 March 2021,, url, p. 2
728 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update(25 – 31 January 2021), 3 February 2021, url, p. 2; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update(22 – 28 February 2021), 2 March 2021, url, p. 2
729 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update, (25 – 31 January 2021), 3 February 2021, url, p. 2; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update(22 – 28 February 2021), 2 March 2021, url, p. 2
730 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update, (18 – 24 January 2021), 27 January 2021, url, p. 2; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update, (18 – 24 January 2021), 27 January 2021, url, p. 2
731 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update, 18 – 24 January 2021, n.d., url, p. 2; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Weekly Humanitarian Update(15 – 21 February 2021), 24 February 2021, url, p. 2; UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly
Humanitarian Update, 22 – 28 February 2021, 2 March 2021, url, p. 2
732 UN Security Council, Twelfth report of the Secretary-General on the threat posed by ISIL (Da’esh) to international peaceand security and the range of United Nations efforts in support of Member States, S/2021/98, 29 January 2021, url, p. 7
733 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 43
734 Osman, B., Bourgeois Jihad: Why Young, Middle-Class Afghans Join the Islamic State, USIP, Peaceworks No 62, 1 June
2020, url, pp. 2, 11-12. The research is based on 65 interviews with current and former ISKP members, their families, andfriends, conducted in Kabul city, the surrounding provinces, and the provinces of Nangahar and Kunar in November 2019.

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In June 2020, USDOD reported that the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan remains ‘asanctuary for various groups,’ including ISKP, Al Qaeda Core (AQ), Al Qaeda in the Indian
Subcontinent (AQIS), Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LeT), and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).735 In July 2020,
local Afghan officials reported on a presence of al-Qa’ida and other foreign insurgents in the areas
stretching from Disho district in Helmand province to Herat province.736

1.5.3 Government versus Taliban control
As noted by the AAN co-Director Kate Clark in May 2017, sources that assess the Taliban’s territorial
control in Afghanistan tend to disagree over figures and over the definition of the word ‘control’.737
Moreover, as pointed out by ANN expert Thomas Ruttig, there are different counts of the number of
districts.738
After the February RIV period, the Taliban continued attacking ANDSF checkpoints and convoys but
avoided attacks against provincial capitals and coalition forces.739 In June 2020, the UN SecretaryGeneral reported that neither PGFs nor AGEs ‘achieved any significant territorial gains’ between
March and June 2020. In March 2020, the Taliban recaptured Yamgan district, Badakhshan province,
while in April the ANDSF overtook the districts of Khamyab and Qarqin740 in Jowzjan province, heldby the Taliban for around two years.741 In June 2020, USDOD reported that the Afghan government
maintained its control in ‘Kabul, provincial capitals, major population centers, most district centers,
and most portions of major ground lines of communications (GLOCs)’, while the Taliban threatened
district centres and contested ‘several portions of main GLOCs’.742 According to the Afghan
authorities, ‘the Taliban carried out 422 attacks in 32 provinces’ during the third week of June, killing
almost 300 Afghan security personnel, making the week the ‘deadliest’ in the course of theconflict.743
As reported by Security-General in December 2020, armed clashes became more frequent from the
middle of July to the end of October 2020.744 In August 2020, the Taliban released photographs
depicting its fighters parading in eastern provinces of Logar, Laghman, and Ghazni—the provinces inwhich the Taliban was reported to ‘control or heavily contest territory’—to celebrate the release of
400 prisoners by the Afghan government.745 In October 2020, the Taliban conducted an offensive on
Lashkargah, the capital of Helmand,746 followed by a counter offensive by the ANSF.747 Since October
2020, the fighting between ANSF and the Taliban was reported in Kandahar Province. As reported by
SIGAR, almost 200 checkpoints of the ANA’s 205th Corps in Kandahar province were abandoned to
the Taliban during December 2020, leaving government weapons and ammunition to the Taliban.748
In March 2021, the Taliban reported to have captured Charkh district of Logar province, 130

735 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020,

url, p. 17

736 Tolonews, Al Qaeda Training Taliban in Helmand: Local Officials, 30 July 2020, url
737 Clark, K., Looking at the ‘Nicholson plan’: A bid to tilt the Afghan war in the government‘s favour, AAN, 24 May 2017, url
738 Ruttig, T., The Afghanistan Election Conundrum (12): Good news and bad news about district numbers, AAN, 16 August

2018, url
739 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, url, p. 17
740 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, url, p. 18
741 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/74/897-S/2020/549, 17 June 2020, url, p. 5
742 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, url, p. 18
743 France 24, Taliban killed 291 Afghan security personnel in past week: govt, 23 June 2020, url
744 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/75/634-S/2020/1182, 9 December 2020, url, p. 5
745 LWJ, Taliban parades fighters as 400 more prisoners are freed, 12 August 2020, url
746 BBC News, Afghan-Taliban conflict: Fears grow for families trapped in Helmand, 15 October 2020, url
747 Reuters, Afghan forces launch counter assault after Taliban offensive overshadows talks, 13 October 2020, url
748 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United Stated Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 67

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

kilometres south of Kabul city, while the Afghan MoD stated the district was still controlled by
ANSF.749
A survey conducted by Pajhwok Afghan News from November 2020 until February 2021, designated
46 % of Afghanistan’s territory as controlled by the Afghan government and 52 % as controlled by
the Taliban control. Around 3 % of the territory, as found out by the survey, was controlled by noside.750
As of 4 April 2021, an assessment of the LWJ mapping Taliban control in Afghanistan in a frequently
updated map and based on open-source information, considered 133 districts of Afghanistan (33 %)to be under the control of GoA or have undetermined status, 187 districts (47 %) to be contested, 75
districts (19 %) to be held by the Taliban; three districts (1 %) were assessed as ‘unconfirmable
Taliban claim of control’. According to the population figures, 15.2 million people were living in areas
controlled by GoA or having undetermined status, 13.2 million in contested areas, 4.5 million in the
Taliban-controlled areas, and 92 400 in the districts of unconfirmable Taliban claim of control. Whileas of 25 May 2021, 97 districts (24 %) to be under the control of GoA or have undetermined status,
213 districts (54 %) to be contested, 88 districts (22 %) to be held by the Taliban. According to the
population figures, 11.9 million people were living in areas controlled by GoA or having
undetermined status, 15.9 million in contested areas, 5.1 million in the Taliban-controlled areas.751

1.6 Mobility
In December 2020, UNOCHA noted that armed conflict, lack of means of transportation, poor roadconditions, and natural hazards continue to affect the Afghan population.752
The most important highway in Afghanistan is National Highway (NH) 1.753 Also referred to as the‘Ring Road’,754 NH 1 connects Kabul city to border areas with Iran, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan and at
least seven Afghan provinces,755 including Afghanistan's main urban centres: Mazar-e Sharif, Herat,
and Kandahar.756 Between 2018 and 2020, sections of NH 1 were reported to be destroyed757,
blocked758, and contaminated with Taliban-planted IEDs759 during the Taliban offensives and clashes
between AEGs and ANSF. The instances of the damage of NH 1 parts in 2020 include, but are notlimited to, the following: as of January 2020, the Kabul-Kandahar highway was reported to be
severely damaged in parts of Zabul province;760 in October 2020, the Afghan MoD reported that the749 Ariana News, Taliban captures Charkh district in Logar province, 22 March 2021, url
750 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url. For thissurvey Pajhwok Afghan News interviewed (through telephone interviews or by distributing questionnaires) a total of 1 266
respondents, randomly selected across the country.
751 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url. The source, however, does not specify when and which
information of the aforementioned map was updated.
752 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Needs Overview – Afghanistan, December 2020, url, p. 17
753 Garda World, Afghanistan: Striking drivers blocking Kabul-Kandahar highway in Wardak Province as of Feb. 17, 17
February 2021, url
754 Diplomat (The), Kabul's Plan to Realize Afghanistan’s Geographic Dividend, 5 December 2017, url
755 Garda World, Afghanistan: Striking drivers blocking Kabul-Kandahar highway in Wardak Province as of Feb. 17, 17
February 2021, url
756 Diplomat (The), Kabul's Plan to Realize Afghanistan’s Geographic Dividend, 5 December 2017, url
757 UN News, ‘No safe way’ into battle-scarred Afghan city of Ghazni to deliver aid as traumatized children search forparents, 17 August 2018, url; Arab News, Arab forces, Taliban battle for control of highway in Ghazni province, 6 October
2018, url
758 Muzhary, F., Unheeded Warnings (2): Ghazni city as vulnerable to Taleban as before, AAN, 30 December 2018, url;
Tolonews, Taliban Attacks Stop Traffic on Northern Highway: Sources, 6 July 2020, url
759 UN News, ‘No safe way’ into battle-scarred Afghan city of Ghazni to deliver aid as traumatized children search forparents, 17 August 2018, url; Ariana News, Kabul – Kandahar highway in need for grave reconstruction, 23 January 2020,
url
760 Ariana News, Kabul – Kandahar highway in need for grave reconstruction, 23 January 2020, url

80Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Taliban damaged the largest part of the road in Andlan area of Shah Wali Kot district, which is a partof the Kandahar-Uruzgan highway and the main road for travelling between the provinces;761 in
November 2020, the local officials in Ghazni reported that the Taliban destroyed 600 meters of the
Ghazni-Paktika highway in Khan-e Baba area of Andar district.762 In October 2020, an increased
presence of the Taliban on the Kabul-Ghazni highway reportedly forced drivers to divert the route toreach southern provinces.763
As stated by AAN researcher Andrew Quilty, ‘greater Taliban control of major roads’ has been ‘apost-Doha Taleban trend countrywide.’ The group was reported to gain greater control of the roadsof Maidan Wardak.764 In August 2020, local officials reported on the increased presence of the
Taliban in the area of the Herat-Badghis highway, which made the road dangerous for commuters
and travellers;765 in September 2020, according to local officials, the highway was cleared of the
Taliban.766
In January 2021, UNOCHA noted that civilian and humanitarian movements on the roads connecting
provincial capitals of Balkh, Faryab, Sar-e Pul, Jawzjan, and Samangan to district centres of theseprovinces were ‘risky’ due to the intensified fighting and insecurity;767 in the end of February 2021,
the situation remained reportedly unchanged. Similarly, main highways connecting Kabul to
Jalalabad, Logar, and Ghazni were reported insecure for civil movements as of the end of February
2021.768 According to UNOCHA, in February 2021, roads connecting Herat to Saghar district in Ghor
province and Chaghcharan, the provincial capital of Ghor, were closed to civilian and commercial use
due to ongoing fighting.769
In the period between 1 January 2020 and 28 February 2021, the incidents affecting mobility
comprised clashes between PGFs and AGEs,770 checkpoints,771 abductions, including abductions ofchildren,772 and killings.773 IEDs planted on roads and highways were reported to cause casualties
among civilians,774 military,775 and police.776 According to UNAMA, suicide and vehicle-borne IEDs,
the use of which ‘seemingly aimed at military targets’ also harmed civilians as they were used on
public roads.777
According to USDOS, drivers—including taxi, truck, and bus drivers—reported on checkpoints
operated by security forces and insurgent groups, who extorted money and goods from travellers.778
761 Khaama Press, Taliban Damages Khandahar-Uruzgan Highway: MoD, 1 October 2020, url
762 Khaama Press, Taliban Destroys 600 Meters of Ghazni Highway, 9 November 2020, url
763 Tolonews, Drivers Divert Route Over Insecurity in Kabul-Ghazni Highway, 24 October 2020, url
764 Quilty, A., Taleban Opportunism and ANSF Frustration: How the Afghan conflict has changed since the Doha agreement,

AAN, 12 October 2020, url
765 Tolonews, Taliban Control Herat-Badghis Highway: Locals, 19 August 2020, url
766 Tolonews, Herat-Badghis Highway Cleared of Taliban, 5 September 2020, url
767 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (18 – 24 January 2021), 27 January 2021, url, p. 2
768 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (22 – 28 February 2021), 2 March 2021, url, p. 2
769 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (15 – 21 February 2021), 24 February 2021, url, p. 2; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update, (22 – 28 February 2021), 2 March 2021, url, p. 2
770 AA, Taliban, Afghan forces clash in Balkh province, 18 March 2020, url
771 Tolonews, Taliban Attacks Stop Traffic on Northern Highway: Sources, 6 July 2020, url; Tolonews, Drivers Divert RouteOver Insecurity in Kabul-Ghazni Highway, 24 October 2020, url
772 Afghanistan Times, Danesh Calls for Security Along Daikundi-Uruzgan Road, 22 June 2020, url; UNAMA, Afghanistan –Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 32, 58
773 Salaam Times, Taliban continue extortion, killing of travellers on highways, 6 August 2020, url
774 Tolonews, Nine Civilians Killed in Kandahar Roadside Mine Blast, 3 June 2020, url; Afghanistan Times, 6 Civilians Killed
by Paktika Roadside Bomb, 20 April 2020, url; Tolonews, Six Civilians Killed in Mine Blast in Jawzjan, 24 June 2020, url; AP,
Officials: Roadside bombs in Afghanistan kill 3, wound 20, 21 February 2021, url; UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of
Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 50
775 Garda World, Afghanistan: Multiple IED attacks in Khost and Daikundi provinces April 21, 22 April 2020, url
776 Tolonews, 3 Police Killed in Herat Roadside Mine Blast, 5 July 2020, url
777 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 45
778 USDOS, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2019 - Afghanistan, 11 March 2020, url, p. 23

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

As reported by Tolonews in January 2020, cases of extortion at checkpoints established by ‘Taliban
insurgents as well as government forces’ were found on the Kandahar-Kabul, Kandahar-Herat, andKabul-Torkham Highways.779 In 2020, instances of extortion at checkpoints established by the
Taliban were reported, for instance, in the districts of Baghlan,780 Zabul, Ghazni, Nimroz, and Farahprovinces781 and on the Baghlan-Balkh782 and the Kunduz-Takhar783 highways; on Kabul-BaghlanKunduz highway, the Taliban was reported to ‘tax every vehicle.’784
Afghanistan has four international airports. Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport (KBL),
previously called Khwaja Rawash Airport, is located southeast of Kabul in the municipality of Khwaja
Rawash.785 Kandahar Airport, named Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport and serving as thecountry’s second main airport,786 is situated 17 kilometres south-east of Kandahar city. Herat
International Airport (HEA) is situated 19 kilometres south of Herat city. Mazar-e Sharif International
Airport (MZR), named Mawlana Jalaluddin Muhammad Balkhi International Airport, is located
8 kilometres east of Mazar-e-Sharif.787 As reported by the Swedish Migration Agency in February
2021, international flights were operated to and from Kabul, Kandahar, and Mazar-e Sharif
airports.788
In 2019, UNOCHA reported that such provinces as Baghlan, Kunar, Logar, Maidan Wardak, Nuristan,
Panjshir, Samangan, and Sar-e Pul had ‘no functioning airstrips.’789

779 Tolonews, Drivers Outraged Over Extortion on Highways, 17 January 2020, url
780 Salaam Times, Taliban continue extortion, killing of travellers on highways, 6 August 2020, url
781 Salaam Times, Truck drivers call Taliban ‘looters’ as group continues extortion on highways, 24 January 2020, url
782 Tolonews, Taliban Attacks Stop Traffic on Northern Highway: Sources, 6 July 2020, url
783 Salaam Times, Taliban continue extortion, killing of travellers on highways, 6 August 2020, url
784 Quilty, A., Taleban Opportunism and ANSF Frustration: How the Afghan conflict has changed since the Doha agreement,

AAN, 12 October 2020, url
785 Kabul International Airport, n.d., url
786Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport, n.d., url
787 Afghanistan, ACAA, AIRAC AIP Amendment, 28 January 2021, url, pp. 65, 84, 94
788 Sweden, Lifos/Migrationsverket, Inrikesflyg, Afghanistan, 17 February 2021, url, p. 9789 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Needs Overview – Afghanistan, December 2019, url, p. 11

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2. Regional description of the security
situation in Afghanistan
2.1 Kabul City
2.1.1 General description of the city
Kabul City is the capital of Afghanistan and of Kabul province, of which it is a separate district
alongside 14 others.790 Surrounded by mountains, the city is located at 1 800 metres above sea
level.791 Kabul City consists of 22 urban districts,792 which coincide with Kabul’s 22 Police Districts(PDs).793
Kabul City is laid out as a circle consisting of three concentric rings: the first one includes theneighbourhoods of Shahr-e Kohna, the old city, Shahr-e Naw, the new city, as well as Shash Darak
and Wazir Akbar Khan, where many foreign embassies, international organisations and offices arelocated. The second ring consists of neighbourhoods developed in the 1950s-1980s to host thegrowing urban population, like Taimani, Qala-e Fatullah, Kart-e Se, Kart-e Chahar, Kart-e Naw and themicroraions (Soviet-style residential districts). The outer, growing ring of the city expanded rapidly
after 2001, mainly housing Afghans who have migrated to the capital since then and some highprofile residential compounds.794
According to estimates for 2019-20 by Afghanistan’s NSIA, Kabul City has a population of
4 273 156.795 However, exact population figures are disputed and estimates range from 3.5 million
up to a possible 6.5 million inhabitants in 2020,796 with reportedly around two million new residents
in the past 10 years.797 Kabul is by far Afghanistan’s most populous and influential city, characterisedby an unprecedented demographic and urban growth.798 Massive returnee populations, IDPs andeconomic migrants have spurred this rapid growth, with rural Afghans now outnumbering Kabuli

790 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Kabul Province - District Atlas, April 2014, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan. Provincial Reference Map,

25 May 2015, url, p. 14
791 REACH, Area Based Community Profile: Kabul, Afghanistan, December 2017, url, p. 3
792 Foschini, F., Kabul and the Challenge of Dwindling Foreign Aid, USIP, 10 April 2017, url, p. 10; Foschini, F., Kabul
Unpacked - A Geographical Guide to a Metropolis in the Making, AAN, 19 March 2019, url, pp. 5-27
793 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Kabul Informal Settlements, 4 January 2016, url, p. 1; Foschini, F., Kabul Unpacked - A
Geographical Guide to a Metropolis in the Making, AAN, 19 March 2019, url, p. 4
794 Foschini, F., Kabul and the Challenge of Dwindling Foreign Aid, USIP, April 2017, url, p. 6
795 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, 18 November 2019, url, pp. 4-5
796 Foschini, F., Kabul and the Challenge of Dwindling Foreign Aid, USIP, 10 April 2017, url, pp. 9-10; Foschini, F., Kabul
Unpacked - A Geographical Guide to a Metropolis in the Making, AAN, 19 March 2019, url, p. 1; IGC, Urbanisation in Fragile
Societies: Thinking about Kabul, 13 February 2020, url; City Mayors Statistics, The World’s Largest Cities and Urban Areas in
2020, n.d., url; RFE/RL/Gandhara, Kabul Residents, Visitors Recall Capital's Golden Era before Conflict, 21 December 2020,
url; Telegraph (The), Kabul’s Unquenchable Thirst: Crisis Looms in Afghan Capital as Groundwater Reserves Run Dry, 15
February 2021, url
797 Washington Post (The), A Photo Tour of Kabul Shows How 20 Years of U.S. Military Presence Reshaped Afghanistan’s
Capital, 25 March 2021, url
798 Foschini, F., Kabul Unpacked - A Geographical Guide to a Metropolis in the Making, AAN, 19 March 2019, url, p. 1; IGC,
Urbanisation in Fragile Societies: Thinking about Kabul, 13 February 2020, url; Foschini, F., Kabul’s Expanding Crime Scene(Part 1): The Roots of Today’s Underworld, AAN, 11 February 2020, url; RFE/RL/Gandhara, Kabul Residents, Visitors Recall
Capital's Golden Era before Conflict, 21 December 2020, url; Washington Post (The), A Photo Tour of Kabul Shows How 20
Years of U.S. Military Presence Reshaped Afghanistan’s Capital, 25 March 2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

natives,799 but the city’s infrastructure has not followed at the same pace.800 According to AAN
analyst Fabrizio Foschini, the Afghan capital’s ‘rapid and uncontrolled urbanisation has created new
economic and security challenges inside the city’, with the residual urban social fabric that helped topreserve a certain social order, guaranteeing some degrees of security, now disappearing fast.801 As
described by several sources, the main problems afflicting the Afghan capital in recent years havebeen inadequate housing and sanitation,802 overstretched basic services and resources,803
unemployment,804 land grabbing,805 poverty,806 traffic and limited accessibility,807 drought,808 severe
air pollution809 and criminality.810
Kabul is an ethnically diverse city, with communities from almost all Afghan ethnicities. Pashtuns,
Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Turkmen, Baluch, people belonging to the religious minority group of Sikhs
and Hindus, all reside there, with no group clearly dominating.811 According to Foschini, central
Kabul is ‘cosmopolitan’ and more mixed than in the past, with the constant movement of residents
having a disruptive effect on social networks.812 Districts in Kabul’s outskirts are ethnically morehomogenous.813 As people tend to move to areas where they already have family or into particular
districts as part of a larger group with the same ethnicity, different city neighbourhoods havebecome associated with different ethnic groups.814 In these densely populated areas, a sort of village
society has emerged, whose dwellers know each other and have more direct connections with theirprovince of origin than with central Kabul.815

799 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Kabul Residents, Visitors Recall Capital's Golden Era before Conflict, 21 December 2020, url
800 Ruttig, T., Alltag in Kabul. Referat von Thomas Ruttig (AAN) am 12. April 2017, 20 June 2017, url, pp. 6-7; NRC and

ACAPS, Displacement and Access in Afghanistan: Scenarios, June 2019, url, p. 11; Foschini, F., Kabul’s Expanding Crime
Scene (Part 1): The Roots of Today’s Underworld, AAN, 11 February 2020, url
801 Foschini, F., Kabul’s Expanding Crime Scene (Part 1): The Roots of Today’s Underworld, AAN, 11 February 2020, url
802 Foschini, F., Kabul Unpacked - A Geographical Guide to a Metropolis in the Making, AAN, 19 March 2019, url, p. 1;
Al Jazeera, Life in the City: Tackling Kabul's Urban Challenges, 11 July 2019, url; Finland, FIS, Afghanistan: Fact-Finding
Mission to Kabul in April 2019 - Situation of Returnees in Kabul, 15 October 2019, url, pp. 1, 13-14; Telegraph (The), Kabul’s
Unquenchable Thirst: Crisis Looms in Afghan Capital as Groundwater Reserves Run Dry, 15 February 2021, url
803 Al Jazeera, Life in the City: Tackling Kabul's Urban Challenges, 11 July 2019, url; Finland, FIS, Afghanistan: Fact-Finding
Mission to Kabul in April 2019 - Situation of Returnees in Kabul, 15 October 2019, url, pp. 1, 10
804 Finland, FIS, Afghanistan: Fact-Finding Mission to Kabul in April 2019 - Situation of Returnees in Kabul, 15 October 2019,url, pp. 4, 9
805 Foschini, F., Kabul Unpacked - A Geographical Guide to a Metropolis in the Making, AAN, 19 March 2019, url, p. 1;
Finland, FIS, Afghanistan: Fact-Finding Mission to Kabul in April 2019 - Situation of Returnees in Kabul, 15 October 2019,url, p. 13
806 Foschini, F., Kabul Unpacked - A Geographical Guide to a Metropolis in the Making, AAN, 19 March 2019, url, p. 1;
Finland, FIS, Afghanistan: Fact-Finding Mission to Kabul in April 2019 - Situation of Returnees in Kabul, 15 October 2019,url, pp. 4, 8, 9
807 Foschini, F., Kabul Unpacked - A Geographical Guide to a Metropolis in the Making, AAN, 19 March 2019, url, p. 1; Al
Jazeera, Life in the City: Tackling Kabul's Urban Challenges, 11 July 2019, url
808 Telegraph (The), Kabul’s Unquenchable Thirst: Crisis Looms in Afghan Capital as Groundwater Reserves Run Dry, 15
February 2021, url
809 Foschini, F., Kabul Unpacked - A Geographical Guide to a Metropolis in the Making, AAN, 19 March 2019, url, p. 1; DW,
Kabul - Where Breathing Can Kill You, 6 December 2019, url; RFE/RL/Gandhara, Air Pollution Claimed almost 5,000 Lives in
Afghanistan Last Year, 13 January 2021, url
810 Foschini, F., Kabul Unpacked - A Geographical Guide to a Metropolis in the Making, AAN, 19 March 2019, url, p. 1; NewYork Times (The), They Fight Suicide Bombers. But Can Afghan Police Fight Crime?, 8 February 2020, url
811 Pajhwok Afghan News, Elections 2019: Kabul Province Background Profile, n.d., url; Foschini, F., Kabul and the Challengeof Dwindling Foreign Aid, USIP, 10 April 2017, url, p. 6; Foschini, F., Kabul Unpacked - A Geographical Guide to a Metropolis
in the Making, AAN, 19 March 2019, url, pp. 5-27
812 Foschini, F., Kabul Unpacked - A Geographical Guide to a Metropolis in the Making, AAN, 19 March 2019, url, p. 3
813 Foschini, F., Kabul and the Challenge of Dwindling Foreign Aid, USIP, 10 April 2017, url, pp. 6, 58
814 APPRO, Migration and Urban Development in Kabul: Classification or Accommodation?, October 2012, url, p. 8; IGC,
Urbanisation in Fragile Societies: Thinking about Kabul, 13 February 2020, url
815 Foschini, F., Kabul and the Challenge of Dwindling Foreign Aid, USIP, April 2017, url, p. 7; Foschini, F., Kabul Unpacked A Geographical Guide to a Metropolis in the Making, AAN, 19 March 2019, url, p. 3

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Kabul City hosts Hamid Karzai Airport, served by international and domestic scheduled passenger
flights.816 Full responsibility of Afghanistan’s four international airports (including the airport in Kabul
City) will be handed over from NATO’s Resolute Support (RS) mission to the Afghan Civil Aviation
Authority (ACAA), as announced in August 2020. The precise timing remains under review, but thehandover will take place in 2021, according to SIGAR reporting.817

2.1.2 Conflict background and actors in Kabul City
Although the Afghan capital is under government control,818 Kabul remains a target for AGEs who
continue to carry out attacks in the city.819
Like in the second half of 2019, the Taliban strategy in 2020 was described as a mixture of ‘fight andtalk’, reportedly seeking to gain leverage in the ongoing peace talks with the Afghan government
through gains on the battlefield - including attacks against civilian targets (civilians with specificprofiles have been targeted - see further) in large urban areas.820 An increase in Taliban attacks has
been reported in Kabul City since the last quarter of 2020.821 According to the Afghanistan Study
Group Final Report, published by USIP in February 2021, ‘from late 2020, the steady rhythm of terror
attacks in Kabul and across the country suggests a disinclination or inability on the group’s part torestrain the use of terror, either by its own members or by others’.822
Several sources reported on a sharp rise in the use of magnetic bombs attached to vehicles (often
called ‘sticky bombs’) by the Taliban in Kabul. This tactic is described as a quick, cheap, simple andrelatively unpredictable way for the Taliban to demonstrate their reach in the capital while avoiding
mass civilian casualties.823 A government intelligence official described to the New York Times how
these magnetic bombs, assembled with plastic high explosives and powerful magnets, are smuggled
into the capital by the militants using an underground courier system called belti. The devices can bedetonated remotely and are attached as close as possible to a vehicle’s fuel tank to ensure a strong
explosion. According to a retired Afghan general, these kinds of attacks leave the impression that
the Taliban can operate in the Afghan capital with ‘near impunity’, adding that ‘Kabul is an open city
- these Taliban live here and make their bombs here’.824 An Afghan security official referred to a

816 CAPA - Centre for Aviation, Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport, n.d., url
817 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 October 2020, url, p. 157; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to theUnited States Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 130
818 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, 1 July 2020, url, pp. 2, 18; USIP, Afghanistan Study
Group Final Report, February 2021, url, p. 37; Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated Claims of Territory
They Control, 12 February 2021, url; USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2020, 23 April
2021, url, p. 33
819 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan - December 2019, 23 January 2020, url, p. 16; Ruttig, T., First
Breakthrough Toward Peace? A Look at the Seven Day ‘Reduction of Violence’, AAN, 17 February 2020, url; UNAMA,
Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, 22 February 2020, url, pp. 36-37, 84-85, 94
820 Reuters, Fight and Talk: Facing Negotiations, Taliban almost Took Key Afghan City, 14 September 2020, url;
RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghan Security Forces Hit by Surge of Taliban Suicide Car Bombings, 9 December 2021, url
821 CSIS, Escaping the Graveyard of Empires? U.S. Options in Afghanistan, 26 January 2021, url; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to
the United States Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 50
822 USIP, Afghanistan Study Group Final Report, February 2021, url, p. 39
823 New York Times (The), With Delay in Afghan Peace Talks, a Creeping Sense of ‘Siege’ Around Kabul, 23 August 2020,
updated 22 September 2020, url; New York Times (The), ‘Sticky Bombs’ Sow Terror and Chaos in a City on Edge, 16
December 2020, url; VOA, Sticky Bomb Attacks Send Wave of Fear Through Kabul, 24 December 2020, url; New York Times(The), Targeted Killings Are Terrorizing Afghans. And No One Is Claiming Them, 2 January 2021, url; RFE/RL/Gandhara,'Psychological Warfare': Taliban Adopts New Strategy in Afghanistan, 8 January 2021, url; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to theUnited States Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 51
824 New York Times (The), ‘Sticky Bombs’ Sow Terror and Chaos in a City on Edge, 16 December 2020, url

85

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situationcooperation between criminal networks and the insurgency in Kabul, offering the Taliban a wider
reach and the possibility to stock explosives around the city.825
According to analysts interviewed by Gandhara, the Taliban have adopted a new approach in 2020.
Refraining from high profile and mass casualty attacks in major cities, the militants have shifted theirtactic to the deliberate targeted killing of civilians (government employees, journalists, human rights
activists, moderate religious leaders and women in public roles) in urban areas such as Kabul. Thisnew tactic is described as a response to the agreement the insurgency group signed with the US in
February 2020, expecting the militants not to hit urban centres with suicide bombings and othermass-casualty attacks. A Kabul-based political analyst, cited by news agency Gandhara, explained the
new Taliban strategy as ‘to win the support or submission of the population in governmentcontrolled areas, particularly in urban centres, through intimidation and psychological warfare’.826
The militant’s drive to frighten and weaken Afghanistan’s civil society and to silence critical voices isadditionally mentioned as part of this tactic.827 Although the Taliban are presumably the driving
force for several of the targeted killings in Kabul,828 many have remained unclaimed, with themilitant group often officially denying its involvement.829 In this regard, the New York Times
reported on the Taliban’s strategy of refusing to claim responsibility for attacks in Kabul and using
the unclaimed attacks for propaganda purposes to spread fear and to undermine the Afghan
government’s ability to keep the capital safe.830
According to International Crisis Group researcher Andrew Watkins, cited by news agency NPR, ‘theTaliban are not only at the gates of Kabul, but inside the city gates’. In December 2020, Taliban
militants were reported openly preaching in the Kampany neighbourhood in the city.831 In January
2021, Taliban militants were reported strolling through the streets of the western Qalai Abdul Ali
neighbourhood. Although not banned from the neighbourhood, the government has reportedly
been mostly in hiding in this city area. According to a local Taliban commander, cited by the New
Yorker, the militants have been collecting taxes, providing security and patrolling the streets in Qalai
Abdul Ali. The Taliban have purportedly moved into this neighbourhood from Wardak province,using the area to stage attacks in other parts of the city.832
According to UNAMA, the Haqqani Network has assumed an increasingly influential role in the
Taliban’s military operations and is believed to be responsible for complex attacks on government
and international targets in heavily populated areas of Kabul City.833 According to Taliban expert
Antonio Giustozzi, the Haqqani Network is (at least partly) accountable for several recent attacks in
the Afghan capital. Referring to a possible division within the Taliban, Giustozzi indicated the825 New York Times (The), With Delay in Afghan Peace Talks, a Creeping Sense of ‘Siege’ Around Kabul, 23 August 2020,

updated 22 September 2020, url
826 RFE/RL/Gandhara, 'Psychological Warfare': Taliban Adopts New Strategy in Afghanistan, 8 January 2021, url
827 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghanistan Hit by Surge of Targeted Killings, Assassinations, 13 November 2020, url; New YorkTimes (The), ‘There Is No Safe Area’: In Kabul, Fear Has Taken Over, 17 January 2021, url; Telegraph (The), Afghanistan
Faces a Brain Drain as Young and Educated Flee a Wave of Violence, 14 February 2021, url; New Yorker (The), Last Exit fromAfghanistan, 1 March 2021, url; Guardian (The), Afghans Dread the ‘Danger Hours’ as Fragile Gains of 20 Years Slip Away, 7
March 2021, url
828 Watkins, A., [Twitter], posted on: 21 January 2021, url; New Yorker (The), Last Exit from Afghanistan, 1 March 2021, url
829 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghanistan Hit by Surge of Targeted Killings, Assassinations, 13 November 2020, url;
RFE/RL/Gandhara, 'Psychological Warfare': Taliban Adopts New Strategy in Afghanistan, 8 January 2021, url; New YorkTimes (The), ‘There Is No Safe Area’: In Kabul, Fear Has Taken Over, 17 January 2021, url; UNAMA, Special Report: Killing of
Human Rights Defenders, Journalists and Media Workers in Afghanistan 2018-2021, February 2021, url, p. 8; Telegraph(The), Afghanistan Faces a Brain Drain as Young and Educated Flee a Wave of Violence, 14 February 2021, url
830 New York Times (The), An Afghan Mayor Expected to Die. Instead, She Lost Her Father, 6 November 2020, updated 12
November 2020, url; New York Times (The), String of Attacks Have People in Kabul Pointing a Finger, at the Government, 7November 2020, updated 12 November 2020, url; New York Times (The), ‘Sticky Bombs’ Sow Terror and Chaos in a City on
Edge, 16 December 2020, url
831 Npr, 'Our Houses Are Not Safe': Residents Fear Taliban in Afghanistan's Capital, 18 December 2020, url
832 New Yorker (The), Last Exit from Afghanistan, 1 March 2021, url
833 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 102

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network as responsible for the attacks without the authorisation of the Taliban’s Quetta Shura,
whose relations with the Haqqanis he described as ‘poor’.834 In May 2020, the Analytical Support andSanctions Monitoring Team reported to the UN Security Council on a ‘tactical accommodation’between the Haqqani Network and ISKP in Kabul, referring to a certain degree of ‘involvement,
facilitation, or the provision of technical assistance’ of the Haqqanis in ISKP-claimed attacks in thecapital.835 Joint Haqqani Network and ISKP cells operating in Kabul City were reported in May 2020and February 2021.836 In January 2021, the arrest of an alleged Chinese espionage ring operating in
Kabul to hunt down Uighur Muslims with the help of the Haqqani Network was reported by Afghan
officials.837
After a period of no ISKP-claimed assaults in Kabul at the end of 2019 and in the first months of
2020, several attacks have been attributed to the group again since March 2020 (see below).838
ISKP’s activities were possibly disrupted at the end of 2019 and in the beginning of 2020 due tovarious raids on the militant group’s hideouts in the capital region, according to UN and USDOD
reporting.839 In 2020 and 2021, ISKP reportedly has retained its ability to conduct (high-profile andlarge scale) attacks in Kabul, although the militant group’s operational capacity was ‘severely
degraded’, as stated by USDOD.840 According to a report submitted to the UN Security Council, someof the attacks claimed by ISKP ‘may have arisen wholly or partly from a tactical accommodation with
the Haqqani Network’.841 USDOD suggested the militants might be moving to smaller groups inurban areas, which are harder to locate and identify.842 UNAMA reported on a spike of high-impact
attacks (mainly caused by IEDs) conducted by ISKP in Kabul and other cities in the final months of2020.843 Using its official messaging platforms and media outlets to draw attention to these
attacks,844 the militant group reportedly aims at maintaining its credibility and bolstering its
recruitment efforts.845 In the first months of 2021, the UN reported on continued ISKP attacks
targeting civilians in urban areas,846 with the militant group expected to pursue future attacks in thecapital.847

834 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Deadly Kabul Attacks Expose Possible Divisions within the Taliban, 7 November 2020, url
835 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, pp. 4, 18-19
836 Straits Times (The), Afghan Forces bust 'ISIS-Haqqani' Cell Blamed for Deadly Attacks, 6 May 2020, url; Reuters, U.N.
Decries Attacks on Afghan Media at Time when Dialogue Needed Most, 15 February 2021, url
837 FP, Afghanistan Wanted Chinese Mining Investment. It Got a Chinese Spy Ring Instead, 27 January 2021, url
838 UN Security Council, The Situation in Afghanistan and Its Implications for International Peace and Security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/74/897–S/2020/549, 17 June 2020, url, p. 6
839 UN Security Council, Tenth report of the Secretary-General on the threat posed by ISIL (Da’esh) to international peaceand security and the range of United Nations efforts in support of Member States in countering the threat, S/2020/95, url,
pp. 6-7; USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, 1 July 2020, url, p. 9
840 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2020, 23 April 2021, url, p. 8
841 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, p. 4
842 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, 1 July 2020, url, p. 28
843 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, pp. 24, 103
844 USDOD, Lead Inspector General for Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, Report to the United States Congress, 1 April - 30
June 2020, 18 August 2020, url, p. 16
845 USIP, Afghanistan Study Group Final Report, February 2021, url, p. 23
846 UN Security Council, The Situation in Afghanistan and Its Implications for International Peace and Security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/75/811–S/2021/252, 12 March 2021, url, pp. 5-6
847 UN Security Council, Twelfth Report of the Secretary-General on the Threat Posed by ISIL (Da’esh) to International
Peace and Security and the Range of United Nations Efforts in Support of Member States in Countering the Threat, 29
January 2021, url, p. 7; UN Security Council, Twenty-seventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring
Team submitted pursuant to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals andentities, S/2021/68, 3 February 2021, url, p. 15

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

ISKP is reported to have maintained active as well as sleeper cells in Afghan cities, including in
Kabul.848 These often coordinate on encrypted messaging applications849 and reportedly work
independently, avoiding the disclosure of other cells if one is discovered.850 According to analyst
Borhan Osman, ISKP’s Kabul cell is an ‘almost entirely Afghan phenomenon’, recruiting urban youth
from diverse socio-economic backgrounds (often from middle class-families) in the capital and in thesurrounding provinces of Parwan, Panjsher and Kapisa. In contrast to the usual pattern of Pashtun
recruitment into Afghanistan’s militant extremist groups, a majority of Kabul’s ISKP cell’s members
and supporters reportedly come from predominantly Tajik areas.851 Osman points at the scarcity of
reliable information about the Kabul cell’s operational methods. Instructions to organise and carryout attacks in the capital have reportedly often been relayed directly to the small circles in Kabul
from the ISKP leadership in Nangarhar province. According to senior Afghan security officials, all the
ISKP-claimed attacks in the capital depended on the same supply and logistics chain from a single
network, also used for attacks by the Taliban (including the Haqqani Network), likely having the
support of corrupt government security figures.852 In Kabul, ISKP reportedly relies on the hawalasystem to transfer funds.853 In June 2020, Shahab al-Muhajir, referred to as one of the ‘urban lions’of ISKP in Kabul and reportedly involved in the planning of suicide and complex attacks, wasappointed as ISKP leader in the region.854 According to Afghan officials, cited by news agency CBS
News in January 2021, members of a joint Taliban-ISKP cell, have reportedly been tasked with
disguising themselves as social workers and vaccine administrators, to assassinate journalists in
Kabul.855
ISKP has applied an effective recruitment strategy in the capital, conducting outreach activities inreligious and academic institutions, including Kabul University.856 University professors recruiting for
ISKP and first-grade students joining their ranks have reportedly given the militant group’s cell in thecapital an elite character. Mid-career professionals, business owners and well-educated urbanites
have been mostly recruited for logistical, financial or communication roles, often leading a double
life.857 As reported by USDOD, ISKP affiliates use social media as primary communication method
and as a propaganda medium to exert influence online.858 According to analyst Osman, the growing
appeal of ISKP’s Salafi-Jihadist ideology among urban Afghan youth may explain the militant group’s
848 BBC News, Islamic State Group Claims Deadly Attack on Afghanistan Prison, 3 August 2020, url; New York Times (The),

Afghan Journalist Is Killed in Latest Attack on Media Figures, 10 December 2020, updated 11 December 2020, url; UN
Security Council, UN Security Council, Twenty-seventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team
submitted pursuant to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities,
S/2021/68, 3 February 2021, url, p. 15; VOA, Islamic State Poised for Possible Resurgence in Afghanistan, US Officials Warn,
9 February 2021, url
849 New York Times (The), As Pompeo Prepared to Meet Afghan Warring Parties, New Attack Struck Kabul, 21 November
2020, updated 27 November 2020, url
850 New York Times (The), Foes in Afghan War See a Common Threat of Islamic State’s Return, 22 March 2021, updated 30
March 2021, url
851 Osman, B., Bourgeois Jihad: Why Young, Middle-Class Afghans Join the Islamic State, USIP, June 2020, url, pp. 3-4, 11-14
852 Osman, B., Bourgeois Jihad: Why Young, Middle-Class Afghans Join the Islamic State, USIP, June 2020, url, pp. 9-10; Seealso: BBC News, Afghanistan Conflict: IS Links to Kabul Student Killings Cause Outrage, 5 November 2020, url
853 LWJ, Al Qaeda ‘gaining strength’ in Afghanistan, U.S. Treasury says, 25 January 2021, url
854 UN Security Council, Twenty-seventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted
pursuant to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2021/68, 3
February 2021, url, p. 15
855 CBS News, Afghan Journalists Are Being Killed for Their Work, and They Just "Want to Stay Alive", 21 January 2021, url
856 VOA, Afghan University Teacher, Students among IS Operatives Arrested in Kabul, 8 July 2019, url; UN Security Council,
Tenth report of the Secretary-General on the threat posed by ISIL (Da’esh) to international peace and security and therange of United Nations efforts in support of Member States in countering the threat, S/2020/95, 4 February 2020, url,
p. 7
857 Osman, B., Bourgeois Jihad: Why Young, Middle-Class Afghans Join the Islamic State, USIP, June 2020, url, pp. 11-14; seealso Washington Post (The), Afghanistan Claims the Islamic State Was ‘Obliterated’. But Fighters Who Got Away Could
Stage a Resurgence, 9 February 2020, url; Withington, S. & Ehsani, H., Islamic State Wilayat Khorasan: Phoney Caliphate or
Bonafide Province, AISS, 5 March 2020, url, p. 86
858 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan - December 2019, 23 January 2020, url, p. 26

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resilience. The search for ideological ‘purity’, commitment to rigidly practicing Islamic Law, support
for an anti-Shia sectarian agenda, strong in-group solidarity and egalitarian behaviour, enthusiasm
for a global jihad and the ‘fantasy of living under the caliphate’ are suggested as pull-factors
attracting Kabul’s youth to ISKP. A growing dissatisfaction with the current elite and the status quoof the Afghan political system is indicated as a push-factor driving urban youth to search for a radical
alternative.859
According to AAN analyst Kate Clark, the war in Afghanistan became a little ‘murkier’ in 2020,860 witha significant increase in unclaimed attacks in Kabul City.861 Clark suggested this ‘may point to the
Taleban carrying out attacks without wanting to appear to do so, or to an actual muddying of thewaters, of elements within the Taleban operating without explicit permission from the leadership, orof ISKP now carrying out attacks without claiming them’.862 Sources documented on a climate ofrising impunity, in which different parties to the conflict have reportedly been accusing each other.
While the Afghan government has blamed the Taliban for many attacks in the Afghan capital, themilitant group accused the Kabul administration of involvement.863 International Crisis Group’s
analyst Andrew Watkins also mentioned other actors may be able and willing to take advantage ofthe situation of unclaimed attacks,864 such as people inside the government directing certain
targeted assassinations.865
Because of its high concentration of government buildings, international organisations, diplomaticand security forces’ compounds, the capital has a distinct security outlook.866 Beginning in 2018, theapproval of a new security plan for the Afghan capital was announced867 and the Kabul Enhanced
Security Zone (ESZ) was established.868 New and improved security measures have been
implemented since then, including: additional temporary checkpoints, security cameras and accesssurveillance, additional road blockades, blast walls and increased patrolling, enhanced
reconnaissance and intelligence activities.869 Kabul’s new security measures were reported to haveexacerbated the city’s traffic problems,870 and caused resentment and protests among residents.871 In

859 Osman, B., Bourgeois Jihad: Why Young, Middle-Class Afghans Join the Islamic State, USIP, June 2020, url, pp. 4, 15-20
860 Clark, K., War in Afghanistan in 2020: Just as Much Violence, but No One Wants to Talk about It, AAN, 16 August 2020,

url
861 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 January 2021, url, pp. 83, 85; UNAMA, Afghanistan –Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, pp. 18-19, 43-44; USDOD, Enhancing
Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2020, 23 April 2021, url, pp. 9-10
862 Clark, K., War in Afghanistan in 2020: Just as Much Violence, but No One Wants to Talk about It, AAN, 16 August 2020,
url
863 Ruttig, T., A Deal in the Mist: How Much of the US-Taleban Doha Agreement Has Been Implemented?, AAN, 25 February
2021, url; Guardian (The), Afghans Dread the ‘Danger Hours’ as Fragile Gains of 20 Years Slip Away, 7 March 2021, url
864 Watkins, A., [Twitter], posted on: 21 January 2021, url
865 New York Times (The), Targeted Killings Are Terrorizing Afghans. And No One Is Claiming Them, 2 January 2021, url;
New Yorker (The), Last Exit from Afghanistan, 1 March 2021, url; Guardian (The), Afghans Dread the ‘Danger Hours’ as
Fragile Gains of 20 Years Slip Away, 7 March 2021, url
866 Foschini, F., Kabul and the Challenge of Dwindling Foreign Aid, USIP, 10 April 2017, url, p. 56; Osman, B., A Black Week
in Kabul (2): Who Are the Most Likely Perpetrators?, AAN, 7 June 2017, url
867 RFE/RL, New Security Plan In Kabul After Deadly Attacks, 7 February 2018, url
868 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2018, 3 July 2018, url, pp. 1, 15, 43, 46-47
869 EFE, Kabul Implements New Security Plan Following Repeated Assaults on City, 18 February 2018, url; Safer Edge, Safer
Edge Insights: New Security Measures in Kabul, 20 February 2018, url; USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in
Afghanistan - December 2018, 20 December 2018, url, p. 36; Washington Post (The), A Photo Tour of Kabul Shows How 20
Years of U.S. Military Presence Reshaped Afghanistan’s Capital, 25 March 2021, url
870 Frontier Post (The), Kabul’s New Security Plan Irks Residents, 23 February 2018, url; Tolonews, WAK Residents Bear The
Brunt Of Tightened Security, 5 March 2018, url; Washington Post (The), A Photo Tour of Kabul Shows How 20 Years of U.S.
Military Presence Reshaped Afghanistan’s Capital, 25 March 2021, url
871 Reuters, Kabul's Expanding Foreigner 'Bubble' Trades Safety for Isolation, 19 March 2019, url; New York Times (The),
After Bombing, Afghans Demand That Foreigners Leave Their Neighbourhood, 4 September 2019, url; Washington Post
(The), A Photo Tour of Kabul Shows How 20 Years of U.S. Military Presence Reshaped Afghanistan’s Capital, 25 March
2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

mid-2020, the implementation of a new security plan for Kabul City was ordered by President
Ghani.872 This ‘Security Charter’ has reportedly been implemented in the second half of 2020 andfurther in 2021, with Vice President Amrullah Saleh taking charge of security in the capital. An
increased police presence has been reported, by handing over responsibility for checkpoints
surrounding Kabul to the army.873
In terms of the presence of government security forces, ANP forces have maintained responsibility
for security within the city, with the special Crisis Response Unit (CRU) 222 and Commando Force
333 providing crisis response and high-risk arrest support in Kabul.874 The capital has its own
independent 111th ANA Division.875 ANDSF forces have begun a concerted effort to dismantle AGE
groups active in and around the Kabul metropolitan area,876 with a new Command of the Joint
Forces established in June 2020.877 Examples of such military operations in 2020 and 2021 included:
the arrest of nine ISKP sympathisers providing financial support to the insurgence group, in February
2020;878 several raids on ISKP and Haqqani hideouts in May 2020, resulting in the arrest of threeprominent ISKP figures and the killing of several other militants;879 the arrest of two ISKP-affiliates,
allegedly planning attacks on a hospital and media outlet in the city, in July 2020;880 the arrest of aprominent ISKP-leader, reportedly responsible for several attacks and the assassination of two
religious scholars, in September 2020;881 the arrest of the Taliban’s shadow governor for Kabul inJanuary 2021;882 and the dismantling of two joint ISKP-Haqqani Network cells, reportedly responsible
for targeted killings in the capital, in February 2021.883
Security concerns in Kabul are not limited to AGE attacks alone, but include a rise in criminality, as
documented by several sources in 2020 and 2021.884 This is reportedly related to growing
unemployment,885 combined with the increasing influence of heavily armed and politicallyconnected criminal networks, as well as the impact of changing patterns in the social behaviour of
Kabul’s youth.886 AAN analyst Fabrizio Foschini differentiates between targeted killings disguised as
872 Tolonews, [Twitter], posted on: 30 June 2020, url
873 Al Jazeera, At least Four Killed, Many Wounded in Afghanistan Attacks, 28 December 2020, url; UN Security Council, The

Situation in Afghanistan and Its Implications for International Peace and Security, Report of the Secretary-General,
A/75/811–S/2021/252, 12 March 2021, url, p. 5
874 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2020, 23 April 2021, url, p. 60
875 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, 1 July 2020, url, pp. 13, 58; USDOD, Enhancing
Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2020, 23 April 2021, url, p. 39
876 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, pp. 18-19; USDOD, Enhancing Security andStability in Afghanistan, June 2020, 1 July 2020, url, p. 1
877 Khaama Press, Command Joint Forces Established to Root Out Terror Cells, Criminal Gangs in Kabul, 4 June 2020, url
878 Khaama Press, NDS Forces Arrest 9 ISIS Sympathisers from a Landmark Mall in Kabul City, 12 February 2020, url
879 BBC News, IS Regional Leader Sheikh Khorasani 'Arrested in Afghanistan', 11 May 2020, url; Tolonews, 'Key' Daesh
Leaders Arrested in Kabul: NDS, 11 May 2020, url
880 Tolonews, NDS Prevents Attacks Targeting Media Outlet, Hospital in Kabul, 7 July 2020, url
881 Tolonews, NDS Arrests Daesh Leader Who 'Planned Killings of Kabul Imams', 10 September 2020, url
882 Bakhtar News, Prominent Taliban Member Arrested in Kabul, 31 January 2021, url
883 Reporterly, NDS Arrested Members of Haqqani-IS-K Joint Terror Cell in Kabul, 9 February 2021, url; Reporterly, NDS
Busts Haqqani-IS-K Network Cell in Kabul, 21 February 2021, url
884 Foschini, F., Kabul’s Expanding Crime Scene (Part 1): The Roots of Today’s Underworld, AAN, 11 February 2020, url; UN
Security Council, The Situation in Afghanistan and Its Implications for International Peace and Security, Report of theSecretary General, 18 August 2020, url, p. 5; RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghan Vice President Takes Charge of Capital Amid Rise in
Crime, 17 October 2020, url; New York Times (The), String of Attacks Have People in Kabul Pointing a Finger, at theGovernment, 7 November 2020, updated 12 November 2020, url; Al Jazeera, A Day on the Job with Kabul’s Crime Scene
Investigators, 1 February 2021, url; AP, Crime, Conflict, Chaos Crushing Afghan Hopes for Tomorrow, 4 February 2021, url;
New York Times (The), In Kabul’s Streets, Dogs Rule the Night, 21 March 2021, updated 22 March 2021, url
885 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghan Vice President Takes Charge of Capital Amid Rise in Crime, 17 October 2020, url; Al Jazeera, A
Day on the Job with Kabul’s Crime Scene Investigators, 1 February 2021, url; New York Times (The), In Kabul’s Streets, Dogs
Rule the Night, 21 March 2021, updated 22 March 2021, url
886 Foschini, F., Kabul’s Expanding Crime Scene (Part 1): The Roots of Today’s Underworld, AAN, 11 February 2020, url

90Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

criminally-motivated attacks and common criminality in the city:887 home raids and personally-driven
murders,888 organised petty crime on public transport, violent theft, burglaries889 and armed
robberies,890 car-jackings, narco-trafficking and drug-related crimes891 in several city areas andkidnappings892 by organised criminal gangs.893 According to UNAMA, continued abductions by armed
groups/elements and criminal gangs in large cities such as Kabul are often under-reported, indicating
it regularly received notice of such events in 2020, including incidents targeting NGO workers andUN staff members.894 Children as well as adults have reportedly been kidnapped from the streets forransoms ranging from USD 50 to USD 5 000.895 Several sources documented difficulties faced by
ANDSF forces in responding to Kabul’s rapidly expanding crime scene,896 with reports of bribery andsecurity officers involved in crime themselves.897 According to Foschini, there is ‘a modus vivendi
between the police and criminals’ in many city neighbourhoods, with powerful and deeply-rooted(political) interests often resulting in impunity.898 Mid-July 2020, the ‘Mobilizing the People in theFight against Crime’ program was launched by the Afghan government as part of the new Security
Charter for Kabul, intensifying operations against criminal gangs and armed robbers in the capitalregion.899 The continuation of this program was reported in 2021,900 including measures such as:street-to-street intelligence coverage, registering undocumented vehicles, tracking down landgrabbers, documenting thieves (with pictures of people accused of crimes posted across Kabul)901
and digitalizing information, preventing the transfer of drugs inside schools and demolishing illegal

887 Foschini, F., Kabul’s Expanding Crime Scene (Part 1): The Roots of Today’s Underworld, AAN, 11 February 2020, url
888 Tolonews, 4 Members of One Family Killed in Kabul, 19 January 2020, url
889 UN Security Council, The Situation in Afghanistan and Its Implications for International Peace and Security, Report of theSecretary-General, 18 August 2020, url, p. 5
890 Tolonews, University Professor Wounded as Armed Robbery Increases in Kabul, 8 January 2020, url; Khaama Press, KP
Reporter Traumatized after Being Robbed at Gunpoint close to Kabul Police Station, 24 March 2020, url; Tolonews, Crime
Remains High in Kabul City, Ex-Police Official Killed, 21 October 2020, url; Tolonews, Armed Robberies Persist, Kabul
Residents Demand Action, 5 January 2021, url; AP, Crime, Conflict, Chaos Crushing Afghan Hopes for Tomorrow, 4 February
2021, url; Tolonews, 4 People Killed, 4 Wounded by Violent Crime in Kabul Since Sunday, 15 February 2021, url
891 Tolonews, Interior Ministry Pledges Crackdown on Drug Dealers, 7 February 2020, url; Tolonews, Crime Remains High in
Kabul City, Ex-Police Official Killed, 21 October 2020, url
892 Pajhwok Afghan News, Girl Rescued, 2 Suspected Abductors Held in Kabul, 14 June 2020, url; UN Security Council, The
Situation in Afghanistan and Its Implications for International Peace and Security, Report of the Secretary-General, 18
August 2020, url, p. 5; AP, Crime, Conflict, Chaos Crushing Afghan Hopes for Tomorrow, 4 February 2021, url
893 Foschini, F., Kabul Unpacked - A Geographical Guide to a Metropolis in the Making, AAN, 19 March 2019, url, pp. 1, 513, 15-16, 19-20, 22, 26; Foschini, F., Kabul’s Expanding Crime Scene (Part 2): Criminal Activities and the Police Response,
AAN, 21 February 2020, url
894 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 58
895 AP, Crime, Conflict, Chaos Crushing Afghan Hopes for Tomorrow, 4 February 2021, url
896 New York Times (The), They Fight Suicide Bombers. But Can Afghan Police Fight Crime?, 8 February 2020, url; Foschini,F., Kabul’s Expanding Crime Scene (Part 2): Criminal Activities and the Police Response, AAN, 21 February 2020, url;
Tolonews, Armed Robberies Persist, Kabul Residents Demand Action, 5 January 2021, url; Tolonews, Kabul: Calls for
Security Mount as Violence Continues, 19 January 2021, url
897 Al Jazeera, A Day on the Job with Kabul’s Crime Scene Investigators, 1 February 2021, url; AP, Analysis: NATO Faces
Conundrum as It Mulls Afghan Pullout, 16 February 2021, url
898 Foschini, F., Kabul’s Expanding Crime Scene (Part 2): Criminal Activities and the Police Response, AAN, 21 February
2020, url
899 Tolonews, Police Target Paghman Gang Accused of Robbing Kabul Residents, 17 July 2020, url
900 UN Security Council, The Situation in Afghanistan and Its Implications for International Peace and Security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/75/811–S/2021/252, 12 March 2021, url, p. 5
901 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghan Vice President Takes Charge of Capital Amid Rise in Crime, 17 October 2020, url; New YorkTimes (The), String of Attacks Have People in Kabul Pointing a Finger, at the Government, 7 November 2020, updated 12
November 2020, url

91

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situationbuildings.902 Additionally, hundreds of surveillance cameras would reportedly be installed acrossKabul to tackle street crime.903

2.1.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
GeneralIn the first three quarters of 2020, few high-profile attacks were reported in Kabul City.904 In the lastquarter of 2020, SIGAR reported on a ‘much higher’ number of enemy-initiated attacks in Kabul,
compared to the same quarter in 2019.905 Documenting the last quarter of 2020 and the first quarterof 2021, the UN Secretary-General reported on continued countrywide high-profile attacks by AGEs,
especially in the city of Kabul, in combination with a pattern of increased unclaimed targetedassassinations.906
In October 2020, AAN reported on ‘a carefully calibrated campaign of violence using magnetic IEDs,
suicide bombers and small teams of gunmen in Kabul’.907 Contrasted to previous years, when ‘deaths
were mainly caused by the proximity of individuals to mass casualty attacks by organised armed
groups, mainly ISKP’, as cited by analyst Kate Clark,908 the most recent wave of civilian casualties
shows the ‘intentional, premeditated and deliberate targeting of individuals with perpetrators
remaining anonymous’, as reported by UNAMA.909 Since all parties to the conflict have beenreporting their attacks much more sparingly after the signing of the Doha Agreement in February
2020, a concentration of unattributed insurgent attacks has been ballooning in urban areas.910
Throughout 2020, UNAMA documented an increase in civilian casualties in incidents attributed to‘undetermined anti-government elements’. The majority of these incidents were suicide and nonsuicide IEDs, including incidents causing high numbers of civilian casualties in provincial capitals,
followed by targeted killings. Several of such incidents were documented in Kabul City in 2020 (seebelow).911
UNAMA expressed its concern on the continuing trend of AGE attacks deliberately targeting civilians
in 2020, including attacks on members of the judiciary, healthcare workers and facilities, educationrelated personnel and facilities as well as civilians at educational institutions, aid workers, humanrights defenders and civil society activists, journalists and civilians working for the civilian
government administration. Assassinations, suicide and non-suicide IEDs, abductions andpunishments under the guise of enforcing decisions of their parallel justice structures were reported
as the main tactics of AGEs in targeting civilians. Several of such incidents were documented in Kabul
City in 2020 (see below).912 Additionally, civilian family members of ANDSF forces were often killed

902 Tolonews, Crime Remains High in Kabul City, Ex-Police Official Killed, 21 October 2020, url
903 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghan Vice President Takes Charge of Capital Amid Rise in Crime, 17 October 2020, url; Reuters,

Kabul to Install Surveillance Cameras to Combat Crime, 6 January 2021, url; Tolonews, Kabul to be Covered by Security
Cameras: Saleh, 6 January 2021 (edited 7 January 2021, url
904 USDOD, Lead Inspector General for Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, Report to the United States Congress, 1 April - 30
June 2020, 18 August 2020, url, p. 14; USDOD, Lead Inspector General for Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, Report to theUnited States Congress, 1 July - 30 September 2020, 17 November 2020, url, pp. 14-15
905 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 January 2021, url, pp. 23, 50-51
906 UN Security Council, The Situation in Afghanistan and Its Implications for International Peace and Security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/75/811–S/2021/25212 March 2021, url, p. 5
907 Quilty, A., Taleban Opportunism and ANSF Frustration: How the Afghan Conflict Has Changed since the Doha
Agreement, AAN, 12 October 2020, url
908 Clark, K., [Twitter], posted on: 15 February 2021, url
909 UNAMA, Killing of Human Rights Defenders and Media Professionals in Afghanistan, 15 February 2021, url
910 Clark, K., Behind the Statistics: Drop in Civilian Casualties Masks Increased Taleban Violence, 27 October 2020, url
911 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, pp. 18-19,
43-44, 56-57
912 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, pp. 14, 1819, 53, 54-55

92

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situationas collateral damage in attacks targeting on- and off-duty police and army personnel in the capital.913
In the first quarter of 2021, UNAMA expressed its continued concern about the deliberate targetingof civilians by AGEs, particularly through targeted killings and including a trend of targeting of
women.914
Although UNAMA reported a countrywide decrease in the number of civilian casualties attributed to
ISKP for the second year in row, the vast majority of casualties caused by ISKP in 2020 resulted frommass-casualty attacks and mass-shootings in the cities of Kabul and Jalalabad. The use of small arms
fire inside buildings and during open-air gatherings, suicide and non-suicide IEDs and groundengagements (e.g. the firing of rockets into Kabul City) were reported as ISKP tactics causing mostcivilian casualties. UNAMA expressed its concern that more than 80 % of civilian casualties
attributed to ISKP were caused by attacks deliberately targeting civilians, such as civilians at
educational facilities and civilians belonging to religious minority populations such as Shi’a Muslims
and Sikhs, with several examples of such attacks recorded in Kabul City (see below).915
ACLED collected data on 211 violent events in Kabul district916 from 1 January 2020 to
28 February 2021 from reports in open sources, of which 52 were coded as ‘battles’, 120 as‘explosions/remote violence’ and 39 as ‘violence against civilians’.917

Figure 3: Kabul district - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data918

Over 50 % of all recorded security incidents in Kabul district were coded as ‘remote explosives,
landmines and IEDs’ by ACLED, representing the most prevalent incident type in Kabul during thereporting period.919 The majority of these incidents were caused by unidentified armed groups,

913 Clark, K., Civilian Casualties Worsened as Intra-Afghan Talks Began, Says UNAMA’s 2020 Report on the Protection of

Civilians, AAN, 23 February 2021, url
914 UNAMA, Afghanistan Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict - First Quarter Update: 1 January to 31 March 2021, 14
April 2021, url, p. 3
915 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, pp. 18, 24,
43, 54-56, 74, 103
916 ACLED does not differentiate between Kabul City and Kabul district.
917 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kabul District, update 25 March 2021,
url
918 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kabul District, update 25
March 2021, url; incidents for which ACLED has no information about the location, were not included in this graph(geoprecision code 3 - see introduction)
919 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kabul District, update 25
March 2021, url

93Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

targeting ANDSF forces (police,920 military921 and NDS922) as well as government
officials923/employees,924 journalists/media workers,925 religious leaders/scholars,926 human rights
defenders/activists,927 judicial personnel,928 foreign diplomatic personnel,929 health workers,930
educational personnel931 and religious minority members.932 Many of these incidents caused several
casualties among civilians in the Afghan capital,933 with most casualties reported on 9 September
2020 in a car bomb explosion targeting the convoy of Vice President Amrullah Saleh in the area of

920 Khaama Press, Back to Back Explosions Rock Kabul City, 12 April 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Wounded in Kabul

Magnetic Bomb Explosion, 4 July 2020, url; Khaama Press, Explosion in Kabul City Leaves at least 3 Dead, Wounded, 28 July
2020, url; Khaama Press, Kabul Magnetic Bombs Rattle the City, 22 August 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War
Casualty Report: November 2020, 5 November 2020, updated 26 November 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War
Casualty Report: December 2020, 10 December 2020, updated 31 December 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, No
Casualties as Bomb Blast Hits Police Vehicle, 12 January 2021, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report:
February 2021, 4 February 2021, updated 25 February 2021, url
921 Pajhwok Afghan News, 4 Injured in Kabul Magnetic Bomb Explosion, 11 July 2020, url; Tolonews, Kabul Attacks: 3
Security Force Members Killed in Past 24 Hours, 13 October 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report:
October 2020, 8 October 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Security Personnel Injured in Kabul
Explosion, 3 November 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2021, 7 January 2021,
updated 28 January 2021, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 4 February 2021,
updated 25 February 2021, url
922 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: April 2020, 2 April 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; New YorkTimes (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: December 2020, 10 December 2020, updated 31 December 2020, url
923 Pajhwok Afghan News, Education Ministry Official Killed in Kabul Blast, 19 August 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, AIC
Official’s Driver Killed in Kabul Explosion, 4 October 2020, url; Reuters, Bomb Blast Kills Deputy Governor of Afghanistan's
Capital, 15 December 2020, url; Tolonews, Govt Official's Vehicle Hit by Magnetic Bomb in Kabul, 18 January 2021, url;
Heart of Asia, Blast Hits Vehicle of State Ministry for Peace Affairs Official, 1 February 2021, url; Tolonews, 3 Blasts Hit
Kabul, 2 Bodies Found in Deh Sabz, 7 February 2021, url; Tolonews, 2 Wounded in Blast Targeting Govt Official in Kabul, 8
February 2021, url; UNAMA, Afghanistan Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict - First Quarter Update: 1 January to 31
March 2021, 14 April 2021, url, p. 4
924 Khaama Press, Second Explosion Close to Electricity Pylon in Kabul leaves 4 Wounded, 4 May 2020, url; Tolonews, Blast
Targets Govt Employees’ Bus in Kabul, 28 December 2020, url; RFE/RL/Gandhara, Employee of Afghan President's Office‘Critically Wounded,’ Driver Killed in Bomb Blast, 31 December 2020, url; Tolonews, Public Protection Force Spokesman
Killed in Kabul IED Blast, 10 January 2021, url
925 Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Media Workers Killed, Several Injured in Kabul Blast, 30 May 2020, url; Khaama Press,
Renowned Journalist Killed in a ‘Magnetic IED’ Blast: Kabul, 7 November 2020, url; RFE/RL/Gandhara, Former TV News
Presenter Killed in Kabul Car Bombing, 7 November 2020, url
926 Pajhwok Afghan News, Prominent Cleric Killed in Kabul Mosque Bombing, 2 June 2020, url; Tolonews, Four Killed in
Mosque Blast in Western Kabul, Including Imam, 12 June 2020, updated 13 June 2020, url
927 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: June 2020, 4 June 2020, updated 25 June 2020, url; Tolonews, Two
Human Rights Workers Killed in Kabul, 27 June 2020, updated 28 June 2020, url
928 Pajhwok Afghan News, Sticky Bomb Blast Leaves 4 Injured in Kabul, 13 July 2020, url
929 Pajhwok Afghan News, Russian Embassy Staffers Hurt in Kabul IED Blast, 2 December 2020, url; DW, Afghanistan: Italian
Embassy Vehicle Targeted in Kabul, 25 January 2021, url
930 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: December 2020, updated 31 December 2020, url; VOA, Doctors
Killed in Afghanistan Explosion, 22 December 2020, url
931 Pajhwok Afghan News, University Teacher Killed in Kabul Explosion, 18 February 2021, url
932 RFE/RL, Blast Rocks Funeral Services for Sikhs Killed in Kabul Attack, 26 March 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, 3Including a Hindu Killed in Kabul Explosions, 6 February 2021, url
933 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2020, 6 February 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url;
Pajhwok Afghan News, 4 Injured as Magnetic Bomb Blast Rocks Kabul, 30 March 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, 2
Civilians Killed as Bomb Explosion Rocks Kabul, 11 June 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report:
August 2020, 6 August 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Kabul Blast Leaves 3 Dead, 10
Wounded, 27 October 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 5 November 2020,
updated 26 November 2020, url; Tolonews, 2 Killed, 2 Wounded in Kabul Magnetic IED Blast, 13 December 2020, url; NewYork Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 4 February 2021, updated 25 February 2021, url

94Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Taimani, killing 10 civilians and injuring 15-31 more (including the Vice President).934 Some of the IED
incidents in Kabul were attributed to the Taliban935 or ISKP.936
ACLED recorded around 25 % of the violent incidents in Kabul district as ‘battles’, all of which werecoded as ‘armed clashes’.937 The three largest ‘armed clashes’ causing most civilian casualties were:an ISKP-claimed assault targeting a ceremony commemorating the death of an ethnic Hazara leader
in the Dasht-e Barchi area in on 6 March 2020, resulting in 33 civilians killed and 79 injured;938 an
ISKP-claimed gunmen attack on a Sikh temple and housing complex in the Shorbazaar area on 25
March 2020, taking 80 people hostage, killing 26 civilians and injuring 11 more in an hours’ longsiege;939 and an unclaimed attack targeting the maternity ward of an MSF hospital as well in the
Dasht-e Barchi neighbourhood on 12 May 2020, killing 23 civilians and injuring another 23, including
mothers who had just given birth, new-born infants and health care personnel.940 Other examples ofthese ‘armed clashes’ were attacks/ambushes by the Taliban or unidentified armed groups on the
Afghan security forces, including military,941 police942 and NDS personnel943 as well as members of
pro-government militias or so-called arbakis944.945 These incidents resulted in several casualties
among the ANDSF forces. Some clashes between ANDSF forces and the insurgency in Kabul City
resulted in casualties among Taliban militants.946

934 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url;

VOA, Afghan Vice President Survives Deadly Blast, 9 September 2020, url; Reuters, Roadside Bomb Attack Misses AfghanVice President, but Kills 10, 9 September 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, 10 Killed, 15 Injured in Attack on VP’s Convoy, 9September 2020, url; DW, Kabul Bomb Attack Targets Afghanistan's VP Saleh, Kills 10 Civilians, 9 September 2020, url
935 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Roadside Bomb Kills Three in Kabul, Including Afghan Security Spokesman, 10 January 2021, url
936 Al Jazeera, Journalist Killed in Kabul Bomb Blast Targeting TV Workers, 31 May 2020, url; Al Jazeera, Afghanistan: Two
Killed in Bomb Attack inside Kabul Mosque, 2 June 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report:
December 2020, 10 December 2020, updated 31 December 2020, url
937 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kabul District, update 25
March 2021, url
938 Civilian casualty data according to UNAMA. RFE/RL, Dozens Killed in Kabul Attack Claimed by Islamic State, 6 March
2020, url; Al Jazeera, Dozens Killed in Kabul Ceremony Attack Claimed by ISIL, 6 March 2020, url; UNAMA, Afghanistan –Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, pp. 55-56
939 Civilian casualty data according to UNAMA. Al Jazeera, Gunmen Storm Sikh Religious Complex in Kabul, Many Feared
Trapped, 25 March 2020, url; New York Times (The), Terror Attack Strikes Afghan Capital as Another City Is Locked Down
for Coronavirus, 25 March 2020, url; UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020,
23 February 2021, url, pp. 55-56
940 Civilian casualty data according to UNAMA. New York Times (The), From Maternity Ward to Cemetery, a Morning ofMurder in Afghanistan, 12 May 2020, url; BBC News, Afghan Attack: Maternity Ward Death Toll Climbs to 24, 13 May 2020,
url; UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 14
941 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: March 2020, 5 March 2020, updated 26 March 2020, url; Pajhwok
Afghan News, 1 ANA Soldier Shot Dead, Another Wounded in Kabul, 17 May 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War
Casualty Report: November 2020, 5 November 2020, updated 26 November 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Military
Officer Gunned down in Kabul, 8 November 2020, url; Tolonews, Four Security Force Members Killed in Attacks in Kabul:
Police, 11 November 2020, url; Tolonews, Afghan Forces Pilot, Security Officer Killed in Kabul, 7 January 2021, url; NewYork Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2021, 7 January 2021, updated 28 January 2021, url
942 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: April 2020, 2 April 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; Tolonews,
Gunmen Kill Policeman, Wound 2 More in Kabul, 22 June 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report:
September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url; Xinhua, Senior Police Officer Gunned down in Afghan
Capital, 5 September 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 5 November 2020,
updated 26 November 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: December 2020, 10 December 2020
updated 31 December 2020, url; Tolonews, Police Attacked by Gunmen in Bagrami, Kabul, 1 Dead, 15 December 2020, url;
New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2021, 7 January 2021, updated 28 January 2021, url
943 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url;
New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2021, 7 January 2021, updated 28 January 2021, url; New YorkTimes (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 4 February 2021, updated 25 February 2021, url
944 For more information on arbaki: see section 1.2.1 Pro-government forces.
945 According to Taliban reporting. EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files,
Afghanistan - Kabul District, update 25 March 2021, url
946 AA, Key Pakistani Taliban Leader Killed in Afghanistan, 7 February 2020, url; Khaama Press, 1 Killed, 3 Wounded during a
Clash in Kabul City, 28 April 2020, url

95

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Four incidents were registered as ‘suicide bombs’ in Kabul district by ACLED, in three of theseincidents civilian casualties were reported.947 In February 2020, two civilians were killed and eight
more injured (alongside several ANA casualties) by an unidentified suicide bomber in the Charah-e
Qambar area of PD 5. Government officials blamed the Taliban for the attack.948 On 24 October
2020, 40 civilians were killed and 79 injured, mainly students, in a suicide attack targeting the Kosar
Danish educational centre in the Hazara-populated neighbourhood of Dasht-e Barchi. ISKP claimed
responsibility for the attack.949 On 20 December 2020, at least nine civilians (including security
guards) were killed and 52 wounded in a suicide car bomb targeting the convoy of member ofparliament Khan Mohammad Wardak (who was also wounded) in the Spin Kalay area of PD 5. There
was no claim of responsibility for the attack.950
Around 3 % of the violent incidents in Kabul district were coded as ‘shelling, artillery and missile
attacks’ by ACLED.951 In March 2020, several ISKP-claimed missiles hit the site where President
Ashraf Ghani took the oath of office as president.952 Information on civilian casualties reported
during this incident was not found among the sources consulted. In August 2020,953 November
2020,954 and December 2020,955 dozens of rockets were fired by ISKP on several residential areas in
Kabul City. In these incidents, 14 civilians were reportedly killed and dozens injured.956
ACLED categorised around 18 % of all reported violent incidents in Kabul district as ‘violence against
civilians’.957 The majority of these incidents were attacks by unidentified armed groups on
government officials/employees,958 civil society members such as religious scholars,959 imams/prayer

947 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kabul District, update 25

March 2021, url
948 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2020, 6 February 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
949 Civilian casualty data according to UNAMA. New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2020, 8
October 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; New York Times (The), Deadly Explosion Hits Kabul Tutoring Center, 24
October 2020, updated 27 October 2020, url; BBC News, Afghan Bombing: Kabul Education Centre Attack Kills at least 24,
25 October 2020, url; UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February
2021, url, pp. 54-55
950 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: December 2020, 10 December 2020, updated 31 December 2020,
url; RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghan Lawmaker Survives Deadly Car Bombing in Kabul, 20 December 2020, url; Tolonews, Death
Toll of Kabul’s Attack on MP Rises to 10, 21 December 2020, url
951 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kabul District, update 25
March 2021, url
952 New York Times (The), Ghani Takes the Oath of Afghan President. His Rival Does, Too, 9 March 2020, url; Pajhwok
Afghan News, Rockets Fired at Presidential Palace during Ghani Speech, 9 March 2020, url
953 Al Jazeera, Rockets Hit near Main Diplomatic District in Kabul: Official, 18 August 2020, url; Tolonews, 3 Killed, 16
Wounded in Kabul Rocket Attacks, 19 August 2020, url
954 DW, Afghanistan: Several Dead as Barrage of Rockets Hits Kabul, 21 November 2020, url; VOA, Islamic State Claims
Deadly Kabul Rocket Attack, 22 November 2020, url
955 Tolonews, Rockets Landed in Various Parts of Kabul; 1 Killed, 12 December 2020, url; Al Jazeera, One Killed as Multiple
Rockets Hit Afghan Capital, 12 December 2020, url
956 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: August 2020, 6 August 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; NewYork Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 5 November 2020, updated 26 November 2020, url; NewYork Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: December 2020, 10 December 2020, updated 31 December 2020, url
957 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kabul District, update 25
March 2021, url
958 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Pompeo Condemns Attack on Afghan 'Woman of Courage' Award Recipient, 25 March 2020, url;
Pajhwok Afghan News, Atmar’s Secretary Shot Injured in Kabul, 15 May 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, MoD Official Shot
Dead along with Guard in Kabul, 22 August 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Uruzgan Lawmaker Survives Gun Attack in
Kabul, 20 September 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Mayor Ghafari Survives Another Attempt on Her Life, 3 October
2020, url; Khaama Press, 2 Gov’t Employees Shot Dead in Kabul, 4 October 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War
Casualty Report: February 2021, 4 February 2021, updated 25 February 2021, url; Tolonews, Four Govt Employees Killed in
Kabul, 9 February 2021, url
959 Pajhwok Afghan News, Religious Scholar Shot Dead in Kabul, 21 March 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Religious
Scholar, Former Cop Killed in Kabul, 10 December 2020, url

96Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

leaders,960 judicial personnel (lawyers,961 prosecutors,962 judges963 and a court official964), (civilsociety) activists,965 health workers966 and former or off-duty security personnel.967 The largest attack
coded by ACLED in this category and causing most civilian casualties happened on 2 November 2020,
when gunmen stormed Kabul University firing on students and teachers and holding several
students hostage for hours. A joint operation by the Afghan and US military forces ended theassault, that resulted in the killing of at least 32 civilians and the injuring of dozens more. Although
ISKP claimed responsibility for the attack, Afghan government officials blamed the Taliban.968 MidNovember 2020, ANDSF forces reportedly detained the ‘mastermind’ behind the attack, allegedly aformer university student before being recruited by the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani Network.969
According to UNAMA, the deliberate targeting of civil society leaders, human rights defenders andjournalists in many locations across the country (including Kabul City), and the absence of claims of
responsibility by perpetrators, has generated a climate of fear among the civilian population.970 A
variety of sources in 2020 and 2021 referred to an atmosphere of constant fear gripping Kabul andits residents, caused by a wave of unclaimed ‘sticky bomb’ attacks and targeted assassinations by
unknown gunmen.971 Some of the capital’s residents have reportedly developed different coping
strategies in an attempt to avoid the daily pattern of attacks, like changing routines/routes,972
avoiding commuting during morning rush hour, when most incidents occur,973 spending weeknights

960 Pajhwok Afghan News, Prayer Leader Gunned Down in Kabul, Say Police, 10 May 2020, url
961 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: December 2020, 10 December 2020, updated 31 December 2020,

url
962 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 5 November 2020, updated 26 November 2020,

url; Khaama Press, Gov’t Prosecutor Murdered in Kabul, 6 December 2020, url; Khaama Press, Local Prosecutor Shot Deadin Kabul, 13 December 2020, url; Tolonews, Prosecutor Killed by Unknown Gunmen in Kabul, 13 December 2020, url
963 DW, Afghanistan: Gunmen Shoot Dead Two Female Judges, 17 January 2021, url; Reuters, Gunmen Kill Two Female
Supreme Court Judges in Afghanistan: Police, 17 January 2021, url; UNAMA, Afghanistan Protection of Civilians in Armed
Conflict - First Quarter Update: 1 January to 31 March 2021, 14 April 2021, url, p. 3
964 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: December 2020, 10 December 2020, updated 31 December 2020,
url
965 RFE/RL/Gandhara, UN Expresses Alarm after Head of Afghan Election-Monitoring Group Killed, 23 December 2020, url;
Tolonews, Yousuf Rasheed, FEFA Head and Activist, Killed by Gunmen, 23 December 2020, edited 24 December 2020, url;
Khaama Press, Two Separate Attacks Claim Civil Society Activist, Tribal Leader, 1 January 2021, url; Tolonews, Baghlan Civil
Society Activist Killed in Kabul: Police, 1 January 2021, edited 2 January 2021, url
966 Tolonews, Tolonews 10pm News 19 January 2021, 20 January 2021, url
967 Khaama Press, Former Kabul Police Chief Injured by Unknown Gunmen, 2 February 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News,
Former Police Official Gunned Down in Kabul, 21 October 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report:
November 2020, 5 November 2020, updated 26 November 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Religious Scholar, Former Cop
Killed in Kabul, 10 December 2020, url; Tolonews, Afghan Forces Pilot, Security Officer Killed in Kabul, 7 January 2021, url
968 New York Times (The), Gunmen Storm Kabul University, Killing at Least 19, 2 November 2020, updated 21 November
2020, url; BBC News, Kabul University: 22 Dead, More Wounded as Gunmen Storm Campus, 2 November 2020, url;
Reuters, Gunmen Storm Kabul University, Killing 22, in Second Deadly Attack on Students in Just over a Week, 2 November
2020, url
969 DW, Afghanistan: 'Mastermind' behind Kabul University Attack Arrested, 14 November 2020, url; RFE/RL/Gandhara,
Afghan Forces Report Capture of 'Mastermind' behind Deadly Attack on Kabul University, 14 November 2020, url; Al
Jazeera, Afghan Forces Capture ‘Mastermind’ of Kabul University Attack, 14 November 2020, url
970 UNAMA, Special Report: Killing of Human Rights Defenders, Journalists and Media Workers in Afghanistan 2018-2021,
February 2021, url, pp. 3, 4, 9, 10, 15, 25
971 Guardian (The), ‘We Live in Constant Fear’: Kabul Buries Its Dead after Isis Attack on University, 4 November 2020, url;
RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghanistan Hit by Surge of Targeted Killings, Assassinations, 13 November 2020, url; New York Times(The), ‘Sticky Bombs’ Sow Terror and Chaos in a City on Edge, 16 December 2020, url; Reuters, 'The fear is Intense': Afghan'Sticky Bombs', Used by Taliban, On the Rise, 17 December 2020, url; VOA, Sticky Bomb Attacks Send Wave of Fear ThroughKabul, 24 December 2020, url; New York Times (The), ‘There Is No Safe Area’: In Kabul, Fear Has Taken Over, 17 January
2021, url; Al Jazeera, ‘Where is the security?’: Brother of Slain Afghan Woman Judge, 19 January 2021, url
972 New York Times (The), ‘There Is No Safe Area’: In Kabul, Fear Has Taken Over, 17 January 2021, url
973 Al Jazeera, Gov’t Employees, Police Officers among 8 Killed in Afghanistan, 9 February 2021, url; Al Jazeera, Two More
Killed as Afghan Capital Reels under Near-Daily Violence, 10 February 2021, url

97Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

at the office,974 or preferring to stay home.975 The surge of violence and targeted killings in Kabul has
reportedly fuelled a growing discontent with an Afghan government unable to protect its citizens,976
causing a public outcry for better security in the capital.977 Mid-February 2021, a protest of hundredsof city residents was reported in front of the Lower House of Parliament, accusing the Afghan
government of neglect in addressing the spike of unclaimed killings and calling for a thoroughinvestigation.978 Many young and educated middle-class urbanites, who have the possibility to leave,
reportedly flee the wave of violence, causing the fear for a brain drain out of the Afghan capital.979

Displacement
No conflict-induced internal displacement from Kabul district980 was reported by UNOCHA for theperiod 1 January 2020 - 28 February 2021. During the same period UNOCHA collected data on 3 652
persons displaced to Kabul district. The IDPs arriving in Kabul district came from a range of different
provinces, such as Badakhshan, Baghlan, Bamyan, Daykundi, Faryab, Ghazni, Kapisa, Kunduz, Logar,
Nangarhar, Samangan, Takhar and Wardak. The largest groups came from the provinces of Baghlan(959) (mostly from Dahan-e Ghori and Doshi districts, with a peak in the first quarter of 2020),
Wardak (448) (mainly from Saydabad district, with a peak in April 2020, and a smaller number from
Jalrez district) and Ghazni (420) (all from Andar district, with a peak in March 2020). Smaller groupsof IDPs arriving in Kabul district came from the provinces of Logar (315) (all from Baraki Barak andCharkh districts from January to September 2020), Daykundi (301) (mainly from Nili and Gizab/Patoo
districts in January and July 2020), Kunduz (271) (mainly from Chardara district in January-February2020 and from Dasht-e Archi district in October and December 2020 and in February 2021), Kapisa(238) (all from Tagab district in January-February 2020 and July-August 2020), Faryab (210) (all fromDawlatabad district in February 2020) and Bamyan (175) (from Shibar and Sayghan districts inJanuary-February 2020). From the other provinces mentioned above less than 150 displaced persons
found refuge in Kabul district.981
According to a 2012 urban displacement study on Kabul, different categories of IDPs have been
discerned in the city: (1) those fleeing armed conflict and insecurity, (2) returnees who could not
return to their area of origin and live in secondary displacement, (3) those displaced from rural areas
because of natural disasters, localized conflicts or a shortage of work, essential services and food,and (4) migratory groups/nomads such as Kuchis and Jogis residing in the city because conflictdisrupted their migration patterns and livelihood or because of increasing impoverishment.982
According to AAN analyst Foschini, ‘more than half of the residents of Kabul were not born there’.983
The total number of IDPs in Kabul is not known, as movement to and within the city is fluid and974 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 81
975 FP, ‘This is the Darkest Moment’: Afghans Flee a Crumbling Country, 24 February 2021, url
976 New York Times (The), String of Attacks Have People in Kabul Pointing a Finger, at the Government, 7 November 2020,

updated 12 November 2020, url
977 New York Times (The), An Afghan Mayor Expected to Die. Instead, She Lost Her Father, 6 November 2020, updated 12
November 2020, url; New York Times (The), Three Women Working for a News Outlet Are Gunned Down in Afghanistan, 2March 2021, updated 4 March 2021, url
978 Reportedly, Protesters in Kabul: Govt Neglecting in Investigation of Targeted Killings, 18 February 2021, url
979 Npr, 'Our Houses Are Not Safe': Residents Fear Taliban in Afghanistan's Capital, 18 December 2020, url; Telegraph (The),
Afghanistan Faces a Brain Drain as Young and Educated Flee a Wave of Violence, 14 February 2021, url; FP, ‘This is theDarkest Moment’: Afghans Flee a Crumbling Country, 24 February 2021, url; National (The), Afghanistan Faces its Darkest
Hour since 2001 as US Considers Pull-Out, 25 February 2021, updated 3 March 2021, url
980 UNOCHA does not differentiate between Kabul City and Kabul district.
981 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 23 February 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict
Displacement 2021, updated 8 March 2021, url
982 Metcalfe, V. et al., Sanctuary in the City? Urban Displacement and Vulnerability in Kabul, June 2012, url, p. 7
983 Foschini, F., Kabul’s Expanding Crime Scene (Part 1): The Roots of Today’s Underworld, AAN, 11 February 2020, url

98Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

many return regularly to their area of origin during more peaceful periods.984 Based on data from thefirst half of 2020, IOM ranked Kabul district fourth out of the countrywide top 25 districts hosting
most IDPs and returnees.985 As violence has increased in several parts of the country, migration to
Kabul rose by 30 % in 2020, according to UN reporting.986
IDPs in Kabul have often settled in areas at the outskirts of the city, such as Bagrami and PDs 8, 12,
13, 16 and 21,987 mingling with other groups such as the urban poor, economic migrants andreturnees.988 The lack of adequate land and affordable housing in the urban area forced most new
and protracted IDPs in Kabul to reside in tents, mud brick and tarpaulin shelters in one of the around
55 to 60 informal and illegal settlements near the city.989 These are often referred to as ‘Kabul
Informal Settlements’ (KIS), varying in size from dozens to hundreds of dwellings.990 The IDPs arriving
and residing in Kabul have added pressure on the community, basic services and social
infrastructure, with an increasingly limited absorption capacity reported in the city.991 Afghanistan’s
capital has been facing a severe water shortage for some years now, affecting groups like displaced
people.992
With limited job opportunities,993 few or no social protection nets, poor shelter/housing
conditions,994 high land tenure insecurity,995 impeded access to education, healthcare andsanitation,996 as well as the continuous fear of eviction,997 displaced families in the KIS-sites havereportedly been faced with a precarious living situation.998 They have purportedly faced the risk of

984 Metcalfe, V., Haysom, S. and Martin, E., Sanctuary in the City? Urban Displacement and Vulnerability in Kabul, June

2012, url, p. 8; Foschini, F., Kabul Unpacked - A Geographical Guide to a Metropolis in the Making, AAN, 19 March 2019,url, p. 3; Foschini, F., Kabul’s Expanding Crime Scene (Part 1): The Roots of Today’s Underworld, AAN, 11 February 2020, url
985 IOM, DTM Afghanistan, Baseline Mobility Assessment: Summary Results Round 10 Jan-June 2020, 1 October 2020, url,
pp. 1, 6
986 Reuters, Afghans Fleeing Upsurge in Violence Face Cold Welcome in Kabul, 30 November 2020, url
987 Afghanistan – Protection Cluster, Central Region Update, May 2017, 17 June 2017, url, p. 1; EU Humanitarian Aid andCivil Protection & ERM, IDP’s Needs Assessment in Kabul Province, 25 February 2019, url, p. 3
988 Bjelica, J., Afghanistan’s Returning Refugees: Why Are So Many Still Landless?, AAN, 29 March 2016, url
989 NRC and Samuel Hall, Escaping War: Where to Next? A Research Study on the Challenges of IDP Protection in
Afghanistan, January 2018, url, pp. 25, 53; Guardian (The), Pressure Builds in ‘Powderkeg’ Kabul as Refugees Return Home,
15 March 2018, url; NRC and IDMC, Stuck in the Mud: Urban Displacement and Tenure Security in Kabul’s Informal
Settlements, 2019, url, p. 3; Reuters, Afghans Fleeing Upsurge in Violence Face Cold Welcome in Kabul, 30 November 2020,
url
990 NRC and IDMC, Stuck in the Mud: Urban Displacement and Tenure Security in Kabul’s Informal Settlements, 2019, url, p.
3
991 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Needs Overview – Afghanistan 2019, November 2018, url, p. 15; WBG and UNHCR, Living
Conditions and Settlement Decisions of Recent Afghan Returnees, June 2019, url, pp. 5-6, 25; IDMC, A Different Kind ofPressure. The Cumulative Effects of Displacement and Return in Afghanistan, January 2020, url, p. 5
992 New Humanitarian (The), As Afghanistan’s Capital Grows, Its Residents Scramble for Clean Water, 19 February 2019, url;
Al Jazeera, War, Drought, Diplomatic Rifts Deepen Afghanistan’s Water Crisis, 5 May 2019, url; Telegraph (The), Kabul’s
Unquenchable Thirst: Crisis Looms in Afghan Capital as Groundwater Reserves Run Dry, 15 February 2021, url
993 WBG and UNHCR, Living Conditions and Settlement Decisions of Recent Afghan Returnees, June 2019, url, pp. 5-6, 25;
IOM, DTM Afghanistan, Community Based Needs Assessment: Summary Results Round 10 Jan-June 2020, 1 October 2020,
url, p. 1; UNOCHA, Humanitarian Needs Overview Afghanistan 2021, 19 December 2020, url, p. 78
994 Reuters, Afghans Fleeing Upsurge in Violence Face Cold Welcome in Kabul, 30 November 2020, url
995 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Response Plan, Afghanistan 2018 - 2021, 9 January 2021, url, p. 98
996 UNOCHA, Central Region - Inter-Agency Cluster Coordination Team Meeting - Meeting Summary, 21 July 2020, url, p. 3
997 NRC and IDMC, Stuck in the Mud: Urban Displacement and Tenure Security in Kabul’s Informal Settlements, 2019, url,
pp. 2-3, 8, 10-13, 16; NRC and IDMC, Global Report on Internal Displacement - Grid 2019, May 2019, url, pp. 35, 94; IDMC,
Contribution to the Upcoming Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing on COVID-19 andHousing, June 2020, url, p. 2
998 NRC and IDMC, Stuck in the Mud: Urban Displacement and Tenure Security in Kabul’s Informal Settlements, 2019, url,
p. 11

99

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being forced into secondary displacement999 and negative coping strategies like child labour1000 andearly marriage.1001 In 2019, the Afghan Land Authority Arazi, in cooperation with UN Habitat, hasstarted a registration project of Kabul’s KIS-sites,1002 adding to a growing database of city areas being
formalised. Residents from several of Kabul’s informal settlements reported on signs of change, with
their living areas slowly becoming more developed and organised.1003
Apart from internal displacement due to conflict, Kabul City has seen large flows of Afghan refugees
returning from neighbouring countries (Pakistan and Iran) or from Turkey.1004 Many returnees haveended up in the capital because of relatively higher security than in their regions of origin1005 andbecause of expectations of more job opportunities, better support services and prospects of social
acceptance.1006 Few tensions have been reported, but an increased pressure on local resources, jobs,
services, and facilities that feeds fear among both returnees and host communities has beenoutlined.1007 Most returnees in Kabul City depend on relatives for accommodation and other in-kind
support.1008 The importance of social networks has been reported as vital. When originally not from
Kabul and without a safety net or extended family in the capital, returnees have faced difficulties
supporting themselves, finding jobs or renting accommodation. Hazara returnees coming to Kabul
have reportedly been able to count on better support, through a range of sophisticated social
networks within their well-organised and cohesive community.1009
Data from the Housing Land and Property Taskforce (HLP-TF), published in UNOCHA’s Humanitarian
Needs Overview (HNO) for 2021, reportedly suggest that in Kabul ‘at least 50 per cent of people
living in IDP and returnee settlements have resided in their settlements for 5 years or more’.1010 The
risk of recruitment of IDPs or inhabitants of informal settlements in Kabul by AGEs1011 and thepossible radicalisation of returnees and people deported from Europe has been reported in recent

999 NRC and IDMC, Global Report on Internal Displacement - Grid 2019, May 2019, url, pp. 35, 94; IDMC, Contribution to

the Upcoming Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing on COVID-19 and Housing, June
2020, url, p. 21000 Reuters, Life in Kabul’s Squatter Camps Highlights Challenge for Any Afghan Peace, 15 February 2019, url; NRC and
IDMC, Global Report on Internal Displacement - Grid 2019, May 2019, url, p. 36
1001 NRC and IDMC, Global Report on Internal Displacement - Grid 2019, May 2019, url, p. 36
1002 According to an expert of Afghanistan, interviewed by the Finish Immigration Service while on Fact Finding Mission in
Kabul in April 2019. Finland, FIS, Afghanistan: Fact-Finding Mission to Kabul in April 2019 - Situation of Returnees in Kabul,
15 October 2019, url, p. 141003 Guardian (The), ‘There is Less Fear’: Restauration of Kabul Repairs the Ravages of War, 13 May 2019, url
1004 IOM interviewed by the Finish Immigration Service while on Fact Finding Mission in Kabul in April 2019. Finland, FIS,
Afghanistan: Fact-Finding Mission to Kabul in April 2019 - Situation of Returnees in Kabul, 15 October 2019, url, p. 11;
UNOCHA, Humanitarian Needs Overview Afghanistan 2020, 17 December 2019, url, p. 82; Foschini, F., Kabul’s Expanding
Crime Scene (Part 1): The Roots of Today’s Underworld, AAN, 11 February 2020, url, p. 7; New York Times (The), Fresh from
Iran’s Coronavirus Zone, Now Moving across Afghanistan, 26 March 2020, url; New Humanitarian (The), As Deportations
Soar, Afghan Returnees Struggle on Home Soil, 26 January 2021, url
1005 WBG and UNHCR, Living Conditions and Settlement Decisions of Recent Afghan Returnees, June 2019, url, p. 6; New
Humanitarian (The), As Deportations Soar, Afghan Returnees Struggle on Home Soil, 26 January 2021, url
1006 Oxfam, Returning to Fragility. Exploring the Link Between Conflict and Returnees in Afghanistan, January 2018, url, p.
23; MMC, Distant Dreams. Understanding the Aspirations of Afghan Returnees, January 2019, url, p. 31; Asia Foundation(The), A Survey of the Afghan Returnees - 2018, 14 May 2019, url, p. 106; WBG and UNHCR, Living Conditions andSettlement Decisions of Recent Afghan Returnees, June 2019, url, pp. 6, 16, 221007 Oxfam, Returning to Fragility. Exploring the Link Between Conflict and Returnees in Afghanistan, January 2018, url, pp.
21-241008 Oxfam, Returning to Fragility. Exploring the Link Between Conflict and Returnees in Afghanistan, January 2018, url, p.
23; MMC, Distant Dreams. Understanding the Aspirations of Afghan Returnees, January 2019, url, pp. 33, 39-40
1009 Sources cited by the Finnish Immigration Service. Finland, FIS, Afghanistan: Fact-Finding Mission to Kabul in April 2019 Situation of Returnees in Kabul, 15 October 2019, url, pp. 12, 25-26
1010 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Needs Overview Afghanistan 2021, 19 December 2020, url, pp. 98-99
1011 Guardian (The), ‘There is Less Fear’: Restauration of Kabul Repairs the Ravages of War, 13 May 2019, url; NRC and
ACAPS, Displacement and Access in Afghanistan: Scenarios, June 2019, url, p. 11; Al Jazeera, ‘Poor People’s Eid’: How Kabul
IDPs Welcomed Muslim Celebration, 12 August 2019, url

100Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

years.1012 According to reporting from UNOCHA and Amnesty International (AI), overcrowding,precarious living conditions and a lack of access to water and hygiene bring Kabul’s informal
settlements to a high health risk from COVID-19. Additionally, a rising trend in malnutrition has beenreported in the settlements, since the onset of the pandemic and the resulting economic
downturn.1013

2.2 Badakhshan
2.2.1 General description of the province

Map 2: Afghanistan – Badakhshan province, source: UNOCHA1014

Badakhshan province is located in the north-eastern part of Afghanistan, and is divided into thefollowing districts: Arghanjkhwah, Argo, Baharak, Darayem, Darwaz-Payin (Maymay), Darwaz-e-Balla(Nesay), Eshkashim, Fayzabad, Jorm, Keshem, Khash, Khwahan, Kofab, Kohestan, Koran wa Munjan,
Raghestan, Shahr-e-Buzurg, Shignan, Shaki, Shuhada, Tagab, Teshkan, Wakhan, Warduj, Yaftal-eSufla, Yamgan (Girwan), Yawan, and Zebak.1015 Most of the province is mountainous. The provincial
capital is Fayzabad.1016

1012 DW, Deported Afghans at Risk of Radicalization: Study, 26 November 2019, url
1013 AI, Afghanistan's Four Million Internally Displaced People - A Glance into Their Lives of Poverty and Displacement

during the Pandemic, 19 August 2020, url; UNOCHA, Humanitarian Needs Overview Afghanistan 2021, 19 December 2020,
url, p. 93; UNOCHA, Humanitarian Response Plan Afghanistan 2018 - 2021, 9 January 2021, url, p. 36
1014 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Badakhshan Province- District Atlas, April 2014, url
1015 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, 18 November 2019, url, pp. 26-27
1016 Pajhwok Afghan News, Background profile of Badakhshan province, n.d., url

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According to estimates for 2019-2020 by NSIA, the province has a population of 1 035 658, of which
75 577 live in the provincial capital, Fayzabad.1017
The main ethnic groups in the province are Tajiks and Uzbeks.1018
The province is served by Fayzabad airport, located some 12 kilometres west of Fayzabad city.1019 As
of February 2021, scheduled passenger services between Fayzabad and Kabul were not available.1020
Infrastructure in Badakhshan has been described as ‘almost non-existent’1021, with one main road‘from Fayzabad heading to the east and to the west’, while the ‘majority of districts’ are‘unreachable for all types of vehicles’.1022 Infrastructure projects that have been completed in the
recent past or are ongoing include the construction of the Baharak-Eshkashim transit road,connecting Afghanistan with Tajikistan and China1023, the repair of the 103-kilometre Fayzabad Keshem main road1024, or the reconstruction of the road connecting Fayzabad city to Yawan
district.1025 Access to remote districts such as Wakhan is not available during the winter, as ‘snow
cuts the region off from the rest of Afghanistan for months’.1026

2.2.2 Conflict background and actors in Badakhshan
A 2017 AAN report stated that, although Badakhshan province ‘was never conquered when the
Taleban were in power in the 1990s’, the province produced ‘hundreds of Taleban fighters’ at thattime. Subsequently, in 2004 the Taleban began recruiting locally in in Badakhshan, a strategy thatreportedly ‘accelerated from 2012 onwards’. The same source further highlights the fact that, since2015 the Taliban have become increasingly successful in the province.1027
According to the 2020 UNODC opium survey, poppy was still cultivated in Badakhshan, and anincrease of 36 % in the area used for opium poppy cultivation was recorded, compared to theprevious year,1028 while the province also served a drug production and trafficking zone.1029 Due tothe remoteness of the area, the Taliban have created bases for smuggling networks and financial
operations in the north-east of the country, including in Badakhshan.1030 A July 2020
RFE/RL/Gandhara report claimed that Badakhshan was ‘one of the main heroin production hubs forCentral Asia’.1031

1017 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-20, 18 November 2019, url, pp. 3, 221018 Afghanistan, MRRD, Provincial Profile – Badakhshan, 2006, url, p. 1; Ali O. and Ruttig, T., Elections 2014 (22): Howdisenchantment with General Dostum split the Uzbek vote bank, AAN, 22 May 2014, url
1019 Afghanistan, ACAA, Aeronautical Information Publication, 5 November 2020, url, p. 137
1020 KamAir, Route Map, n.d., url
1021 AKF, Reconnecting Afghan & Tajik Badakhshan: economic development in the cross-border region, 19 December 2018,url
1022 LCA, Afghanistan Road Network, updated in September 2017, url
1023 Ariana News, Multimillion Dollar Road Project Launched in North of Afghanistan, 13 May 2017, url
1024 EZ Afghanistan, 1.2 Million People Benefit from Repaired Road in Badakhshan, 12 November 2019, url
1025 EZ Afghanistan, Road Reconstruction in Feyzabad District, Badakhshan to Benefit 690,000 People, 3 November 2020,
url
1026 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Cold, Hunger, And Disease Wreak Havoc In Afghanistan’s ‘Rooftop’ Community, 25 January 2021, url
1027 Ali, O., The Non-Pashtun Taleban of the North (1): A case study from Badakhshan, AAN, 3 January 2017, url
1028 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey, 3 May 2021, url, p. 9; RFE/RL/Gandhara, With Schools Shut,
Afghan Children Work The Poppy Fields, 14 July 2020, url; UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2019,17 February 2021, url, p. 11; UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2018, November 2018, url, p. 191029 AREU, Evolving Terrain: Opium Poppy Cultivation in Balkh and Badakhshan Provinces in 2013, February 2014, url, p. 24;
UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, p. 151030 Washington Post (The), In Afghanistan's northeast, fears of a Taliban return, 19 October 2019, url. The article is only
available on pressreader.com
1031 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghan Police Raid Heroin Labs In 'Dangerous' Badakhshan Province, 1 July 2020, url

102Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Moreover, Badakhshan province is rich in mineral resources.1032 In May 2020, the UN reported that
the Taliban had lost control over certain mineral mines in the province, 1033 while in late July 2020,
fighting took place between the security forces and the Taliban over a lapis lazuli mine in the Koran
wa Munjan district.1034
Another revenue source for the Taliban is the taxation of illegal gold mining. According to a May
2020 UN report, ‘Taliban taxation and extortion connected to gold mining in Raghestan district was
yielding monthly revenue of $200 000.’ 1035 In August 2020, Badakhshan’s governor claimed that the
Taliban were raising ‘tens of thousands of dollars every month from Badakhshan’s gold mines, which
are mostly concentrated in the Raghestan and Yaftal-e Sufla districts’.1036
At the end of March 2020, the Taliban published pictures of fighters training at the Abu Ubaidah Ibn
Jarrah Training Center, located in Badakhshan. On 26 July 2020, the Taliban released a video offighters training at the same location. According to LWJ, the footage was ‘produced by Manba AlJihad Media, the main propaganda outlet for the Haqqani Network’.1037
With regards to territory control by the Taliban, in April 2020, the districts of Warduj, Jorm, andYamgan were considered ‘Taliban strongholds’ in Badakhshan, according to the governor of theprovince.1038 As of February 2021, the Long War Journal’s (LWJ) frequently updated map on Taliban
control in Afghanistan indicated that Arghanjkhwah and Yamgan districts were ‘Taliban-controlled’,
while Fayzabad, Yaftal-e Sufla, Shahr-e Buzurg, Kofab, Yawan, Khwahan, and Wakhan districts wereassessed as ‘government-controlled’. The remaining districts in Badakhshan province were describedas ‘contested’. More recently, as of 25 May 2021, Arghanjkhwah and Yamgan districts remained‘Taliban-controlled’, while Fayzabad, Kofab, Khwahan, and Wakhan districts were assessed as‘government-controlled’. The remaining districts in Badakhshan province were described as‘contested’1039 A survey by Pajhwok Afghan News conducted from November 2020 until February
2021 designated 72.57 % of Badakhshan’s territory under government control, 23 % under Taliban
control, and 4.43 % controlled by neither side. According to the same survey, 764 966 of
Badakhshan’s inhabitants lived in areas under government control, 242 440 of the province’s
population lived in areas under Taliban control and 46 681 of Badakhshan’s residents lived in areas
controlled by neither side.1040

1032 Pajhwok Afghan News, 6 Badakhshan districts may fall to Taliban: Senators, 22 November 2020, url; New York Times(The), Captives or Defectors? Taliban Fighters Tell Conflicting Tales, 7 November 2019, url; New York Times (The), A
Desperate Battle, and a Victory for Now, at a Remote Afghan Outpost, updated 12 November 2020, url; Samuel Hall,
Review of Country Strategy Badakhshan and Takhar, October 2010, url, p. 61033 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para. 46
1034 Reportely, Govt And Taliban Clash Over Lapis Lazuli Mine In Badakhshan, 25 July 2020, url
1035 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para. 56
1036 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Taliban Taxes Illegal Gold Mines in Northeastern Afghanistan, 24 August 2020, url
1037 LWJ, Taliban touts training camps ‘still going on’ that prepare fighters for ‘war’, 1 April 2020, url; LWJ, Taliban again
promotes its Badakhshan training camp, 27 July 2020, url
1038 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghans Claim Foreign Combatants Fighting Alongside Taliban In Violation Of Peace Deal, 29 April
2020, url
1039 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url. The source, however, does not specify when and which
information of the aforementioned map was updated.
1040 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url. For
this survey Pajhwok Afghan News interviewed (through telephone interviews or by distributing questionnaires) a total of 1
266 respondents, randomly selected across the country

103Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

The ongoing presence of foreign fighters1041 such as Tajik, Uzbek, Uyghur,1042 and to a lesser extent
Russian and Turkmen national, in Badakhshan can be traced back to 2014.1043 Some of the fighters
have joined groups such as Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and Al Qaeda, while others suchas the Uyghurs are embedded within local Taliban structures, fighting alongside Afghan AGEs. 1044 In a
January 2020 report, the UN highlighted the ‘continuing activity’ in Afghanistan of fighters belonging
to groups including Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), Islamic State Khorasan Province(ISKP), Jamaat Ansarullah, Katibat Tawhid wal Jihad (KTJ), Islamic Jihad Group (IJG), Katibat Imam alBukhari (KIB) and IMU, estimating that ‘approximately 400 foreign terrorist fighters from China,
Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and elsewhere’ had been displaced by Afghan military operations
from north-eastern provinces, including Badakhshan into other provinces.1045 According to the same
source, IJGs leader Ilimbek Mamatov’ aimed ‘to create in Afghanistan a united Central Asian terroristgroup under his command’. The group consists of some 250 fighters operating ‘primarily’ in four
provinces, including in Badakhshan. Meanwhile, ETIM’s leadership was reportedly present in
Afghanistan at that time, and some 100 fighters were located in Jorm district, while another 200
were expected to join them. According to the same UN report, ETIM was led by Abdul Haq, and was‘coordinating its activity with IJG’.1046
In April 2020, ‘local officials’ of Badakhshan claimed that around 400 foreign fighters belonging tovarious groups were ‘operating in various parts of the province, but especially in the Khastak valleyof Jorm district’, as well as in Warduj and Yamgan.1047
In May 2020, the UN confirmed the presence of IMU in the province, while highlighting that some
500 fighters belonging to ETIM were operating ‘in the north and north-east of Afghanistan, primarilyin Raghestan and Warduj districts, Badakhshan, with financing based in Raghestan’.1048 A July 2020
UN report confirmed ETIM’s presence and capacity in Badakhshan.1049
In October 2020, after an increase in violence in the province, local security sources claimed that
there were ‘more than 400 foreign fighters in Badakhshan’ in ‘close relations’ with Al Qaeda and ISIL.
According to the sources, the foreign fighters had passed through Badakhshan’s Jorm and Warduj
districts, and had as main aims to help the Taliban, and in the long-term, to ‘get access to Tajikistan
and China’.1050 In November 2020, after the initial capture by the Taliban of Maymay district, Afghan
authorities stated that ‘the majority of the militants’ who had taken over Maymay were foreign
fighters, ‘including militants from Tajikistan’, who belonged to Jamaat Ansarullah, and in response,
1041 New York Times (The), A Desperate Battle, and a Victory for Now, at a Remote Afghan Outpost, updated 12 November

2020, url; Khaama Press, 2 Chechen militants killed, wounded in Badakhshan artillery strikes, 25 March 2019, url;
Tolonews, Badakhshan Governor Claims Taliban Has Ties with Foreign Fighters, 10 April 2020, url
1042 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Taliban Increasing Presence In Remote Afghan Region Bordering China, 12 February 2018, url;
Mielke, K. and Miszak, N., Making sense of Daesh in Afghanistan: A social movement perspective, June 2017, url, p. 27
1043 Mielke, K. and Miszak, N., Making sense of Daesh in Afghanistan: A social movement perspective, June 2017, url, p. 27
1044 Callahan, T. and Marty, F.J., Tilting at Windmills: Dubious US claims of targeting Chinese Uyghur militants in
Badakhshan, AAN, 19 March 2018, url; Mielke, K. and Miszak, N., Making sense of Daesh in Afghanistan: A social
movement perspective, June 2017, url, p. 27
1045 UN Security Council, Twenty-fifth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant
to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2020/53, 20 January
2020, url, paras. 57, 60, 62
1046 UN Security Council, Twenty-fifth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant
to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2020/53, 20 January
2020, url, paras. 60, 62
1047 Tolonews, Daesh, Affiliated Groups on Rise in Badakhshan: Officials, 21 April 2020, url
1048 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para. 88
1049 UN Security Council, Twenty-sixth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant
to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2020/717, 23 July
2020, 23 July 2020, url, para. 67
1050 Tolonews, 22 Districts in Badakhshan Face Security Threats: Official, 16 October 2020, url

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the Tajik authorities deployed additional troops to reinforce the border.1051 In December 2020,
Badakhshan authorities stated that ‘the number of foreign fighters in the province’ had ‘significantly
increased’ up to around ‘450 foreign insurgents’, who were fighting together with the Taliban.
According to Badakhshan’s deputy governor, the foreign fighters belonged to ‘Jamaat Ansarullah of
Tajikistan, ETIM, Chinese Uyghurs, Uzbekistan and Islamic Emirate of Caucasus’, and their ‘main
centres’ were Warduj and Jorm districts.1052
With regards to Al Qaeda, a 2019 UN report highlighted that the group was trying to strengthen its
presence in Badakhshan, in particular in Shignan district.1053 In May 2020, the UN reported that Al
Qaeda remained ‘covertly active’ with between 400-600 operatives present in 12 Afghan provinces,including in Badakhshan.1054 In February 2021, the UN estimated that the capacity of ‘Al Qaeda andits affiliates’ in Afghanistan was between 200-500 members, spread across at least 11 Afghan
provinces, including Badakhshan.1055
Regarding the presence of ISKP in Badakhshan, by the end of 2016 the province was reportedly lessaffected by actions of the group when compared to neighbouring provinces Kunduz and Takhar.1056 In
2019, small pockets of ISKP fighters were reported in Badakhshan.1057 In July 2020, the UN pointed
out the presence of ISKP in Afghanistan at that time, and stated that, at that time, the group could
be expected to retreat to ‘Badakhshan and other northern provinces’ in case of ‘further militarypressure’ on its fighters in Kunar province.1058 On 15 May 2020, three members of a pro-government
militia ‘were wounded by an IS-planted IED’ in Jorm district.1059
In terms of the presence of government security forces, a July 2019 SIGAR report stated that
Badakhshan province was at that time under the responsibility of the 217th ANA corps. ANA’s 20th
Division, previously under the ANA 209th Corps, was reassigned in April 2019 to become a new corps,
the 217th Corps.1060 Badakhshan province also remains included in the area of responsibility of theTrain Advise Assist Command – North (TAAC – North), which is part of NATO's Resolute Support
Mission within Afghanistan.1061

2.2.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 186 civilian casualties (59 killed and 127 injured) in Badakhshan
province, a 75 % increase compared to 2019, when 106 civilian casualties (48 deaths and 58 injured)
1051 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Dushanbe Reinforces Border After Tajik Militants Appear In Video Fighting In Afghanistan, 17

December 2020, url
1052 Pajhwok Afghan News, Badakhshan: ‘Hundreds of aliens fight in Taliban ranks’, 9 December 2020, url
1053 UN Security Council, Tenth Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant to
Resolution 2255 (2015) Concerning the Taliban and other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat to thePeace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, S/2019/481, 13 June 2019, url, p. 91054 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para. 33
1055 UN Security Council, Twenty-seventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted
pursuant to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2021/68, 3
February 2021, url, para. 64
1056 Mielke, K. and Miszak, N., Making sense of Daesh in Afghanistan: A social movement perspective, June 2017, url, p. 26
1057 National (The), ISIS recruitment is growing in Afghanistan as US and Taliban work for peace, 8 August 2019, url
1058 UN Security Council, Twenty-sixth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant
to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2020/717, 23 July
2020, 23 July 2020, url, para. 60
1059 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Badakhshan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
1060 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 July 2019, url, p. 78
1061 NATO, Resolute Support: Train Advise Assist Command – North, accessed 22 March 2021, url

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were recorded. In 2020 the leading causes of casualties were ground engagements, followed bytargeted killings and non-suicide IEDs; this represented a change in tactics or causes compared to2019, when the leading causes of casualties were air strikes, followed by ground engagements andtargeted killings.1062
Between 1 January 2020 and 28 February 2021, ACLED collected data on 200 violent events in
Badakhshan province, of which: 147 were coded as battles, 41 were coded as explosions/remoteviolence, and 12 were coded as violence against civilians.1063

Figure 4: Badakhshan province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data1064

1062 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 110;

UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, 22 February 2020, url, p. 94
1063 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Badakhshan province, update 25
March 2021, url
1064 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Badakhshan province,
update 25 March 2021, url

106Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Figure 5: Badakhshan province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, basedon ACLED data1065

Of the battles, 131 events were coded as armed clashes, while 16 events recorded change interritory control. With regards to armed clashes, the majority (some 78 %) were attacks by the
Taliban on Afghan security forces, including police or military personnel, and members of progovernment militias or so-called arbakis1066 (the term ‘arbaki’ is often used locally and by the Taliban
in reference to members of the Afghan Local Police or other pro-government militias1067).
Meanwhile, around 20 % of armed clashes were attacks launched by the Afghan security forces
together with pro-government militias against the Taliban, while around 2 % of armed clashes were
attributed by ACLED to unidentified armed groups.1068 In April 2020, operations and attacks werecarried out by Afghan security forces in Jorm, Warduj and Nesay districts.1069 On 27 September 2020,
the Taliban ‘launched a massive offensive’1070, reportedly targeting 24 of Afghanistan’s provinces1071,
and Badakhshan was ‘especially targeted’.1072 On 16 October 2020, after an increase in violence, thegovernor of the province stated that, at that time, 22 of the province’s districts were facing ‘security
threats by the Taliban’.1073 In November 2020, ‘intense fighting’ was reported in Shuhada and Yaftale Sufla districts.1074 On 22 November 2020, upper house members of Badakhshan stated that the‘security situation of the province had worsened’, while warning that Badakhshan was ‘on the brinkof collapse, particularly six districts which share border with Tajikistan’.1075

1065 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Badakhshan province,

update 25 March 2021, url; 6 battles in the province for which ACLED has no information about the location, were notincluded in this graph (geoprecision code 3 – see introduction)
1066 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Badakhshan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
1067 AAN, Enemy Number One: How the Taleban deal with the ALP and uprising groups, 19 July 2018, url; HRW, “Just Don’t
Call It a Militia” Impunity, Militias, and the “Afghan Local Police”, 4 September 2011, url, p. 131068 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Badakhshan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
1069 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: April 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; Afghanistan Times, Tensof rebels killed in Badakhshan, 11 April 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, 27 Taliban killed in Badakhshan airstrikes: MoD,
11 April 2020, url
1070 Sukhankin, S., Central Asia’s Specter of Insecurity: The View from Badakhshan to Fergana, The Jamestown Foundation,
20 November 2020 2020, url
1071 South Asia Monitor, Taliban attacks 24 Afghan provinces in a day, 28 September 2020, url
1072 Jamestown Foundation (The), Central Asia’s Specter of Insecurity: The View from Badakhshan to Fergana, 20
November 2020, url
1073 Tolonews, 22 Districts in Badakhshan Face Security Threats: Official, 16 October 2020, url
1074 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (2 – 8 November 2020, 11 November 2020, url, p. 21075 Pajhwok Afghan News, 6 Badakhshan districts may fall to Taliban: Senators, 22 November 2020, url

107Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

On 18 January 2021, the Taliban attacked a security checkpoint in Pul-e Soch in Jorm district1076, andon 21 January 2021 several ‘security and defence checkpoints’ were attacked in Warduj district.1077
With regards to the recorded changes in territory control, some of the incidents include: on 28
March 2020, the Taliban managed to retake control of Yamgan district1078 and of some villages in
Jorm district, inflicting casualties on Afghan security forces there.1079 On 18 October 2020, Taliban
fighters took control over ‘parts of Faizabad city’.1080 Maymay ‘strategic district’1081 was captured by
the Taliban on 19 November 20201082, however on 21 November 2020 it was reported that theAfghan security forces had retaken the district.1083 On 20 January 2021, the Taliban launched anattack and reportedly gained control of seven villages in Argo district.1084
There were 41 incidents of explosions/remote violence recorded by ACLED in Badakhshan province
during the reference period. Of those, 23 were attributed to the Afghanistan security forces, 14 to
the Taliban, two to unidentified armed groups, and one each to ISKP and to the NATO forces.1085 On
5 June 2020, some 11 members of the ALP ‘were killed in a roadside bomb blast’ in Khash district.1086
Between 30 November – 6 December 2020, ‘three civilians were reportedly killed by an unexploded
ordnance (UXO) detonation in Argo district’.1087 On 20 December 2020, ‘two civilians werereportedly killed by an IED in Baharak district’.1088 Between 15 – 21 February 2021, ‘two children
were wounded by an IED detonation in Argo district’.1089
Of the 12 incidents of violence against civilians, 6 were perpetrated by the Afghanistan security
forces, 3 by the Taliban, and 3 by unidentified armed groups or pro-government militia.1090 On 30
May 2020 in Warduj district, armed Taliban men abducted 13 civilians to their base in a village,
where they ‘severely beat’ some of the abductees, and ‘subjected one of them to electric shocks’.
The reported reason for the punishment was the fact that the civilians had ‘allegedly assisted’ theAfghan National Army. 1091 On 1 June 2020, four civilians were shot by the Taliban in ‘in the Shewa
area in the Arghanchkhah district’.1092 In August 2020, a media report highlighted extortion,

1076 AVA, Taliban ambush security checkpoint in Badakhshan, 19 January 2021, url
1077 Bakhtar News, Taliban Attack Repulsed in Badakhshan, 21 January 2021, url
1078 Pajhwok Afghan News, Yamgan district falls to Taliban after fierce fighting, 28 March 2020, url
1079 New York Times (The), Taliban Attack Afghanistan Amid Growing Coronavirus Threat, 28 March 2020, url;

RFE/RL/Gandhara, Taliban Takes District Headquarters, Says It Will Not Negotiate With Afghan Government Team, 28
March 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: April 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (23 March to 29 March 2020, 1 April 2020, url, p. 1; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Weekly Humanitarian Update (30 March – 5 April 2020, 9 April 2020, url, p. 1; Afghanistan Times, Rampant insecurity
wreaks havoc in Badakhshan, 6 April 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 bases fall 32 security personnel go missing, 28
March 2020, url
1080 Afghanistan Times, Taliban overrun outskirt of Faizabad, 18 October 2020, url; Khaama Press, PD8 Of Faizabad City Falls
Under Taliban Influence, 18 October 2020, url
1081 Tolonews, Taliban Overrun Strategic District in Badakhshan, 19 November 2020, url;
1082 Southasian Monitor, Taliban Launched Attacks In 23 Provinces In Last 24 Hours: MOD, 21 November 2020, url;
Tolonews, Taliban Overrun Strategic District in Badakhshan, 19 November 2020, url;
1083 MENAFM, Afghanistan- Badakhshan's Maimay district fully cleared of Taliban, 22 November 2020, url
1084 Pajhwok Afghan News, Badakhshan police poised to recapture villages, 21 January 2021, url
1085 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Badakhshan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
1086 Tolonews, 11 Afghan Local Police Killed in Badakhshan Blast: Official, 6 June 2020, url
1087 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (30 November – 6 December 2020, 10 December 2020, url, p. 21088 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (21 – 27 December 2020, 27 December 2020, url, p. 21089 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (15 – 21 February 2021, 24 February 2021, url, p.2
1090 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Badakhshan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
1091 UNAMA, Afghanistan Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict Midyear Report: 1 January-30 June 2020, July 2020, url,
p. 141092 Ariana News, Taliban gunned down four civilians in Badakhshan: official, 2 June 2020, url; Afghanistan Times, Taliban
rebels shoot dead four in Badakhshan, 1 June 2020, url

108Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

harassment and ‘killing of travellers’ by Taliban on roads in Badakhshan.1093 On 24 September 2020,
five members of a family were killed in a ‘Taliban ambush’ in Patawak village of Darayem district.1094
On 9 December 2020, ‘two civilians were killed and two others were wounded at an illegal
checkpoint on the road between Fayzabad to Baharak’.1095 On 25 December 2020, two civilians were
injured in Raghestan district and Yaftal-e Sufla district during ongoing fighting.1096 On 21 January
2021, ‘one civilian was killed and two women were injured by crossfire in Barlas, Bakht Shah, Deh
Magas villages in Argo district’.1097 In the first week of February 2021, one civilian was killed inRaghestan district during conflict.1098 Between 8 and 14 February 2021, ‘targeted killings, abductions
and illegal checkpoints’ were reported, and one civilian was reportedly wounded.1099 In the last weekof February 2021, ‘a teacher reportedly was wounded due to fighting in Kohestan district’.1100

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020-28 February 2021, reporting 11 102 persons
displaced from Badakhshan, of which 10 997 (some 99 %) were displaced within the province, while
105 persons were displaced to Kabul, Parwan and Panshker provinces. 1101 At the same time, an IOM
report stated that between January andJune 2020, at least 14 845 people were displaced from
Badakhshan province.1102
By district, displacement during the reference period occurred from: Jorm (49.7% of all
displacement); Warduj (37.5 %); Argo (8.4 %); Kohestan (1.8 %); Darwaz-e-Balla (1.5 %); Koran Wa
Monjan (0.4 %); Shahr-e-Buzorg(0.4 %) and Baharak (0.3 %).1103
Some of the larger conflict-induced displacement episodes include: on 10 February 2020, around4 158 people were displaced from Warduj district1104; on 3 April 2020, some 917 people weredisplaced from Jorm and on 18 April 2020, another 1 617 people were displaced from Jorm
district1105; between 28 April – 4 May 2020, around 4 242 people were displaced in Jorm andBaharak districts1106. On 6 September 2020, approx. 2 051 people were displaced from Jorm;1107 on
20 September 2020, some 2 191 people were displaced in Raghestan district1108.

1093 Salaam Times, Taliban continue extortion, killing of travellers on highways 06 August 2020, url
1094 Tolonews, 5 Family Members Killed in 'Taliban Ambush' in Badakhshan, 24 September 2020, url
1095 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (7 – 13 December 2020), 16 December 2020, url, p. 21096 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (28 December 2020 – 3 January 2021), 6 January 2021, url, p. 21097 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (18 – 24 January 2021), 27 January 2021, url, p.2
1098 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (1 – 7 February 2021), 10 February 2021, url, p. 21099 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (8 – 14 February 2021), 14 February 2021, url, p. 21100 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (22 – 28 February 2021), 2 March 2021, url, p. 21101 UNOCHA, Afghanistan - Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, updated 22 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan -Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 22 March 2021, url
1102 IOM DTM Afghanistan: Baseline Mobility Assessment - Badakhshan Summary Results, Round 10 - Jan – Jun 2020, 6
April 2021, url, p. 81103 UNOCHA, Afghanistan - Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, updated 22 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 22 March 2021, url
1104 UNOCHA, Afghanistan - Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 22 March 2021, url
1105 UNOCHA, Afghanistan - Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 22 March 2021, url
1106 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (28 April – 4 May 2020, 7 May 2020, url, p. 11107 UNOCHA, Afghanistan - Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 22 March 2021, url
1108 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (21 – 27 September 2020, 30 September 2020, url, p. 1

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

2.3 Badghis
2.3.1 General description of the province

Map 3: Afghanistan – Badghis province, source: UNOCHA1109

The province of Badghis is located in north-western Afghanistan1110, alongside the border with
Turkmenistan.1111 Badghis province is divided into the following districts: Ab Kamari, Bala Murghab,
Ghormach, Jawand, Muqur, Qadis, and Qala-i Naw. The provincial capital is Qala-i Naw.1112 The
district of Ghormach reportedly became part of Faryab province in 2017.1113 In August 2018, thePeshawar-based daily newspaper, the Frontier Post reported that Ghormach’s administrative affairs
would be shifted back to Badghis due to security reasons.1114 The administrative status of the district
seems to be disputed. AAN cited sources claiming that the central government had alreadytransferred Ghormach to Faryab ‘temporarily’ in 2007, while the governor of Faryab did not consider
Ghormach to be part of Faryab in 2010.1115
NSIA estimated the population of Badghis province for 2019-20 at 540 009.1116

1109 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Badghis Province, District Atlas, April 2014, url
1110 UNOCHA, Afghanistan, Badghis province, district atlas, April 2014, n.d., url; Khaama Press, 29 Taliban militants killed,wounded in separate incidents in Badghis province, 14 April 2020, url
1111 RFE/RL, Officials: 25 elite commandos killed in clashes with Taliban, 17 July 2019, url
1112 Afghanistan, IEC, Afghanistan 2019 Presidential Elections – Final results by Polling Stations: Province Badghis, 2020, url;
Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan 2020-21, 1 June 2020, url, p. 41
1113 Ali, O. and Ruttig, T., Battle for Faryab: Fighting intensifies on one of Afghanistan’s major frontlines, AAN, 12 March
2018, url; UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2018, November 2018, url, p. 151114 Frontier Post (The), Ghormach falls to Taliban as ANA troops move to Maimana, 28 August 2018, url
1115 Bjelica, J., How Neglect and Remoteness Bred Insurgency and a Poppy Boom: The story of Badghis, AAN, 22 February
2017, url
1116 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan 2019-20, 18 November 2019, url, p. 37

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Badghis is inhabited mainly by Tajiks, Pashtuns, Uzbeks, Turkmens,1117 Baluchs and Aimaks.1118
The roads of Badghis have been reported to be in bad condition and mostly unsafe because of
insurgent and criminal activity.1119 In January 2020, Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of the Afghan
Parliament), approved two presidential decrees on obtaining a USD 100 million loan for theconstruction of two roads: Kabul ring road, which will cost USD 70 million and the Armak-Qala-i Naw
road in Badghis that will cost USD 30 million.1120 The airport in Badghis province is named Qala-i Naw
Airport and is located in Qala-i Naw City, the provincial capital.1121 According to the Afghan Civil
Aviation Authority report of November 2020, Qala-i Naw airport is located 1.60 km west of Qala-i
Naw city centre.1122

2.3.2 Conflict background and actors in Badghis
According to the provincial profile of Badghis by AAN, Badghis was the first province of northern
Afghanistan to be seized by the Taliban in late 1996.1123 After the fall of the Taliban, several
influential warlords ruled Badghis, among them Abdul Malik, Rashid Dostum, Juma Khan, and Ismail
Khan.1124 An EU-funded Emergency Response Mechanism (ERM) household assessment report ofNovember 2018 indicated that the security situation had worsened in Badghis in 2018 due tofighting between insurgents and government forces in Jawand and Qadis.1125 Since 2014, Badghis
province has been a hotbed of fighting between the Taliban, IMU and ANDSF.1126 Since 2016,
Badghis was amongst the western provinces witnessing clashes between Taliban factions, each loyal
to a different commander.1127
In October 2019, UNAMA indicated that the four western provinces of Afghanistan including
Badghis, in the recent years have experienced a growing number of insurgent activities.1128
According to Etilaatroz, an Afghan daily newspaper, since March 2019, Taliban fighters continued
their attacks on Bala Murghab district and extended their presence into Jawand, Ab Kamari, Muqur
and Qadis districts, where intense clashes continued between the group and Afghan forces. The
source quoted Ziaulhaq Ferozkohi, political activist in Badghis province, stating that [informaltranslation] the ‘Taliban control major territory in Badghis province including and entirely Bala
Murghab District and its capital. Residents left the district, and only military outposts remained. The
government control only the capitals of Qadis, Ab Kamari and Muqur Districts.’ According to thesource, a security in-charge for Badghis, who did not want to be named, stated that [informaltranslation] ‘Taliban have been collecting 500 AFG (around 5 Euros) per month per family, and thegroup monopolised the pistachio farms’. The source also quoted Sharifullah Chamtoo, Badghis chiefpolice, stating [informal translation] ‘all districts of Badghis province are under the government

1117 Afghanistan, Office of the President, Provincial Profile Badghis, 1 February 2017, url
1118 NPS, Program for culture and conflict studies, Badghis province overview, n.d., url
1119 AREU, The Political Economy of Education and Health Service Delivery in Afghanistan, January 2016, url, pp. 44-46;

Bjelica, J., How Neglect and Remoteness Bred Insurgency and a Poppy Boom: The story of Badghis, AAN, 22 February 2017,url
1120 Pajhwok Afghan News, Decrees on $100m loan for 2 projects approved, 6 January 2020, url
1121 UNOCHA, Afghanistan, Badghis province, district atlas, April 2014, n.d., url; Great Circle Mapper, All countries,
Afghanistan, Badghis province, Qala-i-Naw airport, 5 June 2020, url
1122 Afghanistan, ACAA, Aeronautical Information Publication, 5 November 2020, url, p. 435
1123 Bjelica, J., How Neglect and Remoteness Bred Insurgency and a Poppy Boom: The story of Badghis, AAN, 22 February
2017, url
1124 US Naval Postgraduate School, Badghis Provincial Overview, n.d., url
1125 ERM, Household Assessment Report, 1 November 2018, url, p. 11126 RFE/RL, Afghanistan's New Northern Flash Points, n.d., url
1127 Strategy Page, Afghanistan: Perpetual Pressure On Pakistan, 13 March 2018, url
1128 UNAMA, Badghis leaders strategize on stronger measures to protect children in armed conflict, 5 October 2019, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

control.’1129 On 30 November 2020, Kabul News indicated that Bala Murghab was one of the mostinsecure districts of Badghis province, where the Taliban controlled ‘swaths of territories’.1130 In
December 2019, Taliban issued a statement claiming that they had taken the control of Bala
Murghab district capital1131 and in March 2020, a local news quoted Najmulddin Burhani the
spokesman for Badghis Governor stating that Rubat area of Qadis district was under the Taliban
control.1132
On 4 May 2020, Taliban reported that several of Mujahideen (Taliban fighters) were graduated from
Saad Ben Abi Weqaas military training camp in Badghis province. The group posted several photos of
the alleged fighters during the training.1133 During the same period, UN Security Council report
indicated that Qari Mohammad Ayub Noorzai was Taliban’s shadow governor for Badghis
province.1134
On 20 May 2020, Salaam Times reported that the Taliban blocked roads to the districts of Badghis
and prevented local people, government and health workers to enter Bala Murghab, Jawand andQadis districts.1135
In August 2020, Tolonews reported that the Taliban controlled the Herat-Badghis highway andclosed roads that linked several districts to Qala-i Naw, the provincial capital of Badghis province.1136
In September 2020, the latter source indicated that ANDSF pushed out the Taliban from thementioned highway and cited Badghis provincial council indicating that the threat was still present
on the Herat-Badghis highway.1137 In December 2020, public uprising forces were reportedly present
on Herat-Badghis highway, where they allegedly extorted money from the people.1138
In November 2020, Mullah Amin, also known as Khadim, a Taliban shadow district governor for Ab
Kamari district of Badghis province was reportedly killed in an airstrike by ANDSF in Coak-Chail areaof Ab Kamari.1139
A survey conducted by Pajhwok Afghan News from November 2020 until February 20211140
designated 28.71 % of Badghis’ territory under government control, 71.29 % under Taliban control.
According to the same survey, 157 809 of Badghis’ inhabitants lived in areas under government
control, 391 774 of the province’s population lived in areas under Taliban control. During the same
period, Ghormach district and its centre were entirely under the Taliban control.1141‫ی‬1129 Etilaatroz, ‫سنگی این گروه‬‫ن‬‫امنیت غرب کشور؛ از افزایش تحرکات طالبان تا تلفات‬‫[ برریس اوضاع‬informal translation: ‘Security
assessment of the west of the country; from the increase of Taliban’s mobility to heavy losses of the group’], 30 August
2019, url
1130 Kabul News, Taliban mortar strike kills senior military commander in Badghis, 30 November 2020, url
1131 Voice of Jihad, ‫[ د تې کال فتوحاتو ته ځغلنده کتنه‬informal translation: ‘A quick look at last year’s victories’], 31 December‫ر‬
2019, url‫خودکش یک ی‬‫ی‬1132 SubheKabul, ‫دخې جوان در والیت بادغیس‬[informal translation: ‘A young girl committed suicide in Badghis
Province’], 3 March 2020, url
1133 Voice of Jihad, ‫ ک لسګونه مجاهدین د سعد بن اب وقاص له معسکر نه فارغ شول‬: ‫[ بادغیس‬informal translation’ Badghis: tens of‫ي‬‫ر‬
Mujahideen (fighters) were graduated from Saad Ben Abi Weqaas military training camp in Badghis province’], 4 May 2020,
url
1134 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, p. 271135 Salaam Times, Taliban’s blockade of districts in Badghis endangers thousands of lives, 20 May 2020, url
1136 Tolonews, Taliban control Herat-Badghis highway: locals, 19 August 2020, url
1137 Tolonews, Herat-Badghis highway cleaned of Taliban, 5 September 2020, url‫[ مردم» در مسې هرات – بادغیسادعای باجگېی «نېوهای ن‬informal translation: ‘money extortion by ‘public uprising1138 8am, ‫خېش‬forces’ on Herat-Badghis highway’], 26 December 2020, url
1139 Bakhtar News Agency, Taliban shadow Governor for Ab Kamari district, Badghis killed, 28 November 2020, url
1140 For this survey Pajhwok Afghan News interviewed (through telephone interviews or by distributing questionnaires) a
total of 1 266 respondents, randomly selected across the country; Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated
Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url
1141 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

As of 28 February 2021, an assessment by the LWJ, presented in a frequently updated map andbased on open-source information, indicated Muqur, Bala Murghab and Ghormach districts as‘Taliban-controlled’, and Ab Kamar, Qala-i Naw, Qadis and Jawand districts as ‘contested’ and theremaining districts as under ‘GoA control or undetermined’. More recently, as of 26 May 2021,
Muqur district shifted from ‘Taliban controlled’ to ‘contested’.1142
In February 2021, several sources reported on the presence of different militant groups in Badghis
province,1143 including Khatiba Imam al-Bukhari (KIB), an Uzbek Jihadist group that is known tooperate in Afghanistan1144 and has around 150 fighters, most of whom are in Badghis province.1145
And in addition to the Taliban, there are foreign fighters belonging to the Islamic Movement of
Uzbekistan (IMU), Pakistani fighters1146 and members of Al-Qaeda led by Nasruddin (grandson of
Osama Bin Laden) and Saifuddin Haqqani (son of Sirajuddin Haqqani), who were present in the
Ghormach and Bala Murghab districts during the reporting period.1147 Bala Murghab districtremained a ‘major center of the armed opposition’1148 and as of beginning of March 2021, theTaliban controlled the entire district of Bala Murghab, from where the government pulled out its
forces.1149 The Taliban reportedly received active support from Al-Qaeda including financial,equipment and training [such as making bombs] in Bala Murghab and Ghormach districts where thelatter group [Al-Qaeda] is present and 25 of its members are in ranks of the Taliban notably in Bala
Murghab district.1150
According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, opium poppy cultivation in Badghis province
increased by 194 % and the province remained the second most opium poppy cultivation province
after Helmand.1151 On 5 February 2021, Radio Azadi quoted Noorullah Stanikzai (Deputy Director
General of Geospatial Information Management) stating that based on a 1399 (2020 – 2021) year
survey conducted by the Afghan Government, there has been 37 % increase in poppy cultivation in
Afghanistan notably in Badghis province.1152
Regarding the presence of ANDSF in Badghis province, Zafar 207th Corps of ANA is responsible forthe west of Afghanistan including Badghis. As part of the RS (Resolute Support) mission, Italianforces provide functionality-based security assistance to ANA 207th Corps and ANP in the west ofAfghanistan including Badghis.1153

1142 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url
1143 UN Security Council, Twenty-seventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted

pursuant to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2021/68, 3
February 2021, url, p. 16; RFE/RL, What happened when the Taliban visited Turkmanistan, 11 February 2021, url; Tolonews,
Dostum, Al-Qaeda footprint seen in North of Afghanistan, 17 February 2021, url
1144 LWJ, Uzbek Jihadist group congratulates Taliban for “victory” in Afghanistan, 5 March 2020, url
1145 UN Security Council, Twenty-seventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted
pursuant to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2021/68, 3
February 2021, url, p. 161146 RFE/RL, What happened when the Taliban visited Turkmenistan, 11 February 2021, url
1147 Tolonews, Dostum, Al-Qaeda footprint seen in North of Afghanistan, 17 February 2021, url
1148 RFE/RL, What happened when the Taliban visited Turkmenistan, 11 February 2021, url
1149 LWJ, Afghan forces withdrawing from checkpoints, bases, 3 March 2021, url
1150 Salaam Times, Taliban receive bomb making training: Afghan officials, 9 March 2021, url
1151 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 51152 Azadi Radio, ‫ درصد افزایش یافته است‬۳۷ ‫[ کشت کوکنار در افغانستان در مقایسه به سال گذشته‬informal translation: Poppy cultivation
has increased by 37 % compared to last year in Afghanistan,] 5 February 2021, url
1153 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2020, 23 April 2021, url, pp. 5

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

2.3.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 221 civilian casualties, including 108 killed and 113 injured in Badghis
province, which represents a 37 % increase compared to 2019. The leading causes of casualties wereground engagements, targeted killings and non-suicide IEDs.1154 According to SIGAR, RS recorded
between 26 and 50 civilian casualties in Badghis province during the first quarter of 20201155, and thementioned source recorded up to 25 civilian casualties during the second quarter of 2020.1156 During
the second half of 2020, no RS information on civilian casualties per province was available in SIGAR
quarterly reports.1157
In the period from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, ACLED collected data from reports in open
sources on 247 incidents related to insurgents in Badghis province, of which 162 were coded as‘battles’, 64 as ‘explosions/remote violence’ and 21 as ‘violence against civilians’.1158

Figure 6: Badghis province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data1159

1154 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 110
1155 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 April 2020, url, p. 69
1156 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 July 2020, url, p. 72
1157 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 October 2020, url; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 January 2021, url
1158 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Badghis province, update 25 March
2021, url
1159 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Badghis province,
update 25 March 2021, url

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Figure 7: Badghis province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on
ACLED data1160

Regarding the battles, nearly all concerned ‘armed clashes’. The majority of these armed clashes
were attacks by the Taliban on Afghan security forces, including military, police or NDS personnel
and members of pro-government militias or so-called arbakis (the term arbaki is locally often used
to refer to members of the Afghan local police or other pro-government militias).1161 Examples ofsuch incidents included the Taliban attack on Afghan forces, where the group blocked the highway
of Qadis-Qala-i Naw in April 20201162; on 25 July 2020 one civilian was killed during a crossfire when
the Taliban attacked an ANDSF outpost in the centre of Qadis district;1163 on 11 September 2020, on
civilian was killed and two others were wounded during a Taliban attack on security outposts in thecentre of Qadis district;1164 on 8 February 2021, clashes between Afghan security forces themselves
left one civilian killed and three others wounded in Ab Kamari district. In the same district, on 20
February 2021, the Taliban shot dead one civilian.1165
Operations and attacks by Afghan security forces against AGEs were also registered under armed
clashes by ACLED.1166 In January 2020, Afghan security forces attacked a Taliban prison in Badghis
and rescued 55 ANA soldiers, four commandos, one police and two border police personnel.1167
Roadside bombs or IEDs represented around 10 % of all reported security incidents in Badghis.1168
Some of these incidents resulted in casualties among civilians. For example: on 3 January 2020, one
child was killed in a roadside bomb explosion when he was looking for his sheep in the village of NaKhod-Amodah in Qadis district1169; on 25 May 2020, three children were killed after a bomb plantedby the Taliban exploded in Chashma-Dozdak village of Muqur district1170; on 15 September 2020, aroadside bomb blast killed one civilian and injured another in the First Police District of Qala-i Naw
City;1171 on 13 October 2020, a roadside bomb explosion killed a child and injured another when1160 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Badghis province,

update 25 March 2021, url; 3 battles in the province for which ACLED has no information about the location, were notincluded in this graph (geoprecision code 3 – see introduction)
1161 ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Badghis province, update 25 March 2021, url
1162 Afghanistan Times, At least 12 Taliban rebels killed in Badghis, 13 April 2020, url
1163 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 2020, 30 July 2020, url
1164 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 1 October 2020, url
1165 New York Times (The), Afghanistan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 25 February 2021, url
1166 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Badghis province,
update 25 March 2021, url
1167 Salaam Times, Rescued Afghan soldiers speak of appalling torture, brutality in Taliban prison, 31 January 2020, url
1168 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Badghis province,
update 25 March 2021, url
1169 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2020, 30 January 2020, url
1170 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: May 2020, 29 October 2020, url
1171 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 1 October 2020, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

their donkey stepped on the bomb planted by the Taliban in the village of Sang-e Atash in Muqur
District; on 22 October 2020, two civilians were killed after a vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in
Ab Kamari district;1172 on 7 November 2020, a bomb blast in Qala-i Naw City killed 2 civilians andwounded five others;1173 on 20 December 2020, a bomb explosion killed 2 civilians, including one
woman, and injured 3 others when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb in the village ofBozbayha in Muqur district. The roadside bomb was reportedly planted by the Taliban;1174 on 16
February 2021, an IED explosion killed one child and wounded another civilian in Muqur district;1175
in February 2020, Qala-i Naw City reportedly witnessed continued rocket attacks by the Taliban thatinjured 12 people.1176
Shelling, artillery and missile attacks by the Taliban represented 8 % of all registered incidents in
Badghis.1177 For instance, on 25 April 2020, a woman was killed, and a child was wounded after a
Taliban alleged mortar hit their house in the village of Kamengi Oliya in Qadis district1178; on
1 May 2020, the Taliban destroyed, in an explosion, a school in Qadis district that was recently
constructed.1179 In [Bala] Murghab district, on 10 June 2020, one civilian was killed and four others
were wounded by a mortar in “Deh Khoja”;1180 on 3 August 2020, four civilians, including one woman
and three children, were killed and two others wounded when an ANA mortar hit their house in thecentre of Bala Murghab district.1181
During the reporting period, air/drone strikes represented 7 % of all registered incidents in Badghis.
1182
In June 2020, six civilians were killed and eight wounded in three separate ANDSF airstrikes in
Badghis1183; on 27 November 2020, between 12 and 13 members of a family were killed in ANSDF
airstrike in Kokchile area of Ab Kamari district.1184
ACLED categorised 8 % of all violent events recorded in Badghis as ‘violence against civilians’.1185
These incidents involved for instance: in April 2020, Taliban shot and killed one civilian driver who
refused to stop his car at Taliban’s order in the village of Laman in Qala-i Naw City, the provincial
capital, where the group established a checkpoint;1186 on 9 September 2020, the Taliban abducted
and killed the wife of a soldier in the village of Darra-i Taimani in Qala-i Naw. The soldier reportedly
worked in Ghor province; on 14 September 2020, unknown gunmen shot and killed 5 civilians
including a former Afghan senator when they were traveling to Qala-i Naw City, in the village ofMobarak Shah in Aab Kamari district;1187 on 6 February 2021, the Taliban kidnapped and later killed atribal elder in Qadis district.1188

1172 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2020, 29 October 2020, url
1173 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 26 November 2020, url
1174 New York Times (The), Afghanistan War Casualty Report: December 2020, 31 December 2020, url
1175 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (15 – 21 February 2021, 24 February 2021, url, p. 2‫[ روش جدید جنگ در بادغیس؛ مردم از راکتپر ن‬informal translation: ‘New warfare method in
1176 8am, ‫اگتهای طالبان وحشتزدهاند‬Badghis, people have been terrorised by Taliban rocket attacks], 6 February 2021, url
1177 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Badghis province,
update 25 March 2021, url
1178 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: April 2020, 29 October 2020, url
1179 Salaam Times, Enemies of education: Taliban blow up newly constructed school in Badghis, 13 May 2020, url
1180 Voice of Jihad, War crimes (June 2020, 5 July 2020, url
1181 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: August 2020, 29 October 2020, url
1182 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Badghis province,
update 25 March 2021, url
1183 Voice of Jihad, War crimes (June 2020, 5 July 2020, url
1184 Voice of Jihad, War Crimes (November 2020, 10 December 2020, url; UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in
Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 67
1185 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Badghis province,
update 25 March 2021, url
1186 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: April 2020, 30 April 2020, url
1187 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 1 October 2020, url
1188 New York Times (The), Afghanistan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 25 February 2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

The WHO did not register any attacks related to health care provision in Badghis province in
2020.1189

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data from the period 1 January – 28 February 2021, reporting 12 005 persons
displaced from Badghis province, with 83 % displaced within the province itself (mainly in Qala-i Naw
and Ab Kamari), 14 % displaced into Herat and the remaining 3 % displaced into Ghor and Faryab
provinces. During the same period, no displacement was reported to Badghis from otherprovinces.1190
According to UNOCHA, security situation in the West of Afghanistan including in Badghis provinceremained tense and unstable in July,1191 August,1192 September,1193 October,1194 November1195 andDecember 20201196, January1197 and February 20211198 with continued reports of IED attacks, illegal
checkpoints and military operations in Badghis, Herat, Farah and Ghor provinces. 1 250 people
displaced due to conflict were assessed for humanitarian aid during the same period in Badghis andHerat provinces.1199

1189 WHO, Afghanistan – Attacks on Health Care (1 January – 31 December 2020), 11 January 2021, url
1190 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 28 February 2021, url
1191 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (13 – 19 July 2020), 23 July 2020, url, p. 21192 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (24 – 30 August 2020), 2 September 2020, url, p. 2
1193 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (7 – 13 September 2020), 16 September 2020, url, p. 21194 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (19 – 25 October 2020), 28 October 2020, url, p. 21195 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (23 – 29 November 2020), 3 December 2020, url, p. 21196 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (14 – 20 December 2020), 23 December 2020, url, p. 21197 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (25 – 31 January 2021), 3 February 2021, url, p. 2
1198 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (8 – 14 February 2021), 17 February 2021, url, p. 2; UNOCHA,

Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (15 – 21 February 2021), 24 February 2021, url, p. 21199 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (25 – 31 January 2021), 3 February 2021, url, p. 2

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2.4 Baghlan
2.4.1 General description of the province

Map 4: Afghanistan – Baghlan province, source: UNOCHA1200

Baghlan province is located in the north-eastern part of Afghanistan and has borders with Bamyan,
Samangan, Kunduz, Takhar, Panjshir, Parwan1201 and Balkh.1202 Baghlan is divided into the following
administrative units: Andarab, Baghlan-e Jadid (also known as Baghlan-e Markazi), Burka (Barka),
Dahana-e Ghuri, Deh Salah, Doshi, Fereng wa Gharu, Guzargah-e Nur, Khenjan, Khost wa Fereng,
Khwajahejran (Jalga), Nahrin, Pul-e Hesar, Pul-e Khumri, and Tala wa Barfak. The provincial capital isPul-e Khumri.1203
According to estimates for 2019-2020 by NSIA, the province has a population of 995 815, of which
237 888 live in the provincial capital, Pul-e Khumri.1204
The main ethnic groups in the province are Tajiks, Pashtuns and Hazaras. Other ethnic groups
present include Uzbeks and Tatars.1205
Baghlan province is connected to eight other provinces by the Kabul-North Highway. This is the onlytrans-Hindukush highway in Afghanistan and the major transit route between Kabul and the north ofthe country, via the Salang pass.1206 At the border between Baghlan and Parwan, the highway leads

1200 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Baghlan Province, District Atlas, April 2014, url
1201 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – North Eastern Region, District Atlas, April 2014, url, pp. 32-45
1202 AIMS, AIMS Political Divisions Map, n.d., url
1203 Afghanistan, IEC, Afghanistan 2019 Presidential Elections – Final results by Polling Stations: Province Baghlan, 2020, url;

Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, November 2019, url, p. 141204 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, 18 November 2019, url, p. 141205 US Naval Postgraduate School, Baghlan Provincial Overview, n.d., url
1206 Hewad, G., The 2015 insurgency in the North (4): Surrounding the cities in Baghlan, AAN, 21 October 2015, url; Ali, O.,
Afghanistan’s 2019 Election (22): Glances at Kunduz, Baghlan, Samangan, AAN, 30 October 2019, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

through the Salang Tunnel.1207 The road in Salang is ‘temporarily closed every year winter due tosnowfall, avalanches and windstorms’.1208 Besides the Kabul-North Highway, Baghlan should beconnected to Bamyan by December 2022 via the so-called Baghlan to Bamyan (B2B) road, according
to plans by the World Bank.1209 Baghlan’s capital Pul-e Khumri is known to be an economic hub.1210
In a conversation with Landinfo in October 2019, an international source described the stretch on
Highway One between Kabul and Pul-e Khumri as sufficiently safe, including for international
travellers.1211 On the road further north, however, several incidents and road closures werereported, as AGEs draw revenue from installing checkpoints and extorting money from travellers
passing through Baghlan. 1212 An August 2020 media report quoted a civilian source confirming that
the Taliban had installed checkpoints in several areas of Baghlan and were demanding money fromtravellers. The same source stated that a civilian who refused to pay was shot by the Taliban.1213

2.4.2 Conflict background and actors in Baghlan
A 2016 AAN report highlighted the importance of the transport routes leading through Baghlan forthe security situation of the province and elsewhere in the region, as the ANSF used ‘the roads
connecting Baghlan to Samangan and Kunduz’ for ‘transporting military equipment, ammunition andreinforcements’ to northern and north-eastern provinces. 1214 Realising the importance of controlling
the Baghlan-Balkh highway, the Taliban, as early as 2016, established check points in areas such as
Chashma-ye Shir, allowing them not only to demand money from travellers, but also to searchvehicles and capture government security members.1215 Conversely, check points manned by Afghan
security forces were routinely targeted by the Taliban throughout 2020, and resulted in significant
number of fatalities.1216
The security situation in Baghlan province reportedly worsened in 2016 after the Taliban launched
concerted actions against key districts near the provincial centre of Pul-e Khumri.1217 In spring 2018,
the Afghan Ministry of Defence (MoD) admitted that the provincial capital Pul-e Khumri wasthreatened by the Taliban1218 and, by December 2018, the Afghan Ministry of Interior (MoI) counted
Baghlan among the provinces with a high Taliban presence.1219 In September 2019, no presidential
elections took place in Dahana-e Ghuri district, due to the Taliban controlling this district1220,
although government forces re-captured the district in late October that year.1221 As of February

1207 Pajhwok Afghan News, Current Salang tunnel insufficient, says President Ghani, 15 October 2018, url; Diplomat (The),

Fixing the Salang Pass Tunnel, 21 October 2015, url
1208 Pajhwok Afghan News, Snowfall closes Salang highway for heavy traffic, 27 December 2020, url; AVA, Salang highway
closed for cargo trucks, 12 December 2020, url
1209 World Bank (The), Trans-Hindukush Road Connectivity Project, n.d., url
1210 Pajhwok Afghan News, Baghlan administrative units, n.d., url
1211 Norway, Landinfo, Afghanistan: Sikkerhetssituasjon og konfliktmønster i 2019, 22/01/2019, url, p. 29;
1212 Salaam Times, Taliban continue extortion, killing of travellers on highways, 6 August 2020, url
1213 Salaam Times, Taliban continue extortion, killing of travellers on highways, 6 August 2020, url
1214 Ali, O., Taleban in the North: Gaining ground along the Ring Road in Baghlan, AAN, 15 August 2016, url
1215 Ali, O., Taleban in the North: Gaining ground along the Ring Road in Baghlan, AAN, 15 August 2016, url
1216 News (The), Taliban kill 13 Afghan cops in Baghlan checkpoint attacks, 17 December 2020, url; Al Jazeera, Afghan forces
killed as Taliban attacks checkpoints: Gov’t, 30 March 2020, url; Xinhua, Afghan insurgency hikes as 28 including 5 civilians
killed within one day, 22 December 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: August 2020, updated
29 October 2020, url
1217 Khaama Press, Taliban's deputy military chief surrenders in Baghlan province, 12 August 2017, url
1218 Tolonews, 7 Provincial Centers Face ‘Serious Security Threats,’ 16 May 2018, url
1219 Tolonews, Afghan Forces To Focus On Insecure Regions In Winter, 26 December 2018, url
1220 Ali, O., Afghanistan’s 2019 Election (22): Glances at Kunduz, Baghlan, Samangan, AAN, 30 October 2019, url
1221 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of
the Secretary-General, A/74/582–S/2019/935, 10 December 2019, url, p. 6; Tolonews, Baghlan’s Dahna-e-Ghori Retaken By
Security Troops: MoD, 24 October 2019, url; Khaama Press, Around 100 Taliban militants killed, 88 arrested in Special
Forces raids in Baghlan: Sources, 25 October 2019, url

119Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

2021, Long War Journal’s frequently updated map on Taliban control in Afghanistan, showed Tala wa
Barfak and Burka districts as ‘Taliban-controlled’, Andarab district as ‘government-controlled’ andthe remaining districts in Baghlan province as ‘contested’.1222 According to Bilal Sarwary, on 6 May
2021, Taliban took control of Burka district, which was reportedly confirmed by the Afghan
officials.1223 On 7 May 2021, Sarwary posted a video footage of Taliban fighters celebrating thecapturing of a district (without mentioning the name) in Baghlan province.1224 Earlier on 6 May 2021,
two military bases including 60 soldiers, weapons and ammunitions were surrendered to the
Taliban in central Baghlan (Baghlan-e Markazi), according to Sarwary.1225 More recently, as of 26
May 2021, Long War Journal indicated Dahan-e Ghuri district as ‘Taliban control’.1226 At the sametime, a survey by Pajhwok Afghan News conducted from November 2020 until February 20211227
designated 60 % of Baghlan’s territory under government control, 33 % under Taliban control, and
7 % controlled by neither side. According to the same survey, 608 780 of Baghlan’s inhabitants lived
in areas under government control, 334 829 of the province’s population lived in areas under
Taliban control and 71 024 of Baghlan’s residents lived in areas controlled by neither side.1228
According to an AAN report from July 2016, Afghan ethnic Uzbeks set up an insurgent group called
Jundullah in 2009 by splitting away from Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU).1229 While Jundullah
has been affiliated with the Taliban in the past, it established itself as an independent, ISKP-alliedgroup by taking advantage of the turmoil created by the Taliban conquest of Kunduz in September
2015. Unsympathetic towards ISKP-groups, the Taliban contained Jundullah’s activities in Baghlan by
2016. According to the same report, as of July 2016, ‘the threat of Daesh in the north-east – throughJundullah affiliating itself to ISKP – is neither widespread, nor immediate.’1230 More recent reports
regarding the activities of the groups in Baghlan during the reference period were not available.
According to the 2020 UNODC opium survey, poppy was still cultivated in Baghlan, and an increaseof 111 % in the area used for opium poppy cultivation was recorded, compared to the previous
year.1231
In terms of the presence of government security forces, a July 2019 SIGAR report stated that Baghlan
province was at that time under the responsibility of the 217th ANA corps. ANA’s 20th Division, which
was previously under the ANA 209th Corps, was reassigned in April 2019 to become a new corps, the217th Corps.1232 Baghlan province also remains included in the area of responsibility of the Train
Advise Assist Command – North (TAAC – North), which is part of NATO's Resolute Support Mission
within Afghanistan.1233

1222 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url. The source, however, does not specify when and which

information of the aforementioned map was updated.
1223 Sarwary, B., (@bsarwary), [Twitter], posted on: 5 May 2021, url
1224 Sarwary, B., (@bsarwary), [Twitter], posted on: 7 May 2021, url
1225 Sarwary, B., (@bsarwary), [Twitter], posted on: 6 May 2021, url
1226 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url. The source, however, does not specify when and which
information of the aforementioned map was updated.
1227 For this survey Pajhwok Afghan News interviewed (through telephone interviews or by distributing questionnaires) a
total of 1 266 respondents, randomly selected across the country; Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated
Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url
1228 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url
1229 Ali, O., The 2016 Insurgency in the North: Raising the Daesh flag (although not for long), AAN, 15 July 2016, url
1230 Ali, O., The 2016 Insurgency in the North: Raising the Daesh flag (although not for long), AAN, 15 July 2016, url
1231 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey, 3 May 2021, url, p. 9; UNODC, Afghanistan opium survey
2019, 17 February 2021, url, p. 111232 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 July 2019, url, p. 78
1233 NATO, Resolute Support: Train Advise Assist Command – North, accessed 22 March 2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

2.4.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 253 civilian casualties (81 killed and 172 injured) in Baghlan province,a 28 % decrease compared to 2019, when 349 civilian casualties (123 killed and 226 injured) wererecorded. In 2020 the leading causes of casualties were ground engagements, followed by airstrikes
and non-suicide IEDs, while in the previous year the leading causes of casualties were groundengagements, followed by targeted/deliberate killings and non-suicide IEDs.1234 According to
UNAMA, in 2020 Baghlan province was among the five provinces with the most civilian casualties
caused by pro-government forces, as well as among the seven provinces ‘with the highest number ofcivilian casualties from ground engagements’. 1235
Between 1 January 2020-28 February 2021, ACLED collected data on 299 violent events in Baghlan
province, of which 212 were coded as battles, 70 were coded as explosions/remote violence, and 17
were coded as violence against civilians.1236

Figure 8: Baghlan province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data1237

1234 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 110;

UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, 22 February 2020, url, p. 94
1235 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 62, 72
1236 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Baghlan province, update 25 March
2021, url
1237 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Baghlan province,
update 25 March 2021, url

121Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Figure 9: Baghlan province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on
ACLED data1238

Of the battles, 201 events were armed clashes, while the remaining 11 events recorded change incontrol over territory. The majority of those armed clashes (some 86 %) were attacks by the Taliban
on Afghan security forces, including police or military personnel, and members of pro-government
militias or so-called arbakis1239 (the term ‘Arbaki’ is often used locally and by the Taliban in reference
to members of the Afghan Local Police or other pro-government militias1240). The Taliban attacked
targets including a police station in January 2020, a ‘convoy of a former member of the provincial
council [..] in the Chemai Sher area of Pul-e Khumri’ on 6 August 2020, checkpoints in Guzargah-e
Nur district on 14 October 2020, or security outposts in repeated attacks on 14 and 18 January
2021.1241
According to International Crisis Group, in July 2020, the Taliban ‘intensified attacks on major
highways’ in the north, including on the Kabul-Kunduz highway in Baghlan.1242 Moreover, a July 2020
UNOCHA report stated that the ‘overall insecurity’ was ‘compounded by a rise in criminality’ while‘the number of illegal checkpoints on main access roads’ had increased. 1243 In December 2020,
International Crisis Group source reported ongoing attacks on district centres including in Baghlan,‘despite previous self-imposed restrictions regarding reprisals in urban areas’.1244
Several changes in territory control were reported during the reference period. On 30 January 2020,
the Afghan security forces regained control of Guzargah-e Nur district.1245 On 31 January 2020, theTaliban took over three military posts and one base in Nahrin district.1246 On 26 August 2020, theTaliban gained control over ‘a large area’ of Andarab (Banu) district, while on 30 August 2020, it wasreported that the Taliban had taken over ‘different parts’ of the district.1247

1238 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Baghlan province,

update 25 March 2021, url; 12 incidents (10 battles and 2 remote violence) in the province for which ACLED has no
information about the location, were not included in this graph (geoprecision code 3 – see introduction)
1239 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Baghlan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
1240 AAN, Enemy Number One: How the Taleban deal with the ALP and uprising groups, 19 July 2018, url; HRW, “Just Don’t
Call It a Militia” Impunity, Militias, and the “Afghan Local Police”, 4 September 2011, url, p. 131241 International Crisis Group, Crisis Watch Afghanistan, accessed 1 March 2021, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War
Casualty Report: August 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
1242 International Crisis Group, Crisis Watch Afghanistan, accessed 1 March 2021, url
1243 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (13 July – 19 July 2020, 23 July 2020, url, p. 1
1244 International Crisis Group, Crisis Watch Afghanistan, accessed 1 March 2021, url
1245 Pajhwok Afghan News, Security forces retake control of Baghlan’s Guzarga Noor district, 30 January 2020, url
1246 Voice of Jihad, 4 military units seized in Baghlan, 1 February 2020, url
1247 Voice of Jihad, Mujahideen take over in Baghlan, 30 August 2020, url; Voice of Jihad, Local militia forced out of large
area, 26 August 2020, url

122Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

On 28 October 2020, the Afghan forces regained control over 25 villages in Khost wa Fereng
district.1248 On 16 December 2020, it was reported that the Taliban had stormed a security base in
Dahana-i Ghuri. The same source claimed that the Taliban were at that time ‘in control of parts ofDahana-i Ghuri and the neighbouring Dand-e Shahabudin area’.1249
There were 70 incidents of explosions/remote violence recorded by ACLED during the reference
period in Baghlan province. The incidents were attributed to the Afghan security forces (27incidents), to the Taliban (25), to unidentified armed groups (17), and to NATO forces (1). 1250
Airstrikes launched by the Afghan security forces and NATO forces led to civilian casualties in several
instances. For instance, on 3 April 2020, two civilians were killed and six others were injured by an
Afghan forces airstrike on Chashmai Shir village, Pul-e Khumri city.1251 On 26 August 2020, an
airstrike on a school in ‘the Bekzado area of central Baghlan’ reportedly killed at least 10 people.1252
Shelling and missile attacks were used by the Afghan security forces, as well as by the Taliban andunidentified armed groups. Between 6 and 12 July 2020, a civilian in Arbabha village in Pul-e Khumri
district was reportedly killed by a mortar.1253 Between 23 and 29 November 2020, six civilians were
injured ‘during armed clashes and airstrikes in Baghlan-e-Jadid district’.1254 On 21 January 2021,‘eight people were injured when a mortar shell hit a house in Pul-e Khumri’.1255 Meanwhile, allincidents of remote explosions or IEDs were attributed to the Taliban or to unidentified armed
groups, targeting security forces as well as civilians. On 5 August 2020, ‘at least 12 people were killed
in a roadside blast’ in Chashmaye Shir area, along the Baghlan-Samangan highway.1256 Between 23
and 29 November 2020, two civilians were killed and seven others were injured ‘by an unexploded
ordnance (UXO) detonation in Khenjan district’.1257 On 9 January 2021, ‘three people, including
civilians’ were killed, and five others were wounded in an IED explosion in Pul-e Khumri city.1258 On
16 January 2021, ‘one policeman was killed and two more were wounded in a roadside bomb blast’in Pul-e Khumri city.1259 Between 18 and 24 January 2021, ‘three civilians were wounded by an IED
detonation in Pul-e Khumri city’.1260
With regards to violence against civilians, of the 17 incidents recorded by ACLED during thereference period, 6 were attributed to the Afghanistan security forces, 6 to the Taliban and 5 tounidentified armed groups. 1261 On 3 April 2020, two civilians were killed and six others were injured
during conflict in in Pul-e Khumri district. 1262 On 20 April 2020, one civilian was killed and two others
were injured during airstrikes on Baghlan-e-Markazi district.1263 On 3 May 2020, Afghan Local Police
reportedly shot a civilian man in his home. 1264 On 21 July 2020, one civilian was killed, and anotherone was injured, in an IED explosion planted in front of a local business in Pul-e-Khumri.1265

1248 Pajhwok Afghan News, 18 Taliban killed, 15 injured in Baghlan offensive, 29 October 2020, url
1249 Xinhua, Around dozen killed or injured as militants attack security base in N. Afghanistan, 16 December 2020, url
1250 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Baghlan province,

update 25 March 2021, url
1251 Ariana News, Eight family members killed, wounded in airstrikes – Baghlan, 4 April 2020, url
1252 ANI News, Airstrike in Afghanistan's Baghlan kills 10: Taliban, 26 August 2020, url
1253 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (6 – 12 July 2020, 15 July 2020, url, p. 1
1254 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (23 – 29 November 2020, 3 December 2020, url, p. 21255 Pajhwok Afghan News, 8 of a family injured in Baghlan mortar strike, 21 January 2021, url
1256 Garda World, Afghanistan: Gunmen target fuel tankers on Baghlan-Samangan highway, 6 August 2020, url
1257 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (23 – 29 November 2020, 3 December 2020, url, p. 21258 Pajhwok Afghan News, Baghlan explosion leaves 3 people dead, 5 injured, 9 January 2021, url
1259 Tolonews, Blasts in Kabul, Baghlan Kill Three Police Force Members, 16 January 2021, url
1260 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (18 – 24 January 2021, 27 January 2021, url, p.2
1261 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Baghlan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
1262 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (30 March – 5 April 2020), 5 April 2020, url, p. 1
1263 Voice of Jihad, 4 civilians martyred, 3 houses flattened, 20 April 2020, url
1264 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 70
1265 Xinhua, 30 killed in violence in Afghanistan: officials, 21 July 2020, url

123Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Between 7 and 13 September 2020, two civilians were killed during conflict in the Dara-i Feroz areasof Khost wa Fereng district.1266 Between 9 and 12 October 2020, several civilians were killed duringconflict in Baghlan.1267 On 9 January 2021, three people including civilians were killed, and several
others were injured, by an IED detonation in Pul-e-Khumri city’.1268 During the week 8–14 February
2021, UNOCHA reported ‘intensified’ fighting in in Baghlan-e Jadid, Doshi and Pul-e Khumri districts,
as well as incidents of ‘targeted killings, abductions and illegal checkpoints’. One civilian wasreportedly killed by fighting’.1269 On 23 February 2021, a civilian was ‘killed by gunfire in Baghlan-eJadid district’.1270

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020-28 February 2021, reporting 33 005 persons
displaced from Baghlan, of which 31 752 (some 96 %) were displaced within the province, while
1 253 persons were displaced to Kabul, Kapisa, Panjsher, and Samangan provinces. During the same
period, no displacement was reported to Baghlan from other provinces. 1271
By district, the vast majority of displacement during the reference period occurred within Pul-e
Khumri district (94.4 %). Other districts where displacement was recorded included Khost wa Fereng,
Dahana-e Ghuri, Doshi, Baghlan-e Jadid, Tala wa Barfak and Andarab.1272
Some of the indicative events include: On 24 January 2020, around 2 086 people were displaced in
Pul-e Khumri district, while on 10 February 2020, another 2 597 people were displaced within thesame district.1273 Between 30 March – 5 April 2020, around 700 people were displaced by conflict tothe Dasht-e Alwan area in Pul-e Khumri district.1274 According to IOM, between January and June
2020, some 7 554 people were displaced from Baghlan.1275
Between 24 and 30 August 2020, some 2 100 people were displaced in Cheshm area of Pul-e Khumri
district. 1276 During the week 7 – 13 September 2020, around 1 260 people were displaced ‘in the
Dara-e-Feroz areas of Khost wa Fereng district’. 1277
On 4 January 2021, around 210 people were displaced ‘from Gorgorak village and the Cheshma-eShir area to Pul-e Khumri district’.1278 Between 11 and 17 January 2021, conflict led to displacementof people ‘from remote villages to Pul-e Khumri district’.1279

1266 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (7 – 13 September 2020), 16 September 2020, url, p. 1
1267 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (12 – 18 October 2020), 22 October 2020, url, p. 2
1268 India Blooms, Afghanistan: IED explosion leaves three dead, 9 January 2021), url
1269 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (8 – 14 February 2021), 14 February 2021, url, p. 21270 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (22 – 28 February 2021), 2 March 2021, url, p. 21271 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, updated 22 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan -Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 22 March 2021, url
1272 UNOCHA, Afghanistan - Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, updated 22 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 22 March 2021, url
1273 UNOCHA, Afghanistan - Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, updated 22 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 22 March 2021, url
1274 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (30 March – 5 April 2020), 5 April 2020, url, p. 1
1275 IOM DTM Afghanistan, Baseline Mobility Assessment - Baghlan Summary Results, Round 10 - Jan – Jun 2020, 6 April
2021, url, p. 81276 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (24 – 30 August 2020), 30 August 2020, url, p. 1
1277 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (7 – 13 September 2020), 16 September 2020, url, p. 1
1278 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (4 – 10 January 2021), 13 January 2021, url, p. 21279 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (11 – 17 January 2021), 19 January 2021, url, p. 2

124

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2.5 Balkh
2.5.1 General description of the province

Map 5: Afghanistan – Balkh province, source: UNOCHA1280

Balkh province is located in the northern part of Afghanistan and is divided into the following
districts: Balkh, Charbulak, Charkent, Chemtal, Dawlatabad, Dehdadi, Kaldar, Keshendeh, Khulm,
Marmul, Mazar-e Sharif, Nahr-e Shahi, Sholgareh, Shortepa, and Zari. The provincial capital is Mazare Sharif.1281
According to estimates for 2019-2020 by NSIA, the province has a population of 1 475 649,
approximately 469 247 of whom live in the provincial capital, Mazar-e Sharif.1282
Balkh is an ethnically diverse province, inhabited by Pashtun, Uzbek, Hazara, Tajik, Turkmen, Aimaq,
Baloch, Arab1283 and Sunni Hazara (Kawshi) communities.1284
Balkh – and more specifically Mazar-e Sharif – is an import/export hub as well as a regional trading
centre.1285 The Ring Road connects Mazar-e Sharif with Jawzjan’s capital Shiberghan (crossing Nahr-e
Shahi, Balkh and Charbulak districts) and further on Herat in the west and with Kabul in the east
(crossing Nahr-e Shahi and Khulm districts).1286 The highway leading to the Uzbek border crossing

1280 UNOCHA, Afghanistan. Provincial reference Map, 25 May 2015, url, p. 41281 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Northern region District Atlas, 13 April 2014, url, p. 3
1282 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-20, 18 November 2019, url, pp. 3; 27
1283 Pajhwok Afghan News, Background Profile of Balkh, n.d., url
1284 US Naval Postgraduate School, Balkh Provincial Review, n.d., url
1285 Samuel Hall, Economic Assessment and Labour Market Survey of Mazar-i Sharif, Pul-i Khumri, Kandahar City andKunduz City, 16 January 2017, url, p. 43; RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghan Industry Ministry To Revive Industrial Park In North, 13
July 2020, url
1286 MSF, Afghanistan Country Kit, 12 January 2016, url, pp. 1; 3; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Northern region District Atlas, 13
April 2014, url, p. 2

125Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

point Hairatan-Termiz branches off the Ring Road east of Mazar-e Sharif.1287 Mazar-e Sharif has an
airport with scheduled passenger services to national and international destinations.1288 The
international airport, officially called Mawlana Jalaluddin Muhammad Balkhi International
Airport,1289 adjacent to the German-run1290 base Camp Marmal,1291 is located about 9 km east from
Mazar-e Sharif city centre,1292 outside of Mazar-e Sharif’s municipal boundaries.1293 According to
UNOCHA maps, the airport is located in Marmul district, implying that one has to travel through apart of Nahr-e Shahi district, which encapsulates Mazar-e Sharif district, to reach Mazar city from theairport.1294 Another small airport is located in Dehdadi district,1295 however no information on its
activities and services was available.

2.5.2 Conflict background and actors in Balkh
Up until early 2019 Balkh was usually described as one of the relatively calm and most stableprovinces of Afghanistan,1296 largely due to a monopoly on power by the former warlord Atta
Mohammed Noor, who was governor of Balkh for more than a decade.1297 Even after Noor’s
resignation in 2018 his influence in the province continued to be strong.1298 Atta Noor’s militiamen
formed most of the provincial police force.1299 However, the security situation in Balkh province
deteriorated in 2019.1300 A representative of an international organisation who met with the Swedish
Migration Agency in Kabul in January 2020 saw Noor’s forced resignation as a contributing factor to
the worsening security situation in Balkh.1301 According to local officials interviewed by the New YorkTimes in early 2021, Atta Noor, although no longer governor, still holds much power over the
security network in the province.1302
According to Afghan news portals Tolonews and Pajhwok Afghan News, the tensions between the
President and Noor around Noor’s resignation were followed by an increased presence of armed
men in Mazar-e Sharif in 2018, who allegedly had links to political parties and members ofparliament.1303 Subsequently, the increase in presence of armed men in the city was reportedly
1287 Diplomat (The), Kabul's Plan to Realize Afghanistan’s Geographic Dividend, 5 December 2017, url
1288 KamAir, Departing/Arrival Information, n.d., url; Flightradar24, Routes Mazar-I-Sharif, n.d., url
1289 UNODC, Inauguration of Airport Interdiction Unit (AIU) at Mawlana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi International Airport,

Mazar-i-Sharif, 10 February 2021, url; Afghanistan, ACAA, AIRAC AIP Amendment, 20 December 2020, url, p. 94
1290 France24, Violence flares in north Afghanistan as forces ready for deadly winter, 24 December 2019, url
1291 DW, Germany extends Afghanistan Mission, 12 October 2007, url
1292 LCA, Afghanistan Mazar-i-Sharif (Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi) International Airport, September 2017, url;
Afghanistan, ACAA, International Airfields, 10 January 2018, url; Afghanistan, ACAA, Aerodrome (AD) Part 3, AIP Edition 90,
5 November 2020, url, p. 383
1293 UN-HABITAT, State of Afghan cities 2015. Volume 1, 15 December 2015, url, p. 801294 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Northern region District Atlas, 13 April 2014, url, pp. 2; 121295 MSF, Afghanistan Country Kit, 12 January 2016,
url, p. 3; Afghanistan, ACAA, All airports, 24 September 2017, url
1296 Reuters, Gunfight erupts in north Afghan city over police chief's appointment, 14 March 2019, url; Tolonews, Taliban
Planning To Disrupt Balkh Security: Police Chief, 22 August 2019, url; New York Times (The), Inside the Shadowy Militias
Luring Unsuspecting Afghans to Fight, or Die, 4 February 2021, updated 22 March 2021,
url
1297 RFE/RL, Afghanistan's New Northern Flash Points, n.d., url; RFE/RL, Powerful Afghan Governor Resigns, Ending Standoff
With Ghani, 22 March 2018, url; Ruttig, T., “Atta for President” Again? The struggle for the Afghan presidency and Jamiat’s
leadership, AAN, 10 April 2017, url
1298 Reuters, Gunfight erupts in north Afghan city over police chief's appointment, 14 March 2019, url
1299 RFE/RL, Rival Police Clash In North Afghan City In Spat Between President, Ex-Governor, 14 March 2019, url
1300 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban’s influence, insecurity grow in Balkh, 18 August 2019, url
1301 Sweden, Lifos/Migrationsverket, Säkerhetsläget i Afghanistan, 2020, 7 April 2020, url, p. 461302 New York Times (The), Inside the Shadowy Militias Luring Unsuspecting Afghans to Fight, or Die, 4 February 2021,
updated 22 March 2021, url
1303 Tolonews, Illegal Armed Men ‘A Big Challenge For Balkh Residents’, 12 January 2018, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, 2
injured as gunmen loyal to MPs clash in Balkh, 28 January 2018, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Illegal armed men threaten
Mazar-i-Sharif security, 22 May 2018, url

126Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

linked to a rise in criminal activities such as armed robberies, murder, clashes, and kidnapping in
Balkh´s capital in early 20181304 and remained a source of concern for Balkh’s residents in 20191305,
prompting the police to take action against unregistered vehicles and motorcycles increasingly
involved in crimes in October 2019.1306
Despite a much smaller presence in Balkh in 2019 compared to other northern regions, 1307 theTaliban’s influence reportedly increased in 2019 according to local security officials and residents.1308
In May 2020, a Sar-e Pul provincial council member mentioned the Taliban running checkpoints invarious villages of Zari district, on the road towards Mazar-e Sharif.1309 Also in April 2020, the UN
Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team reported on a reorganisation of the Taliban
shadow governance and military structure in several provinces, with new appointments made in
Balkh province.1310
As of 12 March 2021, an assessment by the Long War Journal presented in a frequently updated
map and based on open-source information, indicated Dawlatabad district as ‘Taliban-controlled’,Charbulak, Chemtal and Zari districts as ‘contested’ and the remaining districts in Balkh province as‘government-controlled’. More recently, as of 26 May 2021, Charkent, Dehdadi, Balkh, Shortepa,
Nahr-e Shahi, Sholgara districts shifted to ‘contested’.1311 A survey Pajhwok Afghan News conductedfrom November 2020 until February 2021,1312 designated 51.13 % of Balkh’s territory under Taliban
control, 44.40 % under government control and 4.47 % controlled by neither side, with the Taliban
not fully controlling any of the districts in Balkh. According to the same survey, 523 959 of Balkh’s
inhabitants lived in areas under Taliban control, 939 455 of the province’s population lived in areas
under government control and 45 770 of Balkh’s residents lived in areas controlled by neitherside.1313 In January 2021, Taliban collected electricity bills from power consumers in parts of Balkh
and Nahr-e Shahi districts under their control.1314
Local officials claimed in December 2019 that ISKP had increased its activities in all provinces of thenorthern region, including Balkh, in the previous months.1315 However, no security incidents
specifically attributed to ISKP were recorded by ACLED in Balkh between 1 January 2020 and 28
February 2021.1316

1304 Tolonews, Illegal Armed Men ‘A Big Challenge For Balkh Residents’, 12 January 2018, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Illegal

gunmen seen behind insecurity in Mazar-i-Sharif, 25 January 2018, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 injured as gunmen loyal to
MPs clash in Balkh, 28 January 2018, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Mazar-i-Sharif garrison failing to bar illegal gunmen:
Residents, 7 March 2018, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Illegal armed men threaten Mazar-i-Sharif security, 22 May 2018, url;
Tolonews, Mazar Man Killed For His Motorcycle, 22 July 2018, url
1305 Pajhwok Afghan News, Increasing crime incidents worry Balkh dwellers, 26 October 2019, url
1306 Pajhwok Afghan News, Undocumented vehicles, bikes being seized in Balkh, 27 October 2019, url; TKG, Unknown
Gunmen Kill 3 Employees of Private Company in Balkh Province, 28 June 2020, url
1307 Reuters, Gunfight erupts in north Afghan city over police chief's appointment, 14 March 2019, url
1308 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban’s influence, insecurity grow in Balkh, 18 August 2019, url
1309 Ruttig, T., The case of Mawlawi Mehdi and Balhab District: Are the Taleban attracting Hazaras?, AAN, 23 May 2020, url
1310 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para 16
1311 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url The source, however, does not specify when and which
information of the aforementioned map was updated. For more information on the methodology used by, see theIntroduction section of this report.
1312 Through telephonic interviews or by distributing questionnaires, Pajhwok Afghan News interviewed a total of 1 266
respondents for this survey, randomly selected across the country. Pajhwok acknowledges the complexity of this task andthe possible inaccuracy of the provided information.
1313 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url
1314 Orbandnews, Taliban collect power bills worth 30m Afs in Balkh annually, 18 January 2021, url
1315 Tolonews, Large-scale Military Operation To Launch in North: Dostum, 5 December 2019, url
1316 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Balkh province, update
25 March 2021, url

127Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, opium poppy cultivation in Balkh province
decreased by 16 %.1317
In terms of the presence of government security forces, Balkh province was under the responsibilityof the 209th ANA Shaheen corps,1318 headquartered in Dehdadi district of the province.1319 Primarily
present at bases in Kabul and Bagram, the US forces maintained regional hubs as of 30 April 2020,
including in Balkh province in the north. Balkh province was included in the area of responsibility of
the Train Advise Assist Command – North (TAAC – North), part of NATO's Resolute Support Mission
within Afghanistan. TAAC-North was led by German forces and had its headquarters in Mazar-e
Sharif.1320 Following the February 2020 US-Taliban deal, one of the US military bases that closed in
the course of 2020 was Shaheen in Balkh province.1321
In addition to regular government forces, members of pro-government militias or so-called Arbaki
and local uprising forces1322 were present in Balkh province and regular targets in Taliban attacks.1323
In February 2021 the New York Times reported about the phenomenon of the so-called ‘one-key
militias’ in Balkh province, referring to militias for which no registration and thus no proof of
member recruitment exists, which allows the commanders to neglect the obligation to pay therecruits, who are often disadvantaged and tempted to join under false pretexts and receive noadequate training or equipment. Since there is no official record of those militias at the provincial or
national level, it is difficult to assess the extent of that network. According to the New York Times,
the people responsible for recruiting for this militia network in Balkh are allies of Atta Mohammad
Noor.1324
Both former Balkh governor Atta Noor and former police commander Nizamuddin Qaysari, whose
militias were involved in clashes with government forces in Mazar-e Sharif in 2019,1325 indicated tobe ready and willing to take up a role in solving crimes, such as the kidnapping of a nine-year old boy
in November 2020,1326 or in fighting AGEs.1327

1317 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 91318 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan. December 2019, 23 January 2020, url, pp. 11-12, p. 50;

USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan. June 2020, 1 July 2020, url, p. 141319 Tolonews, 209 Shaheen Corps: The Base The Taliban Attacked, 22 April 2017, url
1320 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan. June 2020, 1 July 2020, url, pp. 3; 14; USDOD, Enhancing
Security and Stability in Afghanistan. December 2020, 23 April 2021, url, p. 51321 CSIS, 1 December 2020, The Biden Transition and the Real Impact of U.S. Force Cuts in Afghanistan url
1322 For more information on arbaki and uprising forces, see section 1.2.1. of this report.
1323 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: March 2020, 5 March 2020, updated 26 March 2020, url; New YorkTimes (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2020, 6 February 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; Pajhwok AfghanNews, Pro-government commander killed by Taliban in Balkh, 9 February 2021, url
1324 New York Times (The), Inside the Shadowy Militias Luring Unsuspecting Afghans to Fight, or Die, 4 February 2021,
updated 22 March 2021, url
1325 RFE/RL, Rival Police Clash In North Afghan City In Spat Between President, Ex-Governor, 14 March 2019, url; Reuters,
Gunfight erupts in north Afghan city over police chief's appointment, 14 March 2019, url; New York Times (The), Afghan
War Casualty Report: December 2019, 5 December 2019, updated 30 December 2019, url; Kaama Press: BREAKING:
Government storms a warlord’s home with Helicopter gunships in northern Balkh province as he refuses to surrender tosecurity forces, 15 December 2019, url
1326 Pajhwok Afghan News, I can expose Balkh child’s kidnappers if govt wants so: Qaisari, 21 January 2021, url
1327 Tolonews, Qaisari in Kabul to Meet With Govt Officials, 1 September 2020, url; Hesam, H. (@hhesam), [Twitter], posted
on: 24 December 2020, url

128Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

2.5.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
GeneralThroughout 2020 Balkh continued to be one of the provinces where civilians were most affected by
the conflict, according to UNAMA.1328 In 2020, UNAMA ranked Balkh second in terms of civilians
most affected by the conflict, documenting 712 civilian casualties (263 deaths and 449 injured) in
the province. This represents an increase of 157 % compared to 2019. Leading causes of civilian
casualties were ground engagements, accounting for nearly half of all civilian casualties in Balkh,followed by airstrikes and non-suicide IEDs.1329 In 2020, civilian casualties from ground engagements
increased in Balkh province, ranking it second in terms of civilian casualties caused by this type ofincidents, according to UNAMA.1330 Resolute Support (RS) recorded between 102 and 150 civilian
casualties in Balkh in the first half of 2020, reporting similar numbers of civilian casualties between
the first and second quarter of 2020.1331 RS data on civilian casualties per province for the second
half of 2020 were no longer available in the SIGAR quarterly reports.1332
Balkh province was among the four provinces in Afghanistan where the UN recorded most security
incidents throughout 2020 and in early 2021.1333 In the period from 1 January 2020 to 28 February
2021, sources consulted by ACLED reported 620 violent events in Balkh province, of which 423 werecoded as ‘battles’, 166 as ‘explosions/remote violence’ and 31 as ‘violence against civilians’. Morethan one quarter (159) were recorded in Balkh district. Western districts Charbulak and Chemtal
followed with 107 and 75 incidents respectively. Those three districts together accounted for morethan half of all violent events recorded by ACLED in Balkh province between 1 January 2020 and 28
February 2021.1334 These districts, also joined by Sholgareh, scored over 3.0 in conflict intensity1335
on a scale from 1.0 (lowest) to 4.0 (highest) in UNOCHA’s hard-to-reach districts list as of December
2020.1336

1328 UNAMA, Protection of civilians in armed conflicts, Quarterly report: 1 January - 31 March 2020, 27 April 2020, url, p. 3;

UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Midyear Report: 1 January – 30 June 2020, 27 July 2020
(revised on 10 August 2020, url, p. 5; UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Midyear Report
2020, 23 February 2021, url, pp. 72; 1101329 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Midyear Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, pp. 72;
1101330 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Midyear Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 72
1331 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 April 2020, url, p. 69; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 July 2020, url, p. 72
1332 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 October 2020, url; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 January 2021, url
1333 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of
the Secretary-General, A/74/753–S/2020/210, 17 March 2020, url, para 21; UN Security Council, The situation in
Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of the Secretary-General, A/74/897–
S/2020/549, 17 June 2020, url, para 21; UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications forinternational peace and security, Report of the Secretary-General, A/75/634–S/2020/1182, 9 December 2020, url, para 19;
UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of theSecretary General, A/75/811–S/2021/252, 12 March 2021, url, para 181334 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website on a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Balkh province, update 25 March
2021, url
1335 Indicators used for analysing the conflict intensity were: number of kinetic conflict events (25 %), number of casualties(40 %: conflict actors – 25 %, civilian casualties – 75 %), number of airstrikes/IDF incidents (10 %), number of IED/UXO
incidents (detonations and discoveries) (10 %) and active/disputed control (15 %)
1336 UNOCHA, Hard-To-Reach Districts, 11 February 2021, url, pp. 4-6

129

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Figure 10: Balkh province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data1337

Figure 11: Balkh province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on
ACLED data1338

In some of its 2020 weekly bulletins, UNOCHA reported that, within the northern region, mostarmed clashes between ANDSF and AGEs occurred in Balkh province.1339 The incidents coded as‘battles’ by ACLED, concerned nearly all ‘armed clashes’.1340 The majority of those incidents wereattacks by the Taliban on Afghan security forces, including police, ANA soldiers or NDS personnel andmembers of pro-government militias1341 or attacks on military or police facilities such as1337 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Balkh province, update

25 March 2021, url
1338 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Balkh province, update
25 March 2021, url; 13 events (9 battles, 2 remote violence and 2 violence against incidents) in the province for which
ACLED has no information about the location, were not included in this graph (geoprecision code 3 – see introduction)
1339 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (29 June – 5 July 2020, 8 July 2020, url, p. 2; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (13 - 19 July 2020, 22 July 2020, url, p. 2; UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly
Humanitarian Update (5 – 11 October 2020), 14 October 2020, url, p. 2; UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian
Update (9 - 15 November 2020), 18 November 2020, url, p. 21340 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Balkh province, update
25 March 2021, url
1341 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url;
New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 5 November 2020, updated 26 November 2020, url;
New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: December 2020, 10 December 2020, updated 31 December 2020,
url

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checkpoints1342 and bases1343 and on convoys1344 and vehicles,1345 or clashes between ANDSF and
AGEs.1346 Some of those armed clashes resulted in civilian casualties, for example, two civilians were
killed in a Taliban attack on two police officers patrolling in Balkh district centre on 27 July 2020.1347
Several civilians were killed and injured when the Taliban surrounded a house in Charkent district in
September 2020.1348 In that same district four civilians were killed in February 2021 in an attempt by
the Taliban to steal a flock of 400 to 450 sheep that resulted in clashes between the group andlocals.1349
Operations, such as some carried out in February 20201350 or an operation named Shaheen-611 inseveral districts of Balkh province in April 20201351 and attacks carried out by Afghan security forces
against AGEs1352 were also recorded under ‘armed clashes’ by ACLED. Most were carried out inJanuary and February 2020, according to ACLED data.1353 Some of these operations were backed byair strikes, for example in Zari district in January 20201354 or in Charbulak district in January 2021.1355
The Taliban carried out attacks on several district centres in Balkh province, including Zari district
centre in February 2020,1356 Dawlatabad district centre in July 20201357 or Keshendeh district centre
on 31 August 2020.1358 In response to Taliban attacks on checkpoints, Afghan security forces
launched an operation called Shaheen 221 in February 2020, during which they managed to clear
some vulnerable areas in Chemtal district from the Taliban.1359 Coordinated attacks by the Taliban on
Dawlatabad, Balkh and Chemtal districts were reported in March 2020 and led to operations bysecurity forces.1360 Failed Taliban offensives on Dawlatabad and Chemtal districts were again
reported in November 2020.1361

1342 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: December 2020, 10 December 2020, updated 31 December 2020,

url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url
1343 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 4 February 2021, updated 25 February 2021, url;
New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 5 November 2020, updated 26 November 2020, url
1344 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url;
New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report, July 2020, 9 July 2020, updated 30 July 2020, url
1345 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: August 2020, 6 August 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; NewYork Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 5 November 2020, updated 26 November 2020, url;
Tolonews, 2 Female Soldiers Killed in Gunmen Attack in Balkh, 12 January 2021, url
1346 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url;
International Crisis Group, Crisis Watch, 20 May 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban’s shadow district chief killed in
Balkh clash, 20 October 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, 9 ANA personnel wounded in Balkh clash, 24 January 2021, url
1347 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 2020, 9 July 2020, updated 30 July 2020, url
1348 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url
1349 Khaama Press, 4 killed as Taliban tried to snatch a flock of sheep in Balkh, 8 February 2021, url
1350 Afghan Islamic Press (@aip_news), [Twitter], posted on: 11 February 2020, url; Afghanistan, Ministry of Defense(@MoDAfghanistan), [Twitter], posted on: 13 February 2020, url
1351 Tolonews, '17 Villages Cleared of Taliban' in Balkh: Police, 29 April 2020, url
1352 Reporterly (@Reporterlyaf), [Twitter], posted on: 4 February 2021, url; RiV-monitoring (@rivmonitoring), [Twitter],posted on: 30 January 2021, url; Reporterly (@Reporterlyaf), [Twitter], posted on: 6 February 2020, url
1353 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Balkh province, update
25 March 2021, url
1354 Afghanistan, Ministry of Defense (@MoDAfghanistan), [Twitter], posted on: 26 January 2020, url
1355 Pajhwok Afghan News, Shaheen Corps: 3 Taliban killed, 5 wounded, 31 January 2021, url
1356 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (17 February – 23 February 2020), 26 February 2020, url, p. 21357 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report, July 2020, 9 July 2020, updated 30 July 2020, url; Tolonews, 5Security Force Members Killed in Balkh Clashes, 16 July 2020, updated 17 July 2020, url
1358 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url
1359 Tolonews, ‘Vulnerable’ Areas in Chamtal Cleared of Taliban: Army, 8 February 2020, updated 9 February 2020, url
1360 Pajhwok Afghan News, Balkh: 2 tanks torched in Dawlatabad firefight, 20 March 2020, url; Khaama Press, 25 Taliban
militants killed, 33 wounded in Balkh clashes, 24 March 2020, url
1361 Khaama Press, Balkh: Local Police Commander Killed, 26 November 2020, url

131Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation‘Air/drone strikes’ made up 10 % of all reported violent incidents in Balkh between 1 January 2020
and 28 February 2021 by ACLED.1362 Nearly two out of three air strikes in Balkh province were carriedout in following three districts: Charbulak, Chemtal and Balkh. Most air strikes were carried out by
Afghan forces, while some were attributed to US forces, particularly in January and May 2020.1363
While air strikes inflicted losses among AGEs1364 and destroyed their facilities or equipment1365, somealso caused civilian casualties such as the air strikes carried out on 25 January 2020 in Boki village ofBalkh district during which at least six civilians were killed1366 or an airstrike on 24 June in Balkh
district that killed four members of a family and wounded five others.1367 In May 2020, the Taliban
forced civilians to destroy a main road in Balkh district in order to obstruct government forces. As aresult, 13 civilians were killed and 9 were wounded by air strikes.1368 In the first half of 2020, UNAMA
documented more than half of all civilian casualties caused by Afghan Air Force air strikes in Kunduz
and Balkh provinces.1369
AGEs using roadside bombs or IEDs to target security forces1370 or government officials1371,
represented 12 % of all ACLED-reported violent incidents in Balkh between 1 January 2020 and 28
February 2021.1372 Some of these incidents resulted in casualties among civilians, as for example in
Sholgareh district in early November 2020, when two back to back blasts targeting a local uprisingcommander killed three people, including him, and injured several others,1373 in Balkh district on 19
December 2020 when four civilians were killed in a roadside bomb explosion,1374 and in an explosion
targeting an NDS member in Kaldar district in January 2021.1375
Mortars fired by Afghan forces caused civilian casualties in Zari district in January,1376 February1377
and September 2020.1378

1362 These do not include air strikes carried out during operations categorised by ACLED under ‘battles’. For more

information on ACLED’s methodology, please consult the introduction.
1363 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Balkh province, update
25 March 2021, url
1364 Reporterly, 57 Taliban Militants Killed in Balkh Airstrikes, 11 February 2021, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, 26 insurgentskilled in Balkh, Badakhshan, 7 November 2020, url
1365 Khaama press, Video: Airstrike destroys key Taliban compound in Balkh province, 6 April 2020, url
1366 RFE/RL, Afghan Officials Say Four Children, Three Women Killed In Air Strikes, 26 January 2020, url; New York Times(The), Despite Calm in Afghan Cities, War in Villages Kills Dozens Daily, 29 January 2020, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Weekly Humanitarian Update (27 January – 2 February 2020, 5 February 2020, url, p. 2; Pajhwok Afghan News, 7 of afamily killed in Balkh airstrike, residents claim, 26 January 2020, url
1367 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection Of Civilians In Armed Conflict, Midyear Report: 1 January – 30 June 2020, 27 July
2020 (revised on 10 August 2020, url, p. 161368 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: May 2020, 7 May 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; UNAMA,
Afghanistan – Protection Of Civilians In Armed Conflict, Midyear Report: 1 January – 30 June 2020, 27 July 2020 (revised on
10 August 2020, url, p. 17; UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Midyear Report 2020, 23
February 2021, url, p. 60
1369 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection Of Civilians In Armed Conflict, Midyear Report: 1 January – 30 June 2020, 27 July
2020 (revised on 10 August 2020, url, p. 161370 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: December 2020, 10 December 2020, updated 31 December 2020,
url; Khaama Press, Balkh Suicide Bombing Claims 1, Injures 8, 19 September 2020, url
1371 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: June 2020, 4 June 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
1372 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Balkh province,
updated 25 March 2021, url
1373 Pajhwok Afghan News, Uprising commander injured, son killed in Balkh blasts, 5 November 2020, url
1374 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: December 2020, 10 December 2020, updated 31 December 2020,
url
1375 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 4 February 2021, updated 25 February 2021, url
1376 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2020, 2 January 2020, updated 30 January 2020, url
1377 UNAMA, Afghanistan Protection Of Civilians In Armed Conflict First Quarter Report: 1 January - 31 March 2020, 27 April
2020, url, p. 61378 UNAMA, Afghanistan Protection Of Civilians In Armed Conflict Third Quarter Report: 1 January To 30 September 2020,
October 2020, url, p. 19

132

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Thirty one incidents categorised by ACLED as ‘violence against civilians’ included the killing of offduty police personnel1379, the abduction and killing of civilians by the Taliban on 7 April 2020 in
Sholgareh district1380 and the killing of a women the Taliban suspected of cooperating with thegovernment in Zari district in January 2021.1381 The Taliban reported on several killings of civilians bysecurity forces during operations on its website Voice of Jihad.1382 The remaining incidents were
attributed to unknown armed groups and included the killing of civilians for unclear reasons.1383
Incidents of violence against civilians represented 5 % of all violent events in Balkh province codedby ACLED between 1 January 2020 and 28 February 2021, about one third occurring in Mazar-e
Sharif district.1384 Examples of incidents of violence against civilians in Mazar-e Sharif district will be
included further in this chapter. In addition to the incidents recorded by ACLED, UNAMA
documented the killing of a schoolteacher by the Taliban on 24 October 2020, due to both his workwith the Department of Education and having expressed anti-Taliban sentiments and the shooting
and injuring of a humanitarian demining convoy driver on the Mazar-Hairatan highway in Shortepa
district in August 2020. Another driver of the convoy was abducted but released unharmed a few
days later.1385 There were also reports on the killing of civilians, including a man getting ready for his
wedding, by the Taliban in September 20201386 and on the abduction of seven employees of a
private construction company by the Taliban in October 2020.1387
Incidents of the Taliban using residential homes were reported for example from Zari district on 1
May 2020 when the Taliban, fleeing after having attacked the police headquarters and the district
governor’s office, tried to hide in civilian houses and killed a civilian who refused to open the door.
In October 2020 the Taliban entered a home in Dawlatabad district forcing the owners to give themfood. An airstrike targeting the Taliban caused injury to a woman in that house.1388
The detonation of a truck loaded with explosives, reportedly targeting an ANA compound in Balkh
district on 25 August 2020 did not only cause several civilian casualties, but inflicted heavy damage
to several civilian homes nearby as well.1389 The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.1390
Security incidents along the stretch of the Mazar-Shiberghan highway running through Balkhprovince continued to be reported in 2020.1391 Without further specifying which provinces or
districts were impacted, sources reported that civilian movements along main roads and roads

1379 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2020, 6 February 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url;

New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: June 2020, 4 June 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
1380 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: April 2020, 2 April 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; Pajhwok
Afghan News, Taliban abduct, slay 8 civilians in Balkh, 8 April 2020, url
1381 Reporterly, Taliban Kidnapped & Shot Killed Woman in Balkh: Local Officials, 11 January 2021, url
1382 Voice of Jihad, War crimes of the internal enemies (May 2020, 5 June 2020, url; Voice of Jihad, War Crimes (October2020) 11 November 2020, url; Voice of Jihad, War Crimes (November 2020, 10 December 2020, url
1383 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 4 February 2021, updated 25 February 2021, url;
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 civilians, policeman gunned down in Balkh, 17 December 2020, url
1384 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Balkh province, update
25 March 2021, url
1385 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Midyear Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, pp. 38, 54
1386 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url
1387 Reporterly, ‘Taliban’ Abduct 7 Employees Of Construction Company In Balkh, 24 October 2020, url; Tolonews, 7
Employees of Construction Company Kidnapped in Balkh, 23 October 2020, url
1388 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Midyear Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, pp. 59-60
1389 Tolonews, Car Bomb Targets Army Unit in Balkh, Four Dead, 25 August 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War
Casualty Report: August 2020, 6 August 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
1390 Pajhwok Afghan New, Balkh truck bombing damages homes, causes casualties, 25 August 2020, url; Al Jazeera, Taliban
truck bomb, other attacks kill dozen across Afghanistan, 25 August 2020, url
1391 Pajhwok Afghan News, 8 highway police personnel killed in Balkh assault, 1 January 2020, url; New York Times (The),
Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2020, 2 January 2020, updated 30 January 2020, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly
Humanitarian Update (24 February – 1 March 2020, 4 March 2020, url, p. 2; Pajhwok Afghan News, Balkh: Taliban kill 7
policemen in captivity, 9 December 2020, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (7 – 13 December2020), 16 December 2020, url, p. 2

133

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

between provincial capital and district centres were interrupted and humanitarian activities were
obstructed in the northern region of Afghanistan due to attacks, clashes or illegal checkpoints in
Balkh in March 2020,1392 in September 20201393 as well as in January and February 2021.1394 Despite
reassurances and promises by the Afghan security forces about improving the security on thenorthern highways, the situation worsened in the last quarter of 2020. Passengers complained about
increasing insecurity, the presence of Taliban checkpoints, extortion and threats by the Taliban orother armed men.1395 The New York Times reported in February 2021 that the highways in the north,which are vital as they offer the limited options of traveling between provinces by road, ‘have
increasingly become the front line for an emboldened Taliban insurgency’.1396
The WHO registered the closure of one health facility, the damaging of another one, the killing of aperson and the wounding of another person in attacks on health care in Balkh province in 2020.1397
UNAMA recorded the looting of medical supplies by ANA in Zari district on 26 April 2020. The
medical supplies belonged to an NGO, accused by the ANA of supporting the Taliban with those
supplies.1398
In June 2020, through its Twitter account, the Kabul-based news service reportedly cited residents of
Balkh district saying that the Taliban blocked access to water and communication networks in the
district.1399
Mazar-e Sharif district/city
Of the 33 violent incidents recorded by ACLED between 1 January 2020 and 28 february 2021 in
Mazar-e Sharif district and representing 5 % of all violent incidents in Balkh province, landmine or
IED explosions were the prevalent incident type (42 %). In nearly all other districts of the province
this type of incident accounted for less than 20 %. No air strikes were reported in Mazar-e Sharif.1400
On 14 January 2020, an explosion in PD9 of Mazar-e Sharif City, reportedly in front of the residenceof the Balkh district governor, killed two children. This was followed by another explosion woundingat least seven civilians.1401 Civilians were killed or injured in explosions in PD3 of Mazar-e Sharif cityon 1 July 2020,1402 in PD1 on 19 September 20201403 and in PD2 on 19 December 2020.1404

1392 International Crisis Group, Crisis Watch, 19 April 2020, url
1393 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (14 – 20 September 2020), 23 September 2020, url, p. 21394 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (22 – 28 February 2021), 2 March 2021, url, p. 2; UNOCHA,

Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (4 – 10 January 2021), 13 January 2021, url, p. 2; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Weekly Humanitarian Update (11 – 17 January 2021), 19 January 2021, url, p. 2; UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly
Humanitarian Update (18 – 24 January 2021), 27 January 2021, url, p. 21395 Afghanistan Times, Passengers, drivers affected by security situation in north, 21 October 2020, url; Payk Fact-Check,
Security Situation In The Northern Highways Of The Country Have Gotten Worse, Instead Of Getting Better, 9 December
2020, url
1396 New York Times (The), Inside the Shadowy Militias Luring Unsuspecting Afghans to Fight, or Die, 4 February 2021,
updated 22 March 2021, url
1397 WHO, Afghanistan. – Attacks on Health Care (January 01 - December 31, 2020, 11 January 2021, url
1398 UNAMA, Special Report: Attacks On Healthcare During The Covid-19 Pandemic, 20 June 2020, url, p.12
1399 Reporterly (@reporterlyaf), [Twitter], posted on: 11 June 2020, url
1400 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Balkh province, update
25 March 2021, url
1401 AP, Afghan official: Bombs kill 2 children in northern province, 14 January 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 children
killed, 8 civilians wounded in Balkh blasts, 14 January 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report:
January 2020, 2 January 2020, updated 30 January 2020, url
1402 Tolonews, Two Explosions in Mazar-e-Sharif, One Civilian Killed, 1 July 2020, url
1403 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url;
Tolonews, Woman Killed in Balkh Blast, Five More Wounded, 19 September 2020, url
1404 Reporterly (@reporterlyaf), [Twitter], posted on: 19 December 2020, url

134Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

While armed clashes as described above accounted for more than half of all recorded incidents in allother districts in Balkh, in Mazar-e Sharif such incidents represented 27 % of all incidents in the
district.1405
About one out of three violent events registered by ACLED in Mazar-e Sharif in the reporting period,
were incidents of violence against civilians, whereas in other districts of Balkh province this type ofincident represented between 3 and 10 %.1406 The ten incidents coded by ACLED as violence against
civilians in Mazar-e Sharif included the killing by of three employees of a construction company inJune 2020,1407 the abduction of the head of the moneychangers union in September 2020, who wasreleased a few weeks later,1408 the killing of the driver of the governor of Balkh province on 5
October 2020,1409 of a former jihadi commander1410 and of a tribal elder in January 2021,1411 theabduction and killing of the son of the head of AIHRC for Balkh province also in January 2021,1412 an
attack on the director of local TV channel Mitra1413 and the killing of a young man in PD8 in February
2021,1414 although the police claimed that it was connected to a family dispute.1415
Sources consulted by Landinfo during its fact-finding mission to Afghanistan at the end of October
2019, were of the opinion that the security situation in Mazar-e Sharif had worsened in 2019,
compared to 2018, attributing this mainly to crime and to a small extent to conflict-related
violence.1416 The UN Secretary-General noted that inhabitants of larger cities, including Mazar-e
Sharif, were increasingly concerned about criminality.1417 Residents of Mazar-e Sharif and civilsociety activists, complained throughout 2020 about a worsening security situation and increasing
crime in the city, mentioning the presence of illegal armed men, robberies, abductions, murders andchaos.1418 The kidnapping for a large ransom of a nine-year old boy in November 2020 sparked
protests that continued in 2021.1419 While arrests in the case had been made,1420 the boy was notreleased yet in early 2021, prompting the president to threaten to dismiss all security officials in
Balkh province in January 2021.1421 Despite reports of arrests of large numbers of people in1405 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Balkh province, update

25 March 2021, url
1406 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Balkh province, update
25 March 2021, url
1407 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Balkh province, update
25 March 2021, url
1408 Reporterly (@reporterlyaf), [Twitter], posted on: 11 October 2020, url
1409 Pajhwok Afghan News, Balkh governor’s driver shot dead; vehicle snatched, 5 October 2020, url; Khaama Press,
Unknown Gunmen Kills Governor Driver in Balkh, 5 October 2020, url
1410 Pajhwok Afghan News, Former jihadi commander killed in Balkh, 4 January 2021, url
1411 RiV-Monitoring (@rivmonitoring), [Twitter], posted on: 27 January 2021, url
1412 Pajhwok Afghan News, Balkh Human Rights Commissioner’s son killed, 14 January 2021, url
1413 RSF (@RSF_inter), [Twitter], posted on: 2 February 2021, url
1414 Reporterly (@reporterlyaf), [Twitter], posted on: 10 February 2021, url
1415 Ariana News (@Ariana News_), [Twitter], posted on: 10 February 2021, url
1416 Norway, Landinfo, Afghanistan. Sikkerhetssituasjonen i Balkhprovinsen i 2019, 6 April 2020, url, p. 131417 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of
the Secretary General A/74/993–S/2020/809, 18 August 2020, url, para 201418 Pajhwok Afghan News, Balkh police record over 800 crimes in six months, 17 February 2020, url; Pajhwok AfghanNews, Balkhis express mixed reaction to Security Charter, 5 December 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Balkh governor’s
driver shot dead; vehicle snatched, 5 October 2020, url
1419 TKG, Thousands Protest in Balkh over Kidnapped Child, 7 February 2021, url; Vice, Child Kidnapping Is Posing a New
Challenge to Afghanistan’s Beleaguered Police Force, 30 December 2020, url; Tolonews, Angry Protestors in Balkh Call for
Rescue of Abducted Child, 5 December 2020, url
1420 AVA, Kidnappers Post New Video of Child, Increase Ransom, 30 December 2020, url
1421 Payk Fact-Check, Abdul Raouf, The Abducted Child, Has Not Been Freed Yet And Is Still In Captivity Of The Kidnapers, 2January 2021, url; AVA, Ghani threatens to fire Balkh security chiefs over boy’s kidnapping,
18 January 2021, url; Afghanistan Times, Kidnapped child’s family demands his release, warns to block roads, 7 February
2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

connection with criminal offenses,1422 the dismissal of security officials in September 2020 in an
attempt to stand stronger against the security threat and crimes,1423 or the implementation of a
Security Charter program since late November 2020,1424 the complaints and concerns about risingcrime continued in early 2021.1425 A civil society activist linked the growing number of illegal armed
men in Mazar-e Sharif to the worsened security situation in several of Balkh’s districts in 2020,
explaining that the Taliban’s territorial gains had led to the arrival of more public uprising members
and local police in Mazar-e Sharif, resulting in more armed men moving around the city.1426

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020 – 28 February 2021, reporting 16 812 persons
displaced from Balkh, of which 16 772 (over 99 %) were displaced within the province. During thesame period, 23 191 persons were displaced to Balkh.1427
The largest groups of IDPs from Balkh were registered in January, February, May and October 2020.
Most were displaced from Charbulak, especially in May 2020 and January 2021 and fromDawlatabad, mostly in February and October 2020. Large groups were displaced from Sholgarah, inparticular in May and October 2020, from Chemtal, especially in February and August 2020, from
Keshendeh, in particular in May 2020 and from Zari, mainly in March 2020.1428 Several hundreds of
IDPs were registered from Shortepa district in January 2020, due to military operations in that
district1429 and from Charkent district in October 2020.1430
Seven individuals from Balkh district were registered by UNOCHA as displaced due to conflict in June
2020. UNOCHA registered another seven IDPs from Mazar-e Sharif district in August 2020.1431
In addition to the people displaced within the province, Balkh also hosted IDPs from Faryab province
and to a lesser extent from Jawzjan province. Together Mazar-e Sharif and Nahr-e Shahi districts
hosted 90 % of all people IDPs looking for refuge in Balkh province. Other districts hosting IDPs,
albeit to a far lesser extent, were Dehdadi, Sholgarah and Charkent.1432

1422 Tolonews, Balkh Residents Want Action Against Increased Armed Robberies, 12 January 2020, url; Pajhwok AfghanNews, 45 suspects captured in connection with criminal offenses in Balkh, 13 January 2021, url
1423 Khaama press, MoI Fires 14 Security Officials in Balkh, 13 September 2020, url
1424 Pajhwok Afghan News, Balkhis express mixed reaction to Security Charter, 5 December 2020, url
1425 Pajhwok Afghan News, Crimes at peak in Mazar-i-Sharif, complain residents, 20 January 2021, url; Pajhwok AfghanNews, Growing presence of illegal gunmen worries Mazar residents, 26 January 2021, url
1426 Pajhwok Afghan News, Growing presence of illegal gunmen worries Mazar residents, 26 January 2021, url
1427 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 23 February 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict
Displacement 2021, updated 8 March 2021, url
1428 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (24 February – 1 March 2020, 4 March 2020, url, p. 21429 UNOCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian
Update (27 January – 2 February 2020, 5 February 2020, url, p. 2
1430 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 23 February 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict
Displacement 2021, updated 8 March 2021, url
1431 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 23 February 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict
Displacement 2021, updated 8 March 2021, url
1432 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 23 February 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict
Displacement 2021, updated 8 March 2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

2.6 Bamyan
2.6.1 General description of the province

Map 6: Afghanistan – Bamyan province, source: UNOCHA1433

Bamyan province is located in the central highlands region1434 and is divided into the following
districts: Bamyan, Kahmard, Panjab, Sayghan, Shibar, Waras and Yakawlang. The provincial capital is
Bamyan.1435 Yakawlang Two is mentioned by the Independent Election Commission as a separate‘temporary’ district.1436 According to AAN analyst Thomas Ruttig, ‘“temporary” districts […] havebeen approved after entry into force of the 2004 constitution by the president due to security orother considerations, but have not yet been approved by parliament.’1437
According to estimates for 2019-2020 by NSIA, the province has a population of 486 928.1438
The main ethnic group in the province is Hazara. Other groups present include a minority of Pashtun,
Tajik, and Sayed/Sadat.1439 According to various sources quoted in a query response by ACCORD,
Bamyan’s Sayeds are mostly Hazaras, though they distinguish themselves from other Hazaras, and1433 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Bamyan Province, District Atlas, April 2014, url
1434 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Bamyan Province, District Atlas, April 2014, url
1435 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan 2020-2021, June 2020, url, p. 191436 Afghanistan, IEC, Afghanistan 2019 Presidential Elections - Final Results by Polling Stations: Province Bamyan, 2020, url;

Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2020-21, June 2020, url, p. 19
1437 Ruttig, T., The Afghanistan Election Conundrum (12): Good News and Bad News About District Numbers, AAN, 16
August 2018, url
1438 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-20, 18 November 2019, url, p. 2
1439 US Naval Postgraduate School, Bamyan Provincial Overview, n.d., url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

are traditionally part of the Hazara religious and political elite.1440 Approximately 90 % of Bamyan’s
residents are Shias.1441
According to the Afghan Civil Aviation report published in November 2020, there is one domestic
aerodrome at 1.4 kilometer south of the Bamyan Town centre and within the town limits1442. The
aerodrome is connected to Kabul by a daily Kam Air commercial flight.1443
By road, Bamyan can be reached from Kabul either by the Kabul-Bamyan Highway, via Wardak
province, or by the Ghorband Valley, via Parwan province.1444 Bamyan province was planned to beconnected to neighbouring Baghlan province via the Baghlan to Bamyan (B2B) Road in 2022.1445
Nevertheless, in September 2020, residents of both provinces criticized the government and theconstruction company for the irregular construction work and the delay of this project started in2015.1446 According to the April 2020 report of the Afghan Ministry of Transport (MOT), a road
construction was planned between Yakawlang district of Bamyan province and Dara-i Suf district ofSamangan province.1447

2.6.2 Conflict background and actors in Bamyan
Certain regions in Afghanistan, like Panjsher province and the area of the central highlands (including
Bamyan province1448), have been described as relatively safe and less affected by conflict-driven
violence.1449 According to an Afghan military expert cited by Tolonews, the relative stability of
Bamyan as well as Daykundi and Panjsher provinces is related to the social cohesion among its
inhabitants, as most of them belong to the same ethnic or tribal group.1450 Bamyan's relative stability
has also been attributed to the active involvement of religious leaders in local and governmental
peace processes in the province.1451 In November 2020, despite a non-claimed twin blast which killed
14 people and wounded 50 others,1452 the French newspaper Le Monde mentioned Bamyan Province
as a ”haven of peace“ which attracts visitors from all over the country in the summer.1453 According
to the AFP, quoted by French magazines, many Hazaras, originating from Bamyan, fled Kabul after
repeated IS attacks against their community and returned to their province.1454

1440 ACCORD, Anfragebeantwortung zu Afghanistan: Informationen zur Volksgruppe der Sadat (Sayed, Sayyed, Sadaat,

Sayyid, Sayid, Sayeed) [Query response on Afghanistan: Information on the ethnic group of the Sadat (Sayed, Sayyed,
Sadaat, Sayyid, Sayid, Sayeed)], 25 October 2017, url
1441 Pajhwok Afghan News, Elections 2019: Bamyan Province Background Profile, n.d., url
1442 Afghanistan, ACAA, Aeronautical Information Publication – Aerodrome (AD), Part 3, 5 November 2020, url, p. 54
1443 Kam Air, Kam Air News, n.d., url
1444 Pajhwok Afghan News, Hajigak Pass Reopens for Traffic, 26 April 2015, url
1445 World Bank (The), Trans-Hindukush Road Connectivity Project, 24 October 2018, url
1446 Tolonews, Govt Criticized for Delay in Doshi-Bamiyan Road Project, 15 September 2020, url
1447 Afghanistan, Ministry of Transport (MOT), Grant -0355- AFG: Transport Network Development Investment Program –Tranche 3 (Dir-i-suf to Yakawlang Road Project), April 2020, url, p.1
1448 Khaama Press, Traditional Dambora Musical Festival Organized in Bamyan Province, 30 June 2018, url; Al Jazeera, Low
Turnout, Technical Glitches Mark Afghan Presidential Election, 28 September 2019, url; Reporterly, Challenges of the 2019
Elections: Bamyan, a Province with Heavy Preparedness and Soaring Uncertainty, 31 August 2019, url
1449 DW, Afghanistan: ‘A Latent Instability Dominates the Picture’, 14 March 2017, url; RFE/RL, Afghan Taliban Wants What
It Hasn't Been Able to Hold: Hazara Regions, 13 November 2018, url; National (The), Fears of Violence and Fraud Hang overAfghan Presidential Election, 26 September 2019, url; An international organisation Landinfo spoke to in October 2019.
Norway, Landinfo, Afghanistan: Sikkerhetssituasjon og konfliktmonster i 2019, 22 January 2020, url, pp. 12-13; Sweden,
Lifos/Migrationsverket, Säkerhetsläget i Afghanistan (Version 2.0), 7 April 2020, url , pp. 12, 51
1450 Pajhwok Afghan News, 2017 Causalities: Nearly 25,000 People Killed, Wounded in Afghanistan, 14 January 2018, url
1451 UNAMA, Bamyan Religious Scholars Gather to Discuss Peace-Building in Afghanistan, 20 November 2017, url
1452 DW, Afghanistan: Deadly blasts hit Bamiyan province, 24 November 2020, url; Le Figaro, Afghanistan: au moins 14
morts dans l'explosion de deux bombes à Bamiyan, 24 November 2020, url
1453 Le Monde, En Afghanistan, l’ombre des talibans plane à nouveau sur les trésors de Bamiyan, 22 November 2020, url
1454 Le Point, Afghanistan: les Hazaras craignent le pire avec le départ des Américains, 28 January 2021, url; L’Express,
Afghanistan: les Hazaras craignent le pire avec le départ des Américains , 28 January 2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

According to two international sources interviewed by Landinfo in October 2019, 10 to 15 kilometreson the Kabul-Bamyan Highway had been controlled by the Taliban for several years.1455 In December
2019, Qaane reported on 20 kilometres of this highway, connecting the Hazarajat region to theAfghan capital, under Taliban control.1456 Roadblocks/checkpoints and IED emplacement by armed
opposition groups have been reported1457, as well as people being killed1458, kidnapped1459(passengers working for the Afghan government, NGOs or international troops) and/or extorted1460
by Taliban militants. The victims were mainly Hazaras travelling on this route between Kabul and theHazarajat region.1461 58 % of respondents of the Asia Foundation’s 2019 Survey of the Afghan People
in Bamyan province reported to experience fear while travelling.1462 In December 2019, AAN
reported on an increasing number of Afghan people taking flights or longer routes to bypass roads
situated in contested or Taliban-controlled areas. An NGO employee, cited by AAN, declared to use
the Ghorband Valley route (through Parwan province) instead of the road between Maydan Sharand Bamyan.1463 Truck drivers transporting agricultural produce and other material between Kabul
and the Hazarajat region reportedly use the alternative route through Parwan as well, avoiding tax
collection by the Taliban along the Kabul-Bamyan Highway.1464 In November 2020, a twin blast killed
14 people and wounded 50 others in Bamyan town. Later, two young men would have confessedthat they organized the attack under the orders of the Taliban.1465
No security incidents specifically attributed to ISKP have been recorded in Bamyan province between
1 March 2019 and 30 June 2020 by ACLED.1466
An LWJ assessment mapping Taliban control in Afghanistan in a frequently updated map and basedon open-source information, consulted in April and May 2021, indicated all districts of Bamyan
province as ‘government-controlled’ or ‘undetermined’.1467 The provincial capital, Bamyan City, isreported to be under government control.1468
A survey of Pajhwok Afghan News conducted from November 2020 until February 2021 designated99.88 % of Bamyan province under the government control and 0.13 % under the Taliban control.
According to the same survey, 494 938 of Bamyan inhabitants lived in areas under the government
control and 619 in areas under the Taliban control1469.

1455 Norway, Landinfo, Afghanistan: Sikkerhetssituasjon og konfliktmonster i 2019, 22 January 2020, url , p. 261456 Qaane, E., One Land, Two Rules (9): Delivering Public Services in Insurgency-Affected Jalrez District of Wardak Province,

AAN, 16 December 2019, url
1457 ERM, AC401-ERM 09 Conflict Household Assessment Report in Bamyan City of Bamyan Province, August 2019, url , p.
1; Qaane, E., One Land, Two Rules (9): Delivering Public Services in Insurgency-Affected Jalrez District of Wardak Province,
AAN, 16 December 2019, url
1458 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: May 31-June 6, 6 June 2019, url; Afghanistan Times, People Ask for
Security of Kabul-Bamyan Highway, 13 September 2019, url
1459 Afghanistan Times, People Ask for Security of Kabul-Bamyan Highway, 13 September 2019, url
1460 Tolonews, NDS Chief Says Claims against Alipoor Will Be Investigated, 27 November 2018, url; Afghanistan Times,
People Ask for Security of Kabul-Bamyan Highway, 13 September 2019, url
1461 Qaane, E., One Land, Two Rules (9): Delivering Public Services in Insurgency-Affected Jalrez District of Wardak Province,
AAN, 16 December 2019, url
1462 Asia Foundation (The), A Survey of the Afghan People - Afghanistan in 2019, 2 December 2019, url, p. 63
1463 Kazemi, S., R., Peace in the Districts (1): A Chasm between High Talks and Local Concerns in Afghanistan, AAN, 11
December 2019, url
1464 Qaane, E., One Land, Two Rules (9): Delivering Public Services in Insurgency-Affected Jalrez District of Wardak Province,
AAN, 16 December 2019, url
1465 Kabul Now, ANA will create battalion in Bamyan as violence intensifies, 03 February 2021, url
1466 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Bamyan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
1467 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url. LWJ, however, does not specify when and which information of
the aforementioned map was updated.
1468 ERM, AC401-ERM 09 Conflict Household Assessment Report in Bamyan City, August 2019, url , p. 1
1469 Pajhwok, Govt, Taliban make exaggerated claims of territory they control, 12 February 2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

According to AAN analyst Ehsan Qaane, insecurity in the insurgency-affected Jalrez district of
Wardak province has wider ramifications for the security situation in the Hazarajat region (including
Bamyan province), ‘given the importance of passing through Jalrez and the risks that this transit
entails’.1470 The Kabul-Bamyan Highway, often referred to as the Death Road/Valley1471, has beenreported as unsafe.1472
In the beginning of 2021, sources mentioned the presence of the Hazara militia ‘Resistance for
Justice Movement’ in the central highlands of Bamyan. The militia claims to patrol the roads toprotect the local population, but also to kidnap, during raids, the Taliban who will serve as abargaining chip against Hazara hostages.1473
According to the UNODC Opium Survey from 2020, Bamyan remained opium-free in 2020.1474
In terms of the presence of government security forces, Bamyan is under the responsibility of the203th ANA Corps. Bamyan province is included in the Task Force Southeast (TF-Southeast), which ispart of NATO’s Resolute Support Mission within Afghanistan. TF-Southeast is led by US forces and has
its headquarters in Paktya province.1475 In November 2018, President Ashraf Ghani ordered theformation of a new 443-strong security unit in Bamyan province, to ensure the protection of (road)
construction projects and to conduct special operations.1476 Security forces frequently searched carsand question people in checkpoints.1477 In February 2021, ANA decided to create a battalion
structure in the central Bamyan with the agreement of the Province Governor.1478

2.6.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 96 civilian casualties (22 killed and 74 injured) in Bamyan in nonsuicide IEDs (leading cause), landmines and targeted killings. This represents an increase of 1 820%
compared to 2019.1479 According to SIGAR, Resolute Support (RS) recorded less than 25 civilian
casualties in Bamyan province during the first,1480 and the second quarter of 2020.1481 No RS
information on civilian casualties per province was available for the second half of 2020 in SIGAR
quarterly reports.1482

1470 Qaane, E., One Land, Two Rules (9): Delivering Public Services in Insurgency-Affected Jalrez District of Wardak Province,

AAN, 16 December 2019, url
1471 Afghanistan Times, People Ask for Security of Kabul-Bamyan Highway, 13 September 2019, url ; Qaane, E., One Land,
Two Rules (9): Delivering Public Services in Insurgency-Affected Jalrez District of Wardak Province, AAN, 16 December
2019, url
1472 Tolonews, Bamiyan Tourism Takes a Knock due to Security Threats on Roads, 28 June 2017, url; National (The),
Coronavirus Shatters Tourism Hopes in Afghanistan's Bamyan Province, 26 April 2020, url
1473 Al Jazeera, Hazaras fear for future as Afghanistan risks slipping into chaos, 3 February 2021, url; Le Point, Afghanistan:les Hazaras craignent le pire avec le départ des Américains, 28 January 2021, url; L’Express, Afghanistan: les Hazaras
craignent le pire avec le départ des Américains , 28 January 2021, url
1474 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 91475 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, 1 July 2020, url, p. 141476 Tolonews, Ghani Orders Formation of New 443-Strong Security Unit in Bamyan Province, 10 November 2018, url
1477Al Jazeera, Hazaras fear for future as Afghanistan risks slipping into chaos, 3 February 2021, url; Le Point, Afghanistan:les Hazaras craignent le pire avec le départ des Américains, 28 January 2021, url; L’Express, Afghanistan: les Hazaras
craignent le pire avec le départ des Américains , 28 January 2021, url
1478 Kabul Now, ANA will create battalion in Bamyan as violence intensifies, 03 February 2021, url
1479 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 110
1480 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 April 2020, url, p. 69
1481 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 July 2020, url, p. 72
1482 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 October 2020, url ; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 January 2021, url

140Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

From 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, ACLED collected data on nine violent events in Bamyan
province from open sources: six coded as ‘battles’ (67 %) and three as ‘explosions/remote violence’(33 %).1483

Figure 12: Bamyan province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data1484

Figure 13: Bamyan province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on
ACLED data1485

The category ‘battles’ concerned mainly armed clashes between ANDSF and the Taliban, while thecategory “explosions/remote violence” concerned grenade, remote explosive, landmine and IED
attacks.1486
Moreover, in November 2020, two roadside bombs exploded in a main bazar in Bamyan City killing
14 people and injuring 45 others. The Taliban denied involvement in the bombings and ISKP did not1483 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Bamyan province, update 25 March
2021, url
1484 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Bamyan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
1485 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Bamyan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
1486 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Bamyan province,
update 25 March 2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

claim responsibility. 1487 Later, two young men would have confessed that they organized the attack
under the orders of the Taliban.1488

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020 – 28 February 2021, reporting 483 persons
displaced from Bamyan, of which 308 were displaced within the province from Kahmard district to
Bamyan district. During the same period, 126 persons from Shibar district and 49 persons from
Sayghan district were displaced to Kabul. 1489

2.7 Daykundi
2.7.1 General description of the province

Map 7: Afghanistan – Daykundi province, source: UNOCHA1490

Daykundi (Daikundi) province is located in the central region.1491 The administrative districts of theprovince are: Ashtarlay (Ishterlai), Kajran (Kejran), Khadir (Khedir), Kiti, Miramor, Nili, Sang-e Takht,
Shahrestan (Shahristan); the district of Pato is officially defined as ‘temporary’ district.1492 Pato
district, formerly a part of the district of Gizab in Uruzgan province, was reportedly formed in June

1487 DW, Afghanistan: Deadly blasts hit Bamiyan province, 24 November 2020, url; Le Figaro, Afghanistan : au moins 14

morts dans l'explosion de deux bombes à Bamiyan, 24 November 2020, url
1488 Kabul Now, ANA will create battalion in Bamyan as violence intensifies, 03 February 2021, url
1489 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 30 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, updated 4 April 2021, url
1490 UNOCHA, Afghanistan, Provincial reference Map, Daykundi Province 25 May 2015, url, p. 61491 UNOCHA, Afghanistan, Provincial reference Map, Daykyndi Province 25 May 2015, url, p. 61492 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan 2020-21, June 2020, url, p. 34

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

2018.1493 While UNAMA, AAN, and several media sources mentioned Nawmesh (Nawamish) district
as a part of Daykundi province in 2019 and 2020,1494 in June 2020 NSIA listed it as a ‘temporary’
district of Helmand Province. The provincial capital of Daykundi is Nili.1495
According to estimates for 2019-2020 by National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA), theprovince had a population of 507 610.1496
Daykundi is a part of the Hazarajat region1497 and the main ethnic group in the province is Hazara.
Other groups include a minority of Pashtun, Baloch, and Sayed/Sadat.1498 The district of Pato hasboth Pashtun and Hazara population.1499
Daykundi has a ‘difficult geography:’1500 most of its territory is mountainous, and the roads often
remain blocked due to heavy winter snowfalls.1501 The province was reported to have ‘bad’ roadconditions and lack infrastructure.1502 According to the residents, there was ‘only one asphalted roadin the province’ in 2018.1503
According to Daykundi’s former governor, as of 2018, the province had an airport, which was ‘notstandard’ as it allowed landing of only small planes.1504 In 2020, the National Procurement Authorityof Afghanistan issued a tender to construct the airport and relevant infrastructure in Daykundi.1505

2.7.2 Conflict background and actors in Daykundi
The central highlands, including Daykundi province, used to be described as relatively safe areas,
which were less affected by conflict-driven violence.1506 In March 2015 and June 2018, Pajhwok
Afghan News reported that the residents of Daykundi expressed their fears of Taliban attacks
because of the proximity of Helmand and Uruzgan provinces.1507

1493 Pajhwok Afghan News, Daikundi: 80pc of Pato Residents without Tazkira, 6 May 2018, url ; Qaane, E., The 2018 Election

Observed (7) in Daikundi: The Outstanding Role of Women, AAN, 27 January 2019, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban Not
Allowing Us to Buy Food: Daikundi Residents, 30 March 2019, url
1494 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, 22 February 2020, url, p. 49;
Afghanistan Times (The), Four Afghan Security Forces, 12 Taliban Insurgents Killed in Daikundi Clash, 12 July 2020, url; Adili,A., Y., Afghanistan’s 2019 Election (18): How the People of Bamyan, Daikundi and Lal Wa Sarjangal Voted, AAN, 16 October
2019, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Daikundi Blast: 7 People Killed, 4 Injured, 10 May 2019, url; Reporterly, Security Incidents
Mount in Daikundi; Why Has the Secured Province Faces Insecurity?, 11 July 2019, url
1495 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan 2020-21, June 2020, url, p. 34
1496 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan 2020-21, June 2020, url, p. 71497 Bhatia, M., Hazarajat: Daykundi, Shahristan, Panjab and Syahkhak, 2008, p. 279; Qaane, E., One Land, Two Rules (9):Delivering Public Services in Insurgency-Affected Jalrez District of Wardak Province, AAN, 16 December 2019, url
1498 US NavalPostgraduate School, Dai Kundi Provincial Overview, n.d., url
1499 Van Bijlert, M., Trouble in Gizab; the Fight Everyone Chose to Ignore, AAN, 31 October 2011, url
1500 Adili, A., Y., Afghanistan’s 2019 Election (18): How the People of Bamyan, Daikundi and Lal Wa Sarjangal Voted, AAN,
16 October 2019, url
1501 Pajhwok Afghan News, Elections 2019: Daykundi Province Background Profile, n.d., url; DW, Avalanches Kill 21 People
in Afghanistan, Death Toll Expected to Rise, 14 February 2020, url
1502 Afghanistan FSC, Daykundi Province Fact Findings (Qualitative Assessment) Report, 18 April 2018, url, p. 31503 Tolonews, Daikundi Secure but Lacks Development: Residents, 6 April 2018, url
1504 Tolonews, Daikundi Secure but Lacks Development: Residents, 6 April 2018, url
1505 Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, National Procurement Authority (NPA), Addendum No. 6 to Bidding Documents forConstruction of Daikundi Airport, 27 June 2020, url
1506 Tolonews, Daikundi Secure but Lacks Development: Residents, 6 April 2018, url; Qaane, E., The 2018 Election Observed(7) in Daikundi: The Outstanding Role of Women, AAN, 27 January 2019, url; Ruttig, T., Spring Offensive and Flooding Since
the Afghan New Year, 7 April 2019, url; Norway, Landinfo, Afghanistan: Sikkerhetssituasjon og konfliktmonster i 2019, 22
January 2020, url, p. 13; Sweden, Lifos/Migrationsverket, Säkerhetsläget i Afghanistan (Version 2.0), 7 April 2020, url, p. 51
1507 Pajhwok Afghan News, Kajran district may fall to Taliban, residents warn, 25 March 2015, url; Pajhwok Afghan News,
Daikundi residents concerned about Daesh in neighbourhood, 3 June 2018, url

143Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

An increase in Taliban attacks causing a deterioration of the security situation in some of Daykundi’s
districts was reported in July 2019, with the districts of Kajran, Pato, and Nawmesh1508 named as themost insecure areas of the province.1509 According to UNAMA, civilian casualties in Daykundi in 2019
revealed an increase of 71 % compared to 2018.1510 As stated by AAN analyst Ehsan Qaane, thecreation of Pato district affected the security situation in the region, as it sowed local discord.1511 In
April 2019, Daykundi residents, as quoted by Pajhwok Afghan News, related the instability in theprovince to a competition among political parties.1512 In June 2019, Emergency Response Mechanism(ERM) reported that the security situation in Pato1513, Ashtarlay, and Khadir districts was ‘highly
volatile’ due to the fighting between GoA forces and the Taliban in Pato and ‘personal dispute
between local commanders in Ashtarlay and Khadir.’1514
In 2020, MoI and media sources reported on the presence of Taliban militants in Kajran and Pato
districts.1515 In April 2020, AP described the security situation in Pato as ‘volatile’.1516 In June 2020,
Afghan journalist Bilal Sarwary described Kajran district as a ‘corridor’ for the Taliban and a part of ‘amajor smuggling route’ from the south to the north of Afghanistan.1517 In July 2020, according to amember of the Daykundi provincial council, the Taliban ‘surged up their activities’ in Kajran and Pato
districts as well as in Nawmesh.1518 In July 2020, the Khaama Press mentioned ‘unprecedented
battles’ between the ANDSF and the Taliban taking place in Kajran;1519 according to a member of the
Daykundi provincial council, the Taliban ‘surged up their activities’ in Kajran and Pato districts as wellas in Nawmesh.1520
In February 2021, the NDS reportedly arrested five key members of the Taliban in Tamzan area ofPato district: allegedly, the arrested persons killed a police officer, were involved in assassinations
and planting IEDs on public roads, and ‘conducted several terrorist and destructive activities’ in Patoand Kajran.1521
As of 5 May 2021, LWJ assessed the district of Kajran as ‘contested,’ changing its previous status (asof 28 February 2021) which was defined as ‘unconfirmable Taliban claim of control.’ According to
the map, Pato—indicated as Gizab district under Daykundi administration—was also assessed as‘contested.’ The remaining districts of Daykundi province were assessed as ‘government-controlled
or undetermined.’ More recently, as of 26 May 2021, all districts of Daykundi were assessed as ‘GoA
control or undetermined’, apart from Kajran district, which remained as ‘contested’.1522 A survey
conducted by Pajhwok Afghan News from November 2020 until February 2021, designated 95.6 % ofDaykundi’s territory as controlled by the Afghan government, 2.2 % by the Taliban, and 2.2 % by noside. According to the same survey, 493 548 of Daykundi’s inhabitants lived in the areas controlled
1508 According to NSIA, Nawmesh is a ‘temporary’ district of Helmand Province, see Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimatedpopulation of Afghanistan 2020-21, June 2020, url, p. 40
1509 Reporterly, Security Incidents Mount in Daikundi; Why Has the Secured Province Faces Insecurity?, 11 July 2019, url
1510 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, 22 February 2020, url, p. 94
1511 Qaane, E., The 2018 Election Observed (7) in Daikundi: The Outstanding Role of Women, AAN, 27 January 2019, url
1512 Pajhwok Afghan News, Political Parties Seen As a Source of Insecurity in Daikundi, 14 April 2019, url
1513 The source refers to Pato as Gizab, ERM, AC301-ERM 09 Conflict Household Assessment Report in Nili District ofDaykundi Province, 23 June 2019, url, p. 1
1514 ERM, AC301-ERM 09 Conflict Household Assessment Report in Nili District of Daykundi Province, 23 June 2019, url, p. 1
1515 Afghanistan, Ministry of Interior Affairs, 15 Taliban Terrorists killed in Daikundi, 1 January 2020, url; Reporterly, Taliban
Holding 57 Hostage in Daykundi: Officials, 20 June 2020, url; Kabul Now, Taliban take 53 civilians as hostages in Daikundi
province, 20 June 2020, url; Afghanistan Times, Four Afghan Security Forces, 12 Taliban Insurgents Killed in Daikundi Clash,
12 July 2020, url
1516 AP, 3 Policemen Die in Attacks on Afghan Police Chief, Governor, 21 April 2020, url
1517 Sarwary, B., [Twitter], posted on: 21 June 2020, url
1518 Afghanistan Times, Four Afghan Security Forces, 12 Taliban Insurgents Killed in Daikundi Clash, 12 July 2020, url
1519 Khaama Press, Taliban Kill 3 Children in Daykundi, 31 August 2020, url
1520 Afghanistan Times, Four Afghan Security Forces, 12 Taliban Insurgents Killed in Daikundi Clash, 12 July 2020, url
1521 Afghanistan Times, Five Key Taliban Members Detained in Daikundi, 10 February 2021, url
1522 LWJ, Maping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url, accessed 28 February 2021. The source, however, does not
specify when and which information of the map was updated.

144

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situationby the government, 11 478 in the areas under the Taliban control, and 11 478 in the areas notcontrolled by either side.1523
According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, opium poppy cultivation in Daykundi province
decreased by 6 %.1524
In terms of the presence of government security forces, Daykundi was under the responsibility of the205th ANA Corps. Daykundi province is included in the Train, Advise and Assist Command - South(TAAC-S), which is part of NATO’s Resolute Support Mission within Afghanistan. TAAC-S is led by USforces and has its headquarters in Kandahar province.1525

2.7.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 72 civilian casualties (42 deaths and 30 injured) in Daykundi province,
which was an increase of 3 % compared to 2019. The leading causes of civilian casualties were nonsuicide IEDs, followed by ground engagements and aerial operations.1526
According to ACLED data, between 1 January 2020 and 28 February 2021 there were 25 security
incidents recorded in Daykundi province, of which 12 were coded as ‘battles’, nine as‘explosions/remote violence,’ and four as ‘violence against civilians.’ It must be noted that ACLED
does not include Pato district in the list of Daykundi districts and therefore the incidents that took
place in Pato are not reflected in ACLED data.1527

Figure 14: Daykundi province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data1528

1523 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url. For

this survey, Pajhwok Afghan News interviewed (through telephone interviews or by distributing questionnaires) a total of 1
266 respondents, randomly selected across the country.
1524 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 91525 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, 1 July 2020, url, p. 131526 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 110
1527 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website on a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Daykundi province, update 25 March
2021, url
1528 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Daykundi province,
update 25 March 2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Figure 15: Daykundi province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, basedon ACLED data1529

The majority of ‘battles’ concerned ‘armed clashes.’1530 Examples of such incidents include an attack
on military or police checkpoints in Khadir (Kando) district in March 20201531 and an attack by the
Taliban on an ANDSF checkpoint in Tamzan area of Pato district, during which four police personnel
and 12 Taliban militants were killed, in July 2020.1532 In August 2020, the Taliban conducted anattack on a security outpost in the Dara Zin village of Pato district, which resulted in the killing of fivepro-government militiamen and the injuring of six; the insurgents looted all weapons and equipmentof the outpost;1533 in February 2021, at least one security force member was reportedly killed andanother injured in the Taliban attack over a security outpost in Tapa Poor area of Kajran.1534
ACLED recorded five incidents of ‘explosions/remote violence’ in Kajran district and four in Nili
district; ‘remote explosives/landmines/IEDs’ were the cause of three incidents in Kajran and all fourin Nili.1535 The instances involving remote violence, as reported by media source include thefollowing: in April 2020, a car of a provincial police chief hit a roadside IED, causing casualties among
ANP members;1536 in June 2020, two civilians were killed in an explosion of a Taliban-planted
landmine in Kajran;1537 in September 2020, at least 14 civilians were killed and 4 injured after theirvehicle hit a roadside bomb planted by Taliban in Dasht-e Sulayman village of Kajran district;1538 in
February 2021, 5 security forces members were killed and 2 injured when a military vehicle hit aroadside IED in Tangai-Soof area in Kajran district.1539
During the EASO reporting period, local media reported on cases involving abduction of civilians in
Daykundi. Thus, in January 2020, Taliban militants were reported to abduct two drivers who weretransporting food after looting their trucks; the drivers were later released.1540 In June 2020, in
1529 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Daykundi province,

update 25 March 2021, url; 4 events (1 battles, 2 remote violence and 1 violence against civilians) in the province for which
ACLED has no information about the location, were not included in this graph (geoprecision code 3 – see introduction)
1530 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Daykundi province,
update 25 March 2021, url
1531 Pajhwok Afghan News, 4 Police Killed, 8 Injured in Daikundi Clash, 29 March 2020, url
1532 Afghanistan Times, Four Afghan Security Forces, 12 Taliban Insurgents Killed in Daikundi Clash, 12 July 2020, url; TKG,
Daikundi: Taliban Storms Security Outpost, Kills 4 Afghan Forces, 12 July 2020, url
1533 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: August 2020, 6 August 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
1534 Reporterly, One Security Force Killed in Taliban’s Overnight Attack in Daikundi, 6 February 2021, url
1535 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Daykundi province,
update 25 March 2021, url
1536 AP, 3 Policemen Die in Attacks on Afghan Police Chief, Governor, 21 April 2020, url
1537 Bakhtar News Agency, Mine Blast Took the Lives of Two Civilians, 2 June 2020, url
1538 Tolonews, Blast in Daikundi Kills 14 Civilians: Interior Ministry, 29 September 2020, url
1539 Afghanistan Times, 7 Security Force Members Killed in Daikundi, Herat Blasts, 17 February 2021, url
1540 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban Rebels Accused of Looting Food-Laden Trucks, 24 January 2020, url

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Gharma village of Kajran district, the Taliban took hostage 53 civilians who were travelling on
Daykundi-Kandahar highway: reportedly, the aim of the militants was to locate a couple who had
escaped from the Taliban in Uruzgan province;1541 the Taliban denied their involvement in theincident.1542 In August 2020, local media reported that three children aged 10, 13, and 15 were killedby the Taliban, after they were abducted from Selmanji village of Kajran district a week before.1543
As reported by Kabul Now on 5 September 2020, the Taliban was conducting attacks in Daykundi
and other Hazara-populated areas of Afghanistan ahead of the peace talks in Doha. According to a
Hazara leader, around 67 people were killed in Taliban attacks in Pato district in two weeks prior thereporting.1544
As reported by UNAMA, in January 2021, the Taliban set fire to a healthcare centre for women
located in Daykundi and planted IEDs on the road to the centre ‘in order to prevent women fromaccessing services funded by non-Muslims.’1545
In January 2021, the Taliban reportedly destroyed ‘a Salam network antenna’ in Qasemadad village
in Kajran, injuring a guard.1546

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020 – 31 December 2020, reporting 7 843 persons
displaced from Daykundi, of which 6 917 were displaced within the province. During the same
period, 415 persons were displaced to Uruzgan, 301 persons to the province of Kabul, 103 persons
to Helmand, 73 persons to Herat province, and 34 persons to Ghor.1547
According to UNOCHA data on conflict-induced displacements, the internal displacement within theprovince occurred in August and September 2020, comprising 14 persons displaced from Pato to Nili
and 700 persons displaced within Pato district in August 2020 and 6 203 persons displaced within
Pato in September 2020.1548
In September 2020, UNOCHA noted that some inhabitants of Gizab district, Uruzgan province, werereportedly displaced to Daykundi due to the clashes between ANDSF and an NSAG.1549 According to
UNOCHA data on conflict-induced displacements, 6 215 persons were displaced from Khasuruzgan
district of Uruzgan province to Pato district of Daykundi in October 2020.1550
The Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees (DACAAR), reported for the period 5 November
2020 – 7 January 2021 that the clashes between the Taliban and ANDSF in Daykundi and Helmand
led to the displacement to Herat city.1551 According to UNOCHA data, the displacement from
Daykundi comprised 15 IDPs from Kajran to Herat in February 2021 and 14 IDPs from Khadir to Heratin March 2021.1552

1541 Kabul Now, Taliban takes 53 civilians as hostages in Daikundi province, 20 June 2020, url
1542 Tolonews, [Twitter], posted on: 20 June 2020, url
1543 Khaama Press, Taliban Kill 3 Children in Daykundi, 31 August 2020, url
1544 Kabul Now, Taliban launch offensives on Hazara populated areas ahead of peace talks, 5 September 2020, url
1545 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 36
1546 Bakhtar News Agency, Taliban Destroyed Telecommunication Antenna in Daikundi, 19 January 2021, url
1547 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, 30 March 2021, url
1548 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, 30 March 2021,

url

1549 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (21 – 27 September 2020, 30 September 2020, url, p. 21550 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, 30 March 2021,

url

1551 DACAAR, ERM, 15 Household Assessment Report, 20 January 2021, url, p. 1
1552 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, 25 April 2021, url

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2.8 Farah
2.8.1 General description of the province

Map 8: Afghanistan – Farah province, source: UNOCHA1553

Basic geography: the province of Farah is located in the western part of Afghanistan and borders
Herat to the north, Ghor to the north-east, Helmand to the south-east and Nimroz to the south, aswell as Iran to the west.1554 Farah province is divided into the following administrative units: AnarDara, Bakwa, Bala Buluk, Farah, Gulistan, Khak-e Safed, Lash-e Juwayn, Pur Chaman, Pushtrud, Qala-i
Kah (formerly Pusht-Koh) and Shib Koh. The provincial capital of Farah is Farah.1555
Population estimates: Afghanistan NSIA estimated the population of Farah at 553 058 in 2019-20.1556
Ethnicity: the majority of Farah's inhabitants are Pashtuns, with Tajik and smaller Hazara
communities residing mainly in the countryside.1557 There are also Aylat, Mugal, Sadat, Bomodi,
Aymaq, Barahawi and Baloch tribes living in Farah.1558
Mobility/road infrastructure: part of the Ring Road leads through Farah, connecting the province
with the regional centre of Herat in the north and the provinces of Nimroz and Helmand in the southand south-east, respectively.1559 Cross-border transport and trade with Iran is reportedly possible at1553 UNOCHA, Afghanistan, Farah Province - District Atlas, April 2014, url
1554 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Farah Province District Atlas, April 2014, url
1555 Afghanistan, IEC, Afghanistan 2019 Presidential Elections – Final results by Polling Stations: Province Farah, 2020, url;

Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan 2020-21, n.d., url, p. 431556 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan 2019-20, 18 November 2019, url, p. 39
1557 Pajhwok Afghan News, Background Profile of Farah, n.d., url
1558 US Naval Postgraduate School, Farah Provincial Overview, n.d., url
1559 Diplomat (The), Kabul's Plan to Realize Afghanistan’s Geographic Dividend, 5 December 2017, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Abu Nasr Farahi port.1560 In September 2018, Tolonews reported security problems near the bordercrossing, as the route towards the border led through militant-controlled areas.1561 In April 2020,
UNODC cited [drug] traffickers in Farah province confirming Taliban presence on the trafficking route
between Farah and Nimroz, between Farah and Helmand and between Farah and Iran.1562 According
to Afghan Civil Aviation Authority report of November 2020, there is an airport in Farah, which islocated two nautical miles South East of Farah City.1563 On 25 January 2021, Tolonews cited Nasir
Ahmad Ghoryani, the industry and commerce minister stating that Qatar businesspeople aimed atconverting the [Farah] provincial airfield into an international airport.1564 Kam Air, Afghan private
travel airline, indicated that it provides two flights per week between Kabul and Farah.1565

2.8.2 Conflict background and actors in Farah
Farah province is viewed by AGEs as a corridor between Afghanistan’s southern and westernregions. The 285 km border with Iran makes Farah a junction for various kinds of legal and illegal
markets, as well as cross-border smuggling. As a result, Farah is highly profitable and strategicallyimportant for AGEs and criminal groups.1566
According to AAN, the Taliban were never fully defeated after 2001 and kept a strong presence inFarah province – especially in Bala Buluk.1567 In February 2018, the Washington Post stated thatapproximately 60 % of Farah was controlled by insurgents, while the government controlled only theprovincial capital and 10 district centres, some of which are allegedly too dangerous for district
officials to visit.1568 In August 2019, Etilaatroz cited a former local commander indicating that the
Taliban have a widespread presence in the remote areas of Farah province. The source also cited
Shah Mahmood Naimi, member of provincial council of Farah province, stating [informal translation]‘Taliban maintain entire control over Khak-e Safed, Shib Koh, Bakwa, Gulistan, Bala Buluk districts
including all highways, and in the remaining districts, the government control is limited within
three kilometres (from the capital of the districts).’ Naimi further stated ‘currently, the Taliban
commute even during the day in the remote areas of the city.’ According to the source, Farah police
confirms Taliban’s presence in three districts, government’s control over Highway One, and Taliban’s
control over certain roads due to the lack of security forces.1569 Another source indicated that Taliban
operate in a number of districts of Farah province.1570
On 7 January 2020, Afghanistan Times reported that the government claimed having cleared several
villages from Taliban presence ‘in outskirt of Farah City and in Bala Buluk and Qala-i Kah districts’.1571
While on 20 January 2020, Kabul Now news cited Abdul Sattar Hussaini, a Member of the Afghan
Parliament, stating that the Taliban established a Friday black market in Farah province where the1560 Tolonews, Import Ban Affects Business In Farah Port, 21 September 2018, url; IRNA, Afghanistan opens Farah border to

Iranian goods, 4 November 2018, url
1561 Tolonews, Import Ban Affects Business In Farah Port, 21 September 2018, url
1562 UNODC, AOTP update, ‘voices of Quchaqbar’, understand the opiate trafficking in Afghanistan from the perspective of
drug traffickers, 22 April 2020, url, p. 161563 Afghanistan, ACAA, Aeronautical Information Publication, 5 November 2020, url,
1564 Tolonews, Qataris eye more investment in Farah: minister, 25 January 2021, url
1565 Kam Air, Book flight, Kam Air news, n.d., url
1566 International organisation, e-mail, 14 September 2017. The local contact is an international organisation active in theprovince. The organisation wished to remain anonymous for security reasons.
1567 Ruttig, T., Why Farah? A short history of the local insurgency (II), AAN, 7 June 2018, url
1568 Washington Post (The), Outgunned in urban centers, Taliban wages fierce fight in remote western Afghanistan, 26
February 2018, url‫[ بررسی اوضاع امنیتی غرب کشور؛ از افزایش تحرکات طالبان تا تلفات سنگین این گروه‬informaltranslation: ‘security assessment of the west of the country; from the increase of Taliban’s mobility to heavy losses of thegroup’], 30 August 2019, url
1570 Ariana News, Afghan forces retreat from Anar Darah district of Farah province, 7 September 2019, url
1571 Afghanistan Times, Several villages of Farah purged of Taliban presence, 7 January 2020, url
1569 Etilaatroz,

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situationgroup sold weapons seized from the ANDSF.1572 In March 2020, Taliban reportedly closed the FarahHerat Highway.1573 On 10 May 2020, local media reported that former chief police of Farah province
joined the Taliban.1574 According to the UN Security Council report, as of 27 May 2020, the Taliban
shadow governor for Farah was Mullah Mashar. The source also indicated that the former shadow
governor for Farah province, Mullah Abdul Bari, was killed in an air strike in early August 2019.1575 A
local news also reported on the incident.1576
A survey Pajhwok Afghan News conducted from November 2020 until February 20211577 designated19.27 % of Farah’s territory under government control, 79.55 % under Taliban control and 1.18 %under the control of no side. According to the same survey, 108 510 of Farah’s inhabitants lived inareas under government control, 447 862 of the province’s population lived in areas under Taliban
control and 6 654 lived in areas controlled by neither side.1578
As of 28 February 2021, assessment by the Long War Journal presented in a frequently updated map
and based on open-source information, indicated Anar Dara, Khak-e Safed, Bala Buluk, Gulistan and
Sahib Koh districts as ‘Taliban-control’, and Qala-i Kah, Pushtrud, Bakwa, Pur Chaman and Farah
districts as ‘contested’. More recently, as of 26 May 2021, Qala-i Kah and Bakwa districts shifted to‘Taliban control’.1579 In May 2021, following Taliban’s deadly assaults on three ANDSF bases (locatedon Herat-Kandahar highway) in Bala Buluk district,1580 ANDSF evacuated two of them on 7 May 2021
(one in Shawn and the other in Pastoo Khan), which were then looted by the Taliban fighters andlocals,1581 and the other one fell in the hands of Taliban earlier on 3 May 2021.1582
On 25 February 2021, Salaam Times cited Abdul Aziz Baig, provincial chairman for Farah province,
stating that Iran-backed Taliban were mostly active in Farah province,1583 where the police
intercepted two tonnes of explosives being sent by Iran to the Taliban.1584 According to the UN reportof March 2021, the Taliban kept pressure on vulnerable provincial capitals including on Farahprovince.1585
According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, opium poppy cultivation in Farah province
increased by 47 %.1586
In terms of government presence, the 207th Zafar Corps is in charge of the ANA operations in theprovince of Farah.1587 As part of the RS Mission, Italian forces provide ‘functionality-based’ security
assistance to ANA 207th Corps and ANP in Farah province.1588 In January 2021, Tolonews cited

1572 Kabul Now, Taliban retail weapons of Afghan forces in Farah, 20 January 2020, url
1573 Pajhwok Afghan News, Militants close Herat-Farah highway for traffic, 19 March 2020, url
1574 Pajhwok Afghan News, Former police chief joins Taliban in Farah, 10 May 2020, url; Khaama Press, Interior minister

reacts to as former chief of Farah joins Taliban, 10 May 2020, url
1575 United Nations (UN) Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team
submitted pursuant to resolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities
constituting a threat to peace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, pp. 10 and 27
1576 Ariana News, 103 militants including Taliban shadow governor killed in Farah, 4 August 2019, url
1577 For this survey Pajhwok Afghan News interviewed (through telephone interviews or by distributing questionnaires) a
total of 1 266 respondents, randomly selected across the country; Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated
Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url
1578 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url.
1579 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url
1580 Sarwary, B., (@bsarwary), [Twitter], posted on: 4 May 2021, url
1581 Sarwary, B., (@bsarwary), [Twitter], posted on: 7 May 2021, url
1582 Sarwary, B., (@bsarwary), [Twitter], posted on: 3 May 2021, url
1583 Salaam Times, Taliban reportedly pledged water access to Iran in return for support, 25 February 2021, url
1584 Salaam Times, Farah police seize 2 tonnes of Iranian explosives on way to Taliban, 27 January 2021, url
1585 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for the international peace and security, Reportof the Secretary General, A/75/811–S/2021/252, 12 March 2021, url, p. 51586 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 5
1587 Afghanistan, MoD, 207 Zafar Corps, n.d., url
1588 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, 1 July 2020, url, p. 14

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Massoud Andarabi, Afghan interior minister, stating that a new ANA, ANP and NDS combined unit
has been created and used as a trial in Farah province to act against AGEs.1589

2.8.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 114 civilian casualties, including 59 killed and 55 injured in Farahprovince, which represents a 22 % decrease compared to 2019. The leading causes of casualties
were ground engagements, non-suicide IEDs and targeted killings.1590 According to SIGAR, RS
recorded between 26 and 50 civilian casualties in Farah province during the first quarter of 20201591,
and the mentioned source recorded between 26 and 50 civilian casualties during the second quarterof 2020.1592 During the second half of 2020, no RS information on civilian casualties per province wasavailable in SIGAR quarterly reports.1593
In the period from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, ACLED collected data from reports in open
sources on 164 incidents related to insurgents in Farah province, of which 93 were coded as ‘battles’,57 as ‘explosions/remote violence’ and 14 as ‘violence against civilians’.1594

Figure 16: Farah province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data1595

1589 Tolonews, New Security forces become active: Minister, 4 January 2021, url
1590 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 110
1591 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 April 2020, url, p. 69
1592 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 July 2020, url, p. 72
1593 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 October 2020, url; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 January 2021, url
1594 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Farah province, update 25 March
2021, url
1595 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Farah province, update
25 March 2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Figure 17: Farah province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on
ACLED data1596

Of the battles, nearly all concerned ‘armed clashes’. The majority of these armed clashes wereattacks by the Taliban on Afghan security forces, including military, police or NDS personnel.1597
Operations and attacks by Afghan security forces against AGEs were also registered under armed
clashes by ACLED.1598 In May 2020, several armed clashes took place between the Taliban and the
ANDSF in Farah province1599, including intense fighting in parts of Farah province in June 2020.1600
Roadside bombs or IEDs represented around 9 % of all reported security incidents in Farah.1601
Shelling, artillery and missile attacks by the Taliban represented 5 % of all registered incidents inFarah.1602 On 12 May 2020, four children were killed by a mortar attack hitting a house in Bala Buluk
district.1603
During the reporting period, air/drone strikes represented 18 % of all registered incidents inFarah.1604 On 9 February 2020, five civilians, who were businessmen, were killed in an airstrike while
travelling from Farah City to Abu Nasar Farahi port.1605
ACLED categorised 7 % of all violent events recorded in Farah as ‘violence against civilians’.1606 These
incidents involved for instance: on 10 April 2020, unknow gunmen killed a religious scholar in Farahprovince;1607 on 1 July 2020, Kabul Now cited Muhibullah Muhib, spokesman for Farah police chief,
stating that a schoolteacher named Hamidullah Rahmani was killed by the Taliban in Dehak village of1596 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Farah province, update

25 March 2021, url; 9 events (6 battles, 2 remote violence and 1 violence against civilians) in the province for which ACLED
has no information about the location, were not included in this graph (geoprecision code 3 – see introduction)
1597 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Farah province, update
25 March 2021, url
1598 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Farah province, update
25 March 2021, url
1599 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: May 2020, 29 October 2020, url
1600 Ariana News, Taliban attacks intensified in most parts of Afghanistan recently, 15 June 2020, url
1601 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Farah province, update
25 March 2021, url
1602 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Farah province, update
25 March 2021, url
1603 Afghanistan Times, four children killed in Farah mortar attacks, 12 May 2020, url
1604 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Farah province, update
25 March 2021, url
1605 Tolonews, Farah officials claim civilians were killed in airstrike, 9 February 2020, url
1606 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Farah province, update
25 March 2021, url
1607 Pajhwok Afghan News, religious scholar gunned down in Farah, 10 April 2020, url

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Farah City;1608 on 8 October 2020, in Lash-e Juwayn district, the Taliban kidnapped a boy and his two
adult sisters who were on their way to visit their sick father and took them to an unknown area. The
following day, their dead bodies were found;1609 on 14 December 2020 Tolonews cited Afghan
officials reporting that Mawlawi Ghulam Sakhi, imam of a mosque in Lash-e Juwayn district of Farah,
was shot and killed by the Taliban’;1610 while according to a New York Times report, Mawlawi
Ghulam Sakhi was killed by unknown gunmen.1611
The WHO registered two incidents related to health care provision in Farah province in 2020
including the damage of two health centres and the closure of another.1612 On 21 January 2020, Shia
News Association indicated [informal translation] ‘the Afghan Minister of Public Health stated thatduring the past year, over 50 health centres have been destroyed during the conflicts in Afghanistan
and 112 others were closed down due to the conflict, in particular in Farah and Nangarhar
provinces’.1613

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data from the period 1 January – 28 February 2021, reporting 13 826 persons
displaced from Farah province, with 81 % displaced within the province itself (mainly in Farah, theprovincial capital), 14 % displaced into Nimroz and the remaining 5 % displaced into Herat.1614
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January – 28 February 2021, reporting 11 287 persons
displaced to Farah province, with 100 % coming from within the province itself.1615
According to UNOCHA, security situation in the West of Afghanistan including in Farah provinceremained tense and unstable in July,1616 October,1617 and December 2020,1618 January1619 andFebruary 20211620 with continued reports of IED attacks, illegal checkpoints and military operationsin the West of Afghanistan including in Farah provinces.1621

1608 Kabul Now, School teacher shot dead by Taliban in Farah province, 1 July 2020, url
1609 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url , p. 32
1610 Tolonews, Imam of the masque killed by “Taliban”: official, 14 December 2020, url
1611 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: December 2020, 31 December 2020, url
1612 WHO, Afghanistan – Attacks on Health Care (January 01 - December 31, 2020, 11 January 2021, url
1613 Shia News Association, [unofficial translation] ‘Health Ministry: in the past one year, 50 health centres have been

destroyed, 21 January 2020’, url
1614 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 28 February 2021, url
1615 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 28 February 2021, url
1616 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (13 – 19 July 2020), 23 July 2020, url, p. 2
1617 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (19 – 25 October 2020), 28 October 2020, url, p. 2
1618 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (14 – 20 December 2020), 23 December 2020, url, p. 21619 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (25 – 31 January 2021), 3 February 2021, url, p. 2
1620 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (8 – 14 February 2021), 17 February 2021, url, p. 2; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (15 – 21 February 2021), 24 February 2021, url, p. 2
1621 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (25 – 31 January 2021), 3 February 2021, url, p. 2

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2.9 Faryab
2.9.1 General description of the province

Map 9: Afghanistan – Faryab province, source: UNOCHA1622

1622 UNOCHA, Afghanistan. Provincial reference Map, 25 May 2015,

url, p. 8

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Faryab province is located in the north-western part of Afghanistan and is divided into the following
districts: Almar, Andkhoy, Bilcheragh, Dawlatabad, Garziwan, Khan-e Char Bagh, Khwajasabzposh,
Kohestan, Maymana, Pashtunkot, Qaramqol, Qaysar, Qorghan, Shirintagab.1623 The provincial capitalis Maymana. According to UNODC, the district of Ghormach became part of Faryab in 2017.1624 In
August 2018, the Peshawar-based daily newspaper, Frontier Post noted that Ghormach’s
administrative affairs would be shifted back to Badghis due to security reasons.1625 The
administrative belonging of Ghormach seems to be disputed. Afghanistan Analysts Network
reported in 2017 that the central government had already transferred Ghormach to Faryab in 2007,
while the governor of Faryab did not consider Ghormach to be part of Faryab in 2010.1626 In 2018,
AAN stated that Ghormach had been ‘temporarily transferred’ to Faryab according to a list ofAfghanistan´s district numbers which was jointly published by the Central Statistics Organization andthe Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG).1627 The 2020/21 population estimation of
the Afghan NSIA, as well as the publication of the 2019 presidential election results by the
Independent Election Commission again listed Ghormach as part of Badghis.1628
According to estimates for 2019-2020 by NSIA, the province has a population of 1 089 228, 93 706 ofwhom live in the provincial capital, Maymana.1629
The main ethnic group in the province are Uzbeks.1630 Other groups present include Tajiks, Aimaqs,
Pashtuns, Hazara, Moghol and other smaller ethnicities,1631 such as the Magats in Maymana andAndkhoy districts.1632
The Ring Road connects Maymana with neighbouring Jawzjan and the regional centre Mazar-e Sharifin Balkh province to the east (crossing Khan-e-Char Bagh, Andkhoy, Qaramqol, Dawlatabad,
Shirintagab and Khwajasabzposh districts) and Badghis province to the west (crossing Almar,
Pashtunkot and Qaysar districts).1633 According to UNOCHA, the road between Andkhoy district andprovincial capital Maymana remained contested in January and February 2020. AGEs had control andwere taxing commercial and logistic vehicles.1634 The control of the road by this group impacted
civilian movement as well.1635 Military sources and a senior analyst described the Maymana-Jawzjan
highway as having been closed1636 or ‘in trouble’1637 for the previous three years. According to a local
civil society representative, in January 2021, there was a travel ban for common people on the roads

1623 UNOCHA, Afghanistan. Faryab Province District Atlas, April 2014, url, p. 2; Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of

Afghanistan 2020-21, June 2020, url, p. 39
1624 Ali, O. and Ruttig, T., Battle for Faryab: Fighting intensifies on one of Afghanistan’s major frontlines, AAN, 12 March
2018, url; UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2018, November 2018, url, p. 15
1625 Frontier Post (The), Ghormach falls to Taliban as ANA troops move to Maimana, 28 August 2018, url
1626 Bjelica, J., How Neglect and Remoteness Bred Insurgency and a Poppy Boom: The story of Badghis, AAN, 22 February
2017, url
1627 Ruttig, T., The Afghanistan Election Conundrum (12): Good news and bad news about district numbers, AAN, 16 August
2018, url
1628 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2020-21, June 2020, url, pp. 39, 41; Afghanistan, IEC,
Afghanistan 2019 Presidential Elections – Final results by Polling Stations: Province Faryab, 2020, url
1629 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-20, 18 November 2019, url, pp, 3, 35
1630 RFE/RL/Gandhara, In A Return To Moral Policing, Taliban And Clerics Ban Music In Afghan Province, 22 September
2020, url
1631 Ali, O., Non-Pashtun Taleban of the North (2): Case studies of Uzbek Taleban in Faryab and Sar-e Pul, AAN, 17 March
2017, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Background profile Faryab province, n.d., url
1632 Hossaini, K. and Ruttig, T., Citizens, Finally, But No Place to Settle: The Magats, one of Afghanistan’s most marginalised
minorities, AAN, 8 July 2020, url
1633 Diplomat (The), Kabul's Plan to Realize Afghanistan’s Geographic Dividend, 5 December 2017, url; MSF, Afghanistan
Country Kit, 12 January 2016,
url, pp. 1; 3; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Northern region District Atlas, 13 April 2014, url, p. 191634 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (13 January – 19 January 2020), 22 January 2020, url, p. 21635 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (10 February – 16 February 2020), 19 February 2020, url, p. 21636 Pajhwok Afghan News, 4 of a family killed, 6 wounded in Faryab blitz, 19 August 2020, url
1637 Watkins, A. (@and_huh_what), [Twitter], posted on: 17 March 2020, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situationin Faryab between 4.00pm and 7.00am, while transport company representatives complained thatvehicles were not allowed to drive on Maymana-Andhkoy road between 5.00am and 8.00am.1638
Maymana airport is located less than 1 km of Maymana city,1639 in Maymana district.1640 As of March
2021, scheduled passenger services between Maymana and Kabul were provided.1641 Another small
airport in Faryab is located in Andkhoy district,1642 however no information on its activities andservices was available.

2.9.2 Conflict background and actors in Faryab
According to AAN, ‘[...] Faryab is strategically important as it connects the western parts of thecountry with the north – it was through Faryab that the Taliban moved to capture Mazar-e Sharif in
1997 and 1998 and from where anti-Taliban forces came to re-capture the city in 2001.’1643
AAN links the Taliban's success in Faryab from 2007 onwards to ‘local Jamiati-Jombesh rivalries,
poppy-cultivation interests and radical propaganda by religious preachers, coupled with the absoluteinconsistence of government outreach’1644 as well as the exploitation of local land and water conflicts
and the rearmament of local commanders.1645 According to AAN, fighting broke out between local
pro-government militias in early 2018, which further weakened the resistance against AGEs.1646
In March 2018, AAN described how the Taliban became increasingly successful in the province afterdrawing on local fighters – which is a change in strategy compared to the Taliban's approach before
2001. Since 2008, Faryab’s Taliban shadow governors have been mostly Uzbeks and also a majority of
the Taliban district officers are Uzbeks in districts with an Uzbek majority, along with a few Tajiks.
Pashtuns serve on mid-level posts in the districts of Qaysar, Dawlatabad, and Shirintagab where
Pashtuns form a considerable share of the population.1647 However, AAN reported that the strategy
of endorsement towards non-Pashtun ethnic groups among Faryab’s Taliban limited the group’s
organisational capacity as some Pashtun Taliban commanders ignored instructions of Uzbek shadow
governors. In order to avoid tensions, the then shadow governor allegedly deployed a strategy ofindividual smaller operations by each group in their own areas instead of joint operations with larger
numbers of fighters.1648
General Abdul Rashid Dostum, Jombesh party leader and self-proclaimed sole representative of the
Uzbek minority in Afghanistan, allegedly perceived the Taliban outreach to Uzbek communities as athreat. Subsequently, Dostum put considerable effort in combatting the Taliban influence on Uzbek
communities in Faryab and led several counteroffensives of pro-government (Jombesh) militias
together with the ANSF throughout 2015 and 2016. According to AAN, there were ‘some initial

1638 Pajhwok Afghan News, 90pc of Faryab areas under Taliban’s control, 19 January 2021, url
1639 Afghanistan, ACAA, Aerodrome (AD) Part 3, AIP Edition 90, 5 November 2020, url, p. 375
1640 UNOCHA, Afghanistan. Faryab Province District Atlas, April 2014,

url, p. 111641 KamAir, Route Map – domestic flights, n.d., url; Flightsfrom.com, Maimana Airport (MMZ), n.d, url; Airportia, RQ161

Flight Status Kam Air: Kabul to Afghanistan (KMF161) n.d., url
1642 MSF, Afghanistan Country Kit, 12 January 2016, url, p. 3; Afghanistan, ACAA, All airports, 24 September 2017, url
1643 Ali, O., Non-Pashtun Taleban of the North (2): Case studies of Uzbek Taleban in Faryab and Sar-e Pul, AAN, 17 March
2017, url
1644 Ali, O. and, Ruttig, T., Classics of Conflict (1): Reviewing some of Afghanistan’s most notorious hotspots, AAN, 3 July
2015, url
1645 Ali, O. and Ruttig, T., Battle for Faryab: Fighting intensifies on one of Afghanistan’s major frontlines, AAN, 12 March
2018, url
1646 Ali, O. and Ruttig, T., Battle for Faryab: Fighting intensifies on one of Afghanistan’s major frontlines, AAN, 12 March
2018, url
1647 Ali, O. and Ruttig, T., Classics of Conflict (1): Reviewing some of Afghanistan’s most notorious hotspots, AAN, 3 July
2015, url; Ali, O., Non-Pashtun Taleban of the North (2): Case studies of Uzbek Taleban in Faryab and Sar-e Pul, AAN, 17
March 2017, url
1648 Ali, O. and Ruttig, T., Battle for Faryab: Fighting intensifies on one of Afghanistan’s major frontlines, AAN, 12 March
2018, url

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successes, but no significant long-term results’. Local government forces and pro-government militias
have however not been able to hold most of the areas after Dostum moved out of Faryab.1649
According to analyst Deedee Derksen, Dostum’s remobilising of local militias might havestrengthened the Taliban in the long run, as large numbers of militiamen formerly affiliated to
Dostum might have defected to the Taliban after their funding by Dostum dried up.1650
An Afghanistan analyst contacted by the Swedish Migration Agency in January 2020, considered
Faryab, together with Sar-e Pul, to be the most Taliban-controlled or influenced provinces in thenorthern region.1651 As of 12 March 2021 the assessment by the Long War Journal presented in afrequently updated map and based on open-source information, indicated Bilcheragh, Kohestan,
Pashtunkot, Qaramqol and Shirintagab districts as ‘Taliban-controlled’, Andkhoy and Khan-e Char
Bagh districts as ‘government-controlled’ and the remaining districts in Faryab province as‘contested’. More recently, as of 26 May 2021, Pashtunkot, Kohestan and Qaramqol districts shiftedto ‘contested’.1652 A survey Pajhwok Afghan News conducted from November 2020 until February
20211653 designated 23.05 % of Faryab’s territory under government control and 76.95 % under
Taliban control, with the Taliban not fully controlling any of the districts in Faryab. According to thesame survey, 255 716 of Faryab’s inhabitants lived in areas under government control, while
853 507 of the province’s population lived in areas under Taliban control.1654 In January 2021 someresidents, Provincial Council members and civil society activists told Pajhwok Afghan News that the
Taliban controlled up to 90 % over Faryab province, with security forces only in control of district
centres. Government and military officials denied this, however, claiming that a recent operation
had been successful in reopening the highway and recapturing strategic areas in several of Faryab’s
districts.1655
According to information available to the UN Security Council in 2020, the Islamic Movement of
Uzbekistan (IMU) operated mainly in Faryab and Jawzjan provinces where it maintained links tosplinter groups such as Islamic Jihad Group and Khatiba Imama al-Bukhari.1656 In 2019, IMU wasreported to have no more than 100 members, overall in Afghanistan.1657 In its contribution to the UN
Security Council early 2021 report, the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team reported
that approximately 100 fighters of the Central Asian Islamic Jihad Group, with ties both to al-Qaeda
and the Taliban,1658 were active in Kunduz and Faryab provinces.1659

1649 Ali, O. and Non-Pashtun Taleban of the North (2): Case studies of Uzbek Taleban in Faryab and Sar-e Pul, AAN, 17

March 2017, url
1650 War on the Rocks, In Afghanistan, Today’s Pro-Government Militias Could Be Tomorrow’s Insurgents, 11 December
2017, url
1651 Sweden, Lifos/Migrationsverket, Säkerhetsläget i Afghanistan, 2020, 7 April 2020, url, p. 47
1652 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url. The source, however, does not specify when and which
information of the aforementioned map was updated. For more information on the methodology used by, see theIntroduction section of this report.
1653 Through telephonic interviews or by distributing questionnaires, Pajhwok Afghan News interviewed a total of 1 266
respondents for this survey, randomly selected across the country. Pajhwok acknowledges the complexity of this task andthe possible inaccuracy of the provided information.
1654 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban make exaggerated claims of territory they control, 12 February 2021, url
1655 Pajhwok Afghan News, 90pc of Faryab areas under Taliban’s control, 19 January 2021, url
1656 UN Security Council, Eleventh Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant to
Resolution 2501 (2019) Concerning the Taliban and Other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat to thePeace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, 27 May 2020, url, para 851657 UN Security Council, Tenth Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant to
Resolution 2255 (2015) Concerning the Taliban and other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat to thePeace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, 13 June 2019, url, para 72
1658 Modern Diplomacy, Why Central Asian Jihadists are Inspired by the US-Taliban Agreement?, 8 April 2020, url
1659 UN Security Council, Twenty-Seventh Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted
Pursuant to Resolution 2368 (2017) Concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and Associated Individuals and Entities, 3 February
2021, url, para. 66

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According to information submitted to the UN Secretary-General for the February 2020 report, ISKP
had a covert presence in Faryab province, consisting of a group of up to 25 members, led by Qari
Salahuddin, who was formerly with the Taliban.1660 In May 2020, provincial officials expressed
concern about ISKP affiliates, recruiting and looking for strengthening its position in Faryab province
after the US-Taliban deal.1661 However in its contribution to the UN Security Council early 2021
report, the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team did not mention ISKP presence inFaryab1662 and no security incidents specifically attributed to ISKP were recorded by ACLED in theprovince between 1 January 2020 and 28 February 2021.1663
According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, opium poppy cultivation in Faryab province
increased by 98 %.1664
In terms of the presence of government security forces, Faryab province was reported to be under
the responsibility of the 209th ANA Shaheen corps1665 and included in the area of responsibility of theTrain Advise Assist Command – North (TAAC – North), part of NATO's Resolute Support Mission
within Afghanistan. TAAC-North was led by German forces and had its headquarters in Mazar-e
Sharif, Balkh province.1666 Following the February 2020 US-Taliban deal one of the US military basesthat closed in the course of 2020 was Maymana in Faryab province.1667
In addition to regular government forces, members of pro-government militias or so-called Arbaki
and local uprising forces1668 were present in Faryab province and regular targets in Taliban
attacks.1669 After ALP funding came to an end on 30 September 2020, the official ALP tashkil (theapproved size and structure) reduced from about 400 to 250 members in Faryab, according to AAN
research.1670 Upon hearing the news of the killing of one of his close aides or former commanders,
police chief Safar Raees Baidar, in a Taliban attack in Qaramqol district, Dostum reportedly arrived in
Faryab province in November 2020 to take the lead in the fight against the Taliban.1671 Several
sources reported on Dostum’s involvement in the fight against the Taliban in Faryab’s Qaramqol
district in January 2021.1672

1660 UN Security Council, Tenth report of the Secretary-General on the threat posed by ISIL (Da’esh) to international peaceand security and the range of United Nations efforts in support of Member States in countering the threat, S/2020/95, 4February 2020, url, para 34
1661 Afghanistan Times, Daesh may be regaining strength in Faryab, 9 May 2020, url
1662 UN Security Council, Twenty-Seventh Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted
Pursuant to Resolution 2368 (2017) Concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and Associated Individuals and Entities, 3 February
2021, url
1663 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Faryab province,
update 25 March 2021, url
1664 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 91665 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability In Afghanistan. December 2019, 23 January 2020, url, p. 50
1666 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability In Afghanistan. June 2020, 1 July 2020, url, p. 14; USDOD, Enhancing Security
and Stability In Afghanistan. December 2020, 23 April 2021, url, p. 5
1667 CSIS, 1 December 2020, The Biden Transition and the Real Impact of U.S. Force Cuts in Afghanistan url
1668 For more information on Arbaki and uprising forces, see section 1.2.1. of this report.
1669 Reporterly, Over 50 Casualties Reported In Faryab Clashes, 24 August 2020, url; Reporterly, 3 Security Personnel Killed
In Taliban Attacks In Faryab, 29 September 2020, url
1670 Clark, K., Disbanding the ALP: A dangerous final chapter for a force with a chequered history, AAN, 6 October 2020, url
1671 Pajhwok Afghan News, Police officer among 8 killed in Faryab clashes, 18 November 2020, url; Khaama Press, Marshal
Dostum Takes The Lead in Faryab Battle, 18 November 2020, url
1672 Reporterly, Taliban Suffered Heavy Casualties in Faryab; 10 Militants Killed, 7 Arrested, 18 January 2021, url; Menafn,
Afghanistan- Marshal Dostum Leads War in Faryab, 19 January 2021, url

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2.9.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA ranked Faryab province third (on par with Nangarhar) in terms of civilians mostaffected by the conflict, documenting 576 civilian casualties (146 deaths and 430 injured) in theprovince. This represents a decrease of 13 % compared to 2019. Leading causes of casualties wereground engagements, followed by targeted killings and airstrikes.1673 Resolute Support recorded
between 102 and 150 civilian casualties in Faryab in the first half of 2020, reporting similar numbersof civilian casualties between the first and second quarter of 2020.1674 RS data on civilian casualties
per province for the second half of 2020 were no longer available in the SIGAR quarterly reports.1675
According to a representative of an international NGO met by the Swedish Migration Agency, in
Kabul in January 2020, Faryab remained a very insecure province where the security situation had
further deteriorated.1676 In the period from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, sources consulted
by ACLED reported 366 violent events in Faryab province, of which 259 were coded as ‘battles’, 78 as‘explosions/remote violence’ and 29 as ‘violence against civilians’.1677 Qaysar district accounted formore than one quarter (98) of all incidents in the province, followed by Almar with 45 incidents andKhwajasabzposh, Dawlatabad and Shirintagab, each with over 30 incidents.1678 With the exception of
Almar district, these districts scored over 3.0 in conflict intensity1679 on a scale from 1.0 (lowest) to
4.0 (highest) in UNOCHA’s hard-to-reach districts list as of December 2020.1680

1673 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Midyear Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 110
1674 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 April 2020, url, p. 69; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 April 2020, url, p. 72
1675 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 October 2020, url; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 January 2021, url
1676 Sweden, Lifos/Migrationsverket, Säkerhetsläget i Afghanistan, 2020, 7 April 2020, url, p. 45
1677 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website on a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Faryab province, update 25 March
2021, url
1678 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Faryab province,
update 25 March 2021, url
1679 Indicators used for analysing the conflict intensity were: number of kinetic conflict events (25 %), number of casualties(40 %: conflict actors – 25 %, civilian casualties – 75 %), number of airstrikes/IDF incidents (10 %), number of IED/UXO
incidents (detonations and discoveries) (10 %) and active/disputed control (15 %)
1680 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Hard-To-Reach Districts, 11 February 2021, url, pp. 4-6

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Figure 18: Faryab province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data1681

Figure 19: Faryab province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on
ACLED data1682

Of the battles recorded by ACLED, the majority concerned ‘armed clashes’.1683 The majority of thoseincidents were attacks by the Taliban on Afghan security forces, including military, police or NDS
personnel and members of pro-government militias or so-called Arbaki and local uprising forces1684
or clashes between (pro-)government forces and the Taliban.1685 Attacks on military or police

1681 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Faryab province,

update 25 March 2021, url
1682 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Faryab province,
update 25 March 2021, url; 6 events (2 battles, 1 remote violence and 3 violence against incidents) in the province forwhich ACLED has no information about the location, were not included in this graph (geoprecision code 3 – seeintroduction)
1683 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Faryab province,
update 25 March 2021, url
1684 For more information on Arbaki and uprising forces, see section 1.2.1. of this report.
1685 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 4 February 2021, updated 25 February 2021, url;
New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: December 2020, 10 December 2020, updated 31 December 2020, url;
New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url;
New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: August 2020, 6 August 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; New YorkTimes (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 2020, 9 July 2020, updated 30 July 2020, url

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facilities such as checkpoints1686, police headquarters1687 and military bases1688 as well as attacks on
government officials1689 or governmental buildings.1690 Some of those armed clashes resulted incivilian casualties.1691 In 2020 UNAMA documented 376 civilian casualties from ground engagements
in Faryab (65 % of all civilian casualties in the province),1692 ranking the province first in terms ofcivilian casualties from this type of incidents in Afghanistan.1693 Civilians were killed and wounded
during and following Taliban attacks on security outposts in Kohestan district and Maymana city in
September 20201694 and in Shirintagab district in January 2021.1695 One civilian was killed and six
others were injured when the Taliban shot a pro-government militia member in the bazaar ofDawlatabad district in January 2021.1696
Several operations and attacks carried out by Afghan security forces against AGEs were also
registered under ‘armed clashes’. Most were carried out in January and August 20201697 and some ofthese operations were backed by air strikes.1698
In late December 2020 a clash occurred between police and local uprising forces in Qaysar district
during which one police officer was killed and an uprising force member was injured.1699
During the reporting period there were reports of AGEs attacking Almar district centre in July
2020,1700 attacking Shiringtagab district and capturing Kohestan district also in July 2020,1701
attacking the centre of Gurziwan district in October 20201702 and January 20201703 and the centre of
Qaysar1704 and Shirintagab1705 districts in February 2021. Government forces claimed to haverecaptured Khwajasabzposh in late August 2020, having retaken control of Ghazari village, a crucial
and strategic area in the district, after almost two and a half years.1706 A Provincial Council member
told Kabul based news service Reporterly in October 2020 that the Taliban carried out heavy attacks
on several districts in Faryab, putting Qaysar district on the verge of collapse, forcing the relocationof Kohestan’s district office to another village and prompting all officials to leave Maymana city, as
the villages nearby were under Taliban control.1707 Military sources claimed in early January 2021 tohave cleared Andkhoy, Khwajasabzposh, Qaysar and Almar districts from the Taliban as a result of an

1686 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: August 2020, 6 August 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; NewYork Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 4 February 2021, updated 25 February 2021, url
1687 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url;
New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 5 November 2020, updated 26 November 2020, url
1688 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 2020, 9 July 2020, updated 30 July 2020, url; New York Times(The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2021, 7 January 2021, updated 28 January 2021, url
1689 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url
1690 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url
1691 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update 27 July – 2 August 2020, 7 August 2020, url, p. 2; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update 14 – 20 September 2020, 23 September 2020, url, p. 2
1692 Calculation based on UNAMA data.
1693 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Midyear Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 72; 1101694 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url
1695 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2021, 7 January 2021, updated 28 January 2021, url
1696 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2021, 7 January 2021, updated 28 January 2021, url
1697 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Faryab province,
update 25 March 2021, url
1698 Reporterly, Air Force Supports Security Forces In Clashes With Taliban In Faryab, 29 July 2020, url; Khaama Press,
Taliban attacks repulsed in Faryab, at least 11 militants killed, wounded: Shaheen Corps, 5 August 2020, url
1699 Khaama Press, Police killed in A Clash with Public Uprising Forces, Faryab Province, 27 December 2020, url
1700 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (13 – 19 July 2020), 22 July 2020, url, p. 2
1701 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 2020, 9 July 2020, updated 30 July 2020, url
1702 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2020, 8 October 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
1703 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2021, 7 January 2021, updated 28 January 2021, url
1704 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 4 February 2021, updated 25 February 2021, url
1705 Reporterly, Four Afghan Security Forces Killed, Wounded in Taliban’s Attack in Faryab, 22 February 2021, url
1706 Reporterly, Heavy Taliban Casualties In Faryab With Khwaja Sabz Posh Cleared, 31 August 2020, url
1707 Reporterly, Provincial Officials Talk About Rising Insecurity In Faryab, 11 October 2020, url

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operation named Shahin 119.1708 During the drafting of this report in March 2021 heavy fighting overcontrol of Almar was reported with local officials and journalists reporting that the Taliban took
control over the district after the acting district police chief surrendered to the movement,1709 while
MoD denied having lost the district.1710
Incidents of ‘shelling/artillery/missile’ attack made up 9 % of all reported violent incidents in Faryab
between 1 January 2020 and 28 February 2021, nearly two out of three occurring in Qaysar andAlmar districts. Those incidents were attributed to both the Taliban or unidentified armed groups
and Afghan military forces and at times caused civilian casualties.1711 For example in Shirintagab
district in October 2020, when mortars fired by the Taliban landed on a market and killed four
civilians and injured more than ten others.1712 Two children were killed and two others and one
woman were injured when an Afghan army mortar hit a house in Almar district in January 2021.1713
Another mortar hitting a house in Shirintagab district in February 2021 killed one woman and injured
four children.1714
Twenty six ‘air/drone’ strikes recorded by ACLED in Faryab between 1 January 2020 and 28 February
2021 represented 7 % of all violent events in the province.1715 All air strikes were carried out by
Afghan forces, more than one out of three in Qaysar district. While air strikes inflicted losses among
AGEs and destroyed their facilities and equipment,1716 some also caused civilian casualties, forexample when the Afghan Air Force bombed houses where the Taliban had gathered to carry out anattack, to hold a meeting or to take shelter in Qaysar and Khwajasabzposh districts in August2020.1717 The airstrikes in Khwajasabzposh were intended to reopen the highway between Maymana
and Jowzjan province, according to the Afghan military forces.1718
AGEs also used roadside bombs or IEDs, including pressure-plate IEDs, to target security forces,1719 attimes also causing casualties among civilians.1720 This happened for example on 8 June 2020 whenseven children in Garziwan district were injured when their donkey stepped on a pressure-plate
IED.1721 Civilians were killed in two roadside bomb blasts in Qaysar district in October 2020.1722

1708 Reporterly, More Than 500 Taliban Militants Killed, Wounded in Faryab: Shahin Corps, 2 January 2021, url
1709 ISWnews, Taliban captured Almar, 11 March 2021, url; Tolonews, Taliban Capture Center of Almar District in Faryab, 11

March 2021, url
1710 Khaama Press, MoD rejects the fall of Almar district to Taliban: Faryab, 11 March 2021, url
1711 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Faryab province,
update 25 March 2021, url
1712 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2020, 8 October 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url;
Khaama Press, Mortar Attack Claims 4, Hurts 10 in Faryab, 22 October 2020, url
1713 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2021, 7 January 2021, updated 28 January 2021, url
1714 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 4 February 2021, updated 25 February 2021, url
1715 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Faryab province,
update 25 March 2021, url. These do not include air strikes are shellings carried out during operations categorised by
ACLED under ‘battles’. For more information on ACLED’s methodology, please consult the introduction.
1716 Khaama Press, Faryab Airstrike Wrecks Taliban Camp, 31 August 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, 45 Taliban killed, 75
injured in Faryab airstrikes, 4 September 2020, url; Khaama Press, 8 Taliban Killed, 300 Rocket Shells Discovered: MoD, 13
January 2021, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, 4 ANA soldiers, 6 Taliban killed in Faryab, 24 January 2021, url
1717 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: August 2020, 6 August 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url;
Tolonews, '22 Taliban Killed in Faryab Clashes': MoD, 7 September 2020, url
1718 Pajhwok Afghan News, 4 of a family killed, 6 wounded in Faryab blitz, 19 August 2020, url
1719 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 5 November 2020, updated 26 November 2020,
url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2021, 7 January 2021, updated 28 January 2021, url
1720 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Faryab province,
update 25 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (13 – 19 January 2020), 22 January 2020,
url, p. 2; UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (13 – 19 July 2020), 23 July 2020, url, p. 2
1721 UNAMA, Afghanistan Protection Of Civilians In Armed Conflict. Midyear Report: 1 January – 30 June 2020, 27 July 2020
(revised on 10 August 2020, url, pp. 9-10
1722 Pajhwok Afghan News, Faryab violence leaves 22 dead & wounded, 27 October 2020, url

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Twenty-nine incidents of ‘violence against civilians’ were recorded by ACLED, attributed to both the
Taliban or unidentified armed groups and Afghan security forces and representing 8 % of all violent
events in Faryab province between 1 January 2020 and 28 February 2021.1723 These incidents
included the killing of the head of an appeal court1724, the killing of a tribal elder1725, the killing of an
off-duty soldier1726, the abduction and killing of three civilians, including a former garrison
commander1727, the killing of a family in Andkhoy district,1728 the public hanging of two men having
shaved their beards by the Taliban in Maymana1729, the killing of religious scholars,1730 the killing ofcivilians in a mosque in Maymana in July 2020,1731 the abduction of a local reporter in July 2020,1732
the killing of a young tailor in a market in Qaysar district when he refused to close his shop on the
Taliban’s request in October 2020,1733 the killing of a women by the Taliban in Pashtun Kot district in
September 2020,1734 the shooting of a journalist in Maymana in February 20211735 the killing ofcivilians which the Taliban’s website Voice of Jihad attributed to ‘enemy’ forces,1736 and the killing by
Afghan forces of a truck driver and his passenger in Dawlatabad district in January 2021, who had
ignored a truck ban on Faryab’s provincial roads imposed to prevent Taliban car bomb attacks.1737 In
addition to the incidents recorded by ACLED, UNAMA documented the abduction of eleven civilians,
including religious scholars and elders, by the Taliban on 17 May 2020 in Shirintagab district after
their partaking in protests against the local Taliban.1738 Several of the incidents of violence against
civilians occurred in Maymana, where they accounted for over one third of all violent events in the
district recorded by ACLED.1739
Without further specifying which provinces or districts were impacted, UNOCHA observed how
civilian movements along main roads and roads between provincial capital and district centres wereinterrupted and humanitarian activities were obstructed in the northern region of Afghanistan due
to clashes and illegal checkpoints in September 20201740 as well as in January and February 2021.1741
The New York Times reported in February 2021 that the highways in the north, which are vital as1723 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Faryab province,

update 25 March 2021, url
1724 Afghan Islamic Press (@aip_news), [Twitter], posted on: 16 January 2020, url
1725 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Family Of Well-Known Writer Among Seven Killed In Afghan Violence, 20 June 2020, url; MIE, Tribal
Elder Shot Dead by Taliban in Faryab, 20 June 2020, url
1726 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban capture, kill off-duty soldier in Faryab, 7 February 2020, url
1727 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: April 2020, 2 April 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
1728 Pajhwok Afghan News, 6 of a family shot dead in Faryab; Taliban deny involvement, 19 January 2020, url
1729 Afghanistan Times, Taliban hang two men for shaving beards in Faryab, 27 June 2020, url; UNAMA, Afghanistan
Protection Of Civilians In Armed Conflict. Midyear Report: 1 January – 30 June 2020, 27 July 2020 (revised on 10 August
2020, url, p. 13
1730 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: May 2020, 7 May 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; New YorkTimes (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2020, 8 October 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
1731 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 2020, 9 July 2020, updated 30 July 2020, url
1732 RiV-Monitoring (@rivmonitoring), [Twitter], posted on: 21 July 2020, url
1733 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2020, 8 October 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
1734 RiV-Monitoring (@rivmonitoring), [Twitter], posted on: 30 September 2020, url
1735 IFJ, Afghanistan: Journalist survives assassination attempt, 16 February 2021, url
1736 Voice of Jihad, Enemy firing martyr child in Faryab, 8 February 2020, url; Voice of Jihad, Enemy martyrs villager, abducts
3 others in Faryab, 23 January 2020, url; Voice of Jihad, War Crimes (August 2020, 5 September 2020, url; Voice of Jihad,
Enemy firing hurts child in Qisar, 11 September 2020, url; Voice of Jihad, Enemy firing hurts child in Almar, 17 January
2021, url
1737 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2021, 7 January 2021, updated 28 January 2021, url
1738 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Midyear Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 58
1739 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Faryab province,
update 25 March 2021, url
1740 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (14 – 20 September 2020), 23 September 2020, url, p. 2
1741 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (22 – 28 February 2021), 2 March 2021, url, p. 2; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (4 – 10 January 2021), 13 January 2021, url, p. 2 UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Weekly Humanitarian Update (11 – 17 January 2021), 19 January 2021, 19 January 2021, url, p. 2; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Weekly Humanitarian Update (18 – 24 January 2021), 27 January 2021, url, p. 2

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they offer the limited options of traveling between provinces by road, ‘have increasingly become thefront line for an emboldened Taliban insurgency’.1742 In early December 2020 the Taliban reportedly
blew up a bridge in Khwajasabzposh district, impacting thousands of families from villages
connected by that bridge.1743
Explosives used in a Taliban attack on the police headquarters in Almar district in November 2020
were so powerful that nearby shops were damaged as well.1744 Another explosion in Qaysar districtbazaar, also in November 2020 and reportedly also intended to hit the police headquarters,
destroyed dozens of shops.1745 Dozens of shops and homes were destroyed in an explosion at themarket in Dawlatabad district in late December 2020.1746
The WHO did not register any attacks related to health care provision in Faryab province in 2020.1747
However Faryab was one out of six provinces where UNAMA documented the abduction ofhealthcare workers between 11 March and 23 May 2020.1748 Also, in July 2020, the WHO expressed
concern about the potential disruption on timely assessment and response in some of the northern
provinces, including Faryab, due to the security threat on the Mazar-Shiberghan-Faryab highway.1749
An AIHCR report quoted by Gandhara in September 2020 indicated that almost half of the schoolage girls in Faryab provinces were deprived of a proper education, the conflict being the main reason
girls were not attending school.1750 A girls school caught fire during reported clashes in
Khwajazabzposh district in August 2020.1751 As a result of fighting between Afghan forces and AGEs
in February 2021 the Jan Bibi Uoz Bashi Girls’ High School in Qaysar district was heavily damaged,
depriving 3 000 girl students of education.1752 Faryab was one out of four the provinces where small
community-based classes, often taking place in people’s homes, were operational, following a
December 2020 arrangement between UNICEF and the Taliban to expand Community Based
Education to hard-to-reach areas and conflict zones. While such classes are not schools, they domake use of the national curriculum.1753

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020 – 28 February 2021, reporting 39 066 persons
displaced from Faryab (mainly from Khwajasabzposh and Qaysar1754 districts), of which 27 545 (71 %)were displaced within the province, while a few thousand were displaced to Balkh provincial capital
Mazar-e Sharif and Jowzjan provincial capital Shiberghan. During the same period, 27 804 persons
were displaced to Faryab, the large majority looking for refuge in Maymana district1755 and a few

1742 New York Times (The), Inside the Shadowy Militias Luring Unsuspecting Afghans to Fight, or Die, 4 February 2021,

updated 22 March 2021, url.
1743 Arezo News, Taliban blow up bridge in northern province, 2 December 2020, url; TKG, Taliban Destroy Bridge inNorthern Afghanistan, 1 December 2020, url
1744 Pajhwok Afghan News, 4 security personnel killed in Faryab bombing, 10 November 2020, url
1745 Khaama Press, Faryab Vehicle Blast Causes Material Damage, 17 November 2020, url; Tolonews, Three Wounded in
Faryab Car Bomb Explosion: Official, 17 November 2020, url
1746 Reporterly, Car Bomb Explosion Caused Massive Damages in Faryab, 22 December 2020, url
1747 WHO, Afghanistan – Attacks on Health Care (January 01 - December 31, 2020, 11 January 2021, url
1748 UNAMA, Special Report: Attacks On Healthcare During The Covid-19 Pandemic, 20 June 2020, url, pp. 9, 20
1749 WHO, Situation Report. Afghanistan. Emergency Type: protracted emergency, July 2020, url
1750 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Contested Afghan Provinces See Drastic Drop In Girls’ Education, 30 September 2020, url
1751 Hesam, H. (@hhesam_), [Twitter], posted on: 14 August 2020, url
1752 NRC, Afghanistan girls’ high school severely damaged in airstrike and fighting, 10 February 2021, url
1753 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Midyear Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 39
1754 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (31 August - 6 September 2020, 9 September 2020, url, p. 2
1755 Tolonews, Faryab Residents Fear Clashes Will Intensify as Spring Nears, 26 February 2021, url; Pajhwok Afghan News,
Displaced by war, dozens of Faryab people contracted Covid-19, 22 January 2021, url

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hundred in Andkhoy or Qaysar districts. Maymana also hosted a few dozen IDPs from Kunduz,
Badghis, Ghor, Sar-e Pul and Balkh provinces.1756
Out of all IDPs from Khwajasabzposh, 43 % were displaced in October 2020,1757 as a result of military
operations and clashes.1758
Seven IDPs were registered from Maymana district in October 2020 and another seven in November
2020. All were displaced within the district.1759
UNOCHA and local media reported how continued clashes between AGEs and the ANDSF in Faryab
caused continued displacement in 2020 and early 2021.1760 According to the Governor of theprovince, 10,000 families have been displaced from Khwaja Sabzposh, Almar and Qaisar districts toFaryab’s capital Maymana due to war since the last few months.1761

1756 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 23 February 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict

Displacement 2021, updated 8 March 2021, url
1757 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 23 February 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict
Displacement 2021, updated 8 March 2021, url
1758 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (26 October – 1 November 2020), 4 November 2020 url, p. 2
1759 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 23 February 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict
Displacement 2021, updated 8 March 2021, url1760 Tolonews, Faryab Residents Fear Clashes Will Intensify as Spring Nears, 26 February 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Weekly Humanitarian Update (20 January – 26 January 2020), 29 January 2020, url, p. 2; UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly
Humanitarian Update (3 February – 9 February 2020, 12 February 2020, url, p. 2; UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly
Humanitarian Update (24 – 30 August 2020), 2 September 2020, url, p. 2; UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian
Update (7 – 13 December 2020), 16 December 2020, url, p. 2
1761 Pajhwok Afghan News, Displaced by war, dozens of Faryab people contracted Covid-19, 22 January 2021, url

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2.10 Ghazni
2.10.1 General description of the province

Map 10: Afghanistan – Ghazni province, source: UNOCHA1762

1762 UNOCHA, Afghanistan. Provincial reference Map, 25 May 2015,

url, p. 9

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

The province of Ghazni is located in the south-east of Afghanistan. The province is divided into thefollowing administrative units: Ghazni, with the provincial capital of Ghazni City, Abband, Ajrestan,
Andar (Shelgar1763), Dehyak, Gelan, Giro, Jaghatu, Jaghuri, Khwajaumari, Malestan, Muqur, Nawa,
Nawur, Qarabagh, Rashidan, Waghaz, Walimuhammad-e Shahid (Khugyani), and Zanakhan.1764
According to estimates for 2019-2020 by NSIA, Ghazni province has a population of 1 338 597, with
183 051 of its residents living in the provincial capital of Ghazni City.1765
Ghazni is inhabited by Pashtuns (49 %), Hazaras (46 %), Tajiks (5 %), and other smaller minorities.
Three districts – Jaghuri, Malestan and Nawur – are inhabited exclusively by Hazara population. Kuchi
nomads also inhabit Ghazni, and their presence in the province may differ throughout the year due
to migration.1766 The Tajik minority, although not numerous, live mainly in Ghazni city, constituting atleast 20% population of the city.1767
A US military expert referred to Ghazni city as a ‘key intersection’, since it is situated on the Ring
Road (or Highway One), connecting the capital Kabul with the major population centre of Kandahar
in the south. Additionally, the road to Paktika's capital Sharan branches off the Ring Road in GhazniCity, while the road to Paktya's capital Gardez forks a bit north of Ghazni City.1768 Some isolated,
remote districts (Nawur, Jaghuri, Malestan inhabited by Hazara and Ajrestan by Pashtun) suffer more
restricted access in the winter season than the others as roads are often closed by winter snow andby spring mud.1769
There is an airport near Ghazni city and Ghazni-Kandahar highway.1770 It serves both military andcivilian purposes.1771

2.10.2 Conflict background and actors in Ghazni
Taliban reappeared in Ghazni around 2003 in Andar district.1772 The Taliban in Ghazni operated first in
the rural areas outside the provincial capital and attacked government officials, infrastructure andschools.1773 The main driver of the conflict in the province was the desire to take control of the mainroad connecting Kabul and Kandahar, passing through Ghazni province. There were constant IEDs
explosions, trucks set on fire and military blockades as Taliban tried to stop the military supplies tothe foreign forces and their military bases on the south.1774 As more attacks took place in Andar andelsewhere in Ghazni province, the reaction of the government armed forces become increasingly
more violent and indiscriminate. Taliban attacks have intensified further from 2005.1775 In 2012, in1763 Muzhary, F. and Clark, K., Uprising, ALP and Taleban in Andar: The arc of government failure, AAN, 22 May 2018, url
1764 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan, 1 June 2020, url , p. 201765 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-20, 18 November 2019, url p. 16
1766 JUH and AADA, Health and Integrated Protection Needs in Ghazni Province, Humanitarian Response, December 2019,url, p. 9
1767JUH and AADA, Health and Integrated Protection Needs in Ghazni Province, Humanitarian Response, 01 Dec 2019 to 30
Dec 2019, December 2019, url, p. 9; Kohistani, Ghazni Province, 2016, url
1768 Clearance Jobs, Taliban Seizure of Ghazni City Returns Terror Organization to its Roots, 13 August 2018, url
1769 JUH and AADA, Health and Integrated Protection Needs in Ghazni Province, Humanitarian Response, 01 Dec 2019 to 30
Dec 2019, December 2019, url, p. 10
1770Airports Worldwide, Ghazni Airport w: url,
1771CAPA, Centre for Aviation, Ghazni airport n/d, url
1772 Giustozzi, A. (ed), Decoding the New Taliban: insights from the Afghan field, Hurst & Co: London, 2009, pp 204-206
1773 Osman B., The Road to Ghazni: Bombs, battles and blockades 13 July 2013, AAN, url, Kohistani, Ghazni Province, 2016,
url
1774Osman B., The Road to Ghazni: Bombs, battles and blockades 13 July 2013, AAN, url
1775 Muzhary F. R., Finding Business Opportunity in Conflict: Shopkeepers, Taleban and the political economy of Andar
district, 2 December 2015, url

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Andar district, some heavy clashes broke out between Taliban and local Pashtun pro-government
forces, known as the ‘Andar uprising’ against Taliban.1776
After U.S. and NATO combat mission formally ended in December 2014, fighting intensified in themost important districts of the province in 2015.1777 In 2018, the Taliban started another major
offensive, attacking several district centres.1778 In August 2018, they even managed to take over large
parts of the provincial capital Ghazni city for several days1779 and late in October 2018 they attacked
Jaghuri and Malestan, two districts self-governed and inhabited entirely by Hazaras.1780 The offensive
caused displacement of more than 7 000 people (1 144 families) from the Hazara districts.1781 Before
the end of 2018, both districts were cleared out from Taliban.1782
According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, opium poppy cultivation in Ghazni province
increased by 136 %.1783
During 2019, ANA reportedly managed to recapture some administrative centres of Dehyak,
Khwajaumari1784, Jaghatu, Ajristan and Nawur1785 as well as parts of highways located in the districts
retaken. However, an Afghan military official, quoted by the Stars and Stripes magazine,
acknowledged that ‘the highways still had to be cleared of the Taliban’s roadside bombs eachmorning’.1786
In terms of the presence of government security forces, Ghazni province is under the responsibilityof the 203rd ANA Corps, which falls under Task Force Southeast (TF Southeast), led by US forces.1787
The main military base in the province is called Camp Sultan. According to Afghan military officials
cited by Stars and Stripes in 2020, ANA does not have enough troops to hold the territory of theprovince. The army established a number of small outposts around the province to make larger
checkpoints easier to defend. They quickly became a frequent target of Taliban nightly attacks.1788
Some of these bases were supplied by air without any land access. Other bases had road access but
the Taliban still targeted the supply operations.1789
In order to supplement the presence of the ANP, ALP, and the NDS paramilitary forces, a newly
established ANA Territorial Force (ANA TF) has been piloted in the Hazara district of Jaghuri from
November 20181790 and afterwards in four other districts of the province: Andar, Muqur, Dehyak andQarabagh. According to ANA analysis, elders backed the initiative but there were problems withrecruitment. Either there were not ‘genuine community support’ for it1791 or Taliban managed to1776 Habib E., AAN Reportage: Who fights whom in the Andar Uprising? AAN, 10 August 2012 url
1777 Kohistani, Ghazni Province, 2016, url
1778 Qaane, E., The Insecure Spring of Ghazni: Results of third-grade treatment by the centre?, AAN, 25 July 2018, url
1779 Muzhary F. Unheeded Warnings (1): Looking back at the Taleban attack on Ghazni, 16 December 2018, 2018, url;

Muzhary F. R., Unheeded Warnings (2): Ghazni city as vulnerable to Taleban as before, AAN, 30 December 2018, url
1780 Muzhary F., AAN, Unheeded Warnings (2): Ghazni city as vulnerable to Taleban as before 30/12/2018 w: url
1781 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements 14 October 2018 - 1 January 2019, url; RFE/RL, 'From One
Grave To Another': Afghan Hazara Fleeing Taliban Find Little Solace In Escape 15 November 2018, url
1782 Muzhary F., AAN, Unheeded Warnings (2): Ghazni city as vulnerable to Taleban as before 30 December 2018, url
1783 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 9
1784 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of
the Secretary-General, 3 September 2019, url, p. 61785Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt retakes control of Ghazni’s Jaghato district, 22 September 2019, url
1786 Stars and Stripes, Dangers for civilians rise in Afghan-Taliban conflict, 9 February 2020, url
1787 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, 1 June 2020, url, p. 14
1788 Stars and Stripes, Dangers for civilians rise in Afghan-Taliban conflict, 9 February 2020, url
1789 Muzhary F., One Land, Two Rules (7): Delivering public services in insurgency-affected Andar district in Ghazni
province, AAN, 13 June 2019, url
1790 Muzhary F., AAN, Unheeded Warnings (2): Ghazni city as vulnerable to Taleban as before 30 December 2018, url; Clark,
K., The Afghan Territorial Force: Learning from the lessons of the past?, AAN, 15 January 2019, url, pp. 26-27
1791Clark, K. et al.., Afghanistan’s Newest Local Defence Force: Were “all the mistakes of the ALP” turned into ANA-TF
safeguards?, AAN, August 2020, url, pp. 4-5, 26

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threaten the local population.1792 One company was finally recruited in Qarabagh district but soldiers
were poorly trained and screened and in December 2019, they became a target of an insider attack
in which 23 of them were killed.1793
The Taliban had ‘long-established significant influence’ in the province.1794 According to Afghan
military sources quoted by the ‘Stars and Stripes’ article, during the night, the Taliban pass throughthe villages in the province, even if they are not under their control. They sometimes plant roadsidebombs or plan attacks on the government checkpoints. However, the Taliban only use small arms fire
and the army can call in for artillery or air support when needed. On average, the main military baselaunches 80 shells per week.1795 AAN noted that Andar district is the key location for Taliban in
Ghazni as it was a command centre for attacks on different parts of the province. Most Taliban
fighters currently active in Andar are locals, with very few outsiders1796 but they are recruited only on
voluntarily basis.1797 In a case study on Andar district, AAN noted that two parallel forms ofgovernment have operated for years, with a shadow Taliban administration in place. Since 2013, theTaliban have expanded their governance structure by collecting taxes, and by establishing several
administrative commissions. While the government plays an important role in providing health andeducation services and it is also responsible for ID cards distribution, in other aspects of daily life itsrole is highly limited.1798
UNAMA documented also ISKP activity in Ghazni province in 2019 which caused civilian
casualties.1799
In September 2019, the LWJ referred to Ghazni province as ‘a haven for Al Qaeda’.1800 According toJamestown Foundation, some Al Qaeda cells were present in Ghazni province. However, Al Qaeda
have lost many top leaders since 2017 in Ghazni.1801 In October 2020, NDS killed a ‘senior Al Qaida
leader’, Abu Muhsin al-Masri, in a Taliban-controlled area of Ghazni.1802
A survey Pajhwok Afghan News conducted from November 2020 until February 2021 designed
34,74% of Ghazni territory and population under government control, 64.74% of territory andpopulation under Taliban control and 0.53% territory controlled by neither side. According the survey
from Pajhwok: the entire district and its centres under Taliban control is: Gero, Arjistan and Nawa.1803
According to the LWJ, most areas in Ghazni province are under ‘Taliban control’: Ajrestan, Nawur,
Andar, Giro, Rashidan, Jaghatu, Walimuhammad-e Shahid, Waghaz, Nawa, Dehyak, Zanakhan. The
rest of districts are considered as ‘contested’: Ghazni capital district, Khwajaumari, Abband, Muqur,
Qarabagh, Jaghuri, Malestan and Gelan. More recently, as of 26 May 2021, Jaghatu shifted to‘contested’ and Jaghuri as ‘GoA control or undermined’.1804
In May 2021, Bilal Sarwary posted on twitter a number of footages showing Taliban’s tunnels in
Ghazni notably in one of its villages named Arzu (a strategic area located outside Ghazni city), where
1792 Muzhary F., AAN, Unheeded Warnings (2): Ghazni city as vulnerable to Taleban as before, 30 December 2018, url
1793 Clark, K. et al., Afghanistan’s Newest Local Defence Force: Were “all the mistakes of the ALP” turned into ANA-TF

safeguards?, AAN, August 2020, url, p. 4
1794 Qaane E., The Insecure Spring of Ghazni: Results of third-grade treatment by the centre?, 25 July 2018, url1795 Stars and Stripes, Dangers for civilians rise in Afghan-Taliban conflict, 09 February 2020, url
1796 Muzhary F., One Land, Two Rules (7): Delivering public services in insurgency-affected Andar district in Ghazni
province, AAN, 13 June 2019, url
1797 Afghan S., Living with the Taleban (1): Local experiences in Andar district, Ghazni province, AAN, 19 October 2020, url1798 Muzhary F., One Land, Two Rules (7): Delivering public services in insurgency-affected Andar district in Ghazni
province, AAN, 13 June 2019, url1799 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, 22 February 2020, url, p. 36
1800 LWJ, Taliban supplies al Qaeda with explosives for attacks in major Afghan cities, 16 September 2019, url
1801 Jamestown Foundation, Al-Qaeda’s South Asian Branch Gravitating Toward Kashmir, 17 April 2020, url
1802 VOA, Afghan Government Says Taliban Maintaining Ties With Al-Qaida, 6 November 2020, url
1803 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban make exaggerated claims of territory they control, 12 February 2021, url
1804 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url. The source, however, does not specify when and which
information of the aforementioned map was updated.

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the group has dug tunnels to connect residential houses and placed explosives in houses as‘trapes’.1805 During the same period, another footage showed ANDSF personnel surrendering to the
Taliban in Arzu village1806 after their base fell into the hands of Taliban in the mentioned village.1807

2.10.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 418 civilian casualties (183 deaths and 235 injured) in Ghazni. This
represents a decrease of 38 % compared to 2019. Leading causes of casualties were groundengagements, non-suicide IEDs and targeted killings. 1808
In the period from 1 January 2020 to 19 February 2021, ACLED reported a total of 455 incidents
related to security in Ghazni province: 312 battles, 114 remote violence, 28 cases of violence against
civilians and one concerning a riot against the alleged rape of two women by bodyguards of thepolice chief.1809

Figure 20: Ghazni province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2020, based on ACLED data1810

1805 Sarwary, B., (@bsarwary), [Twitter], posted on: 2 May 2021, url
1806 Sarwary, B., (@bsarwary), [Twitter], posted on: 2 May 2021, url1807 Sarwary, B., (@bsarwary), [Twitter], posted on: 1 May 2021, url
1808 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 110
1809 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Ghazni province, update 25 March
2021, url
1810 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Ghazni province,
update 25 March 2021, url

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Figure 21: Ghazni province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2020, based on
ACLED data1811

In 2020, governmental forces tried to recapture or at least protect some villages in strategic districtsof Ghazni, Andar and to clear parts of the route to Paktika and Paktya provinces.1812 Heavy fighting
took place in the districts surrounding provincial capital Ghazni and along main roads in Qarabagh,
Muqur and Dehyak. 1813
Some deadly attacks took place in Andar district: on 8 May 2020 US military airstrike destroyed
residential area, injuring 11 civilians, on 1 July 2020 several civilians were killed and wounded during
airstrike conducted by Afghan army which hit the local mosque1814, on 17 August 2020 five civilians,
including two children, were killed in a rocket attack.1815
On 23 August 2020, roadside bomb exploded in Jaghatu district, killing seven civilians.1816 On 16
October 2020 five civilians were killed by Afghan and NATO forces in Shalgar district.1817 On 24
October 2020 a roadside bomb exploded killing nine passengers of a bus coming from Kabul toGhazni. Authorities blamed Taliban but they did not confirm this attack.1818 On 18 December 2020, in
the Gelan district, an explosion near a rickshaw of a salesman killed one man and 11 children from 5
to 16 years old and injured the salesman himself and another 11 children. The government
maintained that the salesman worked for Taliban and carried the explosives for them but according
Taliban and local people it was an accidental explosion of a mine found by children. 1819
ACLED reported eleven cases of targeted killings or attacks in Ghazni city in the second part of 2020
and in January 2021. The perpetrators were usually unidentified gunmen or Taliban fighters whotargeted wide range of people who might be perceived as working for government. Examples of1811 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Ghazni province,

update 25 March 2021, url; 14 events (6 battles, 5 remote violence and 3 violence against civilians) in the province forwhich ACLED has no information about the location, were not included in this graph (geoprecision code 3 – seeintroduction)
1812 Khamaa Press, Over 100 Taliban militants during a 16-day operation in Ghazni province, 11 May 2020, url1813 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Ghazni province,
update 25 March 2021, url1814 Liveumap, Afghanistan, accessed 1 July 2020, url
1815 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 24-30, 2020, 30 July 2020, url
1816 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: August 2020, August 2020, url
1817 Voice of Jihad, 5 civilians martyred, 5 injured in enemy aggression, 16 October 2020, url
1818 Al Jazeera, Nine civilians killed in bomb attack on bus in Afghanistan, 24 October 2020, url
1819 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 33

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victims include: tribal elders, a deputy chief of Ghazni jail, a journalist, government officials, two Red
Crescent workers, a retired army general.1820
In Jaghatu district in May 2020, Taliban allegedly killed and torched five men (three civilians from
Malestan and two policemen from Rashidan district) while they were travelling to provincial capital,
Ghazni.1821
According to Taliban sources, Afghan army and pro-government militias also arbitrary killed civilians
in the province. For example on 26 March 2020 three persons were killed by ANA during two attacks
in Ghazni district.1822 15 April 2020 Afghan security forces killed an imam in Ab Band district.1823 On
28 September 2020 two civilians were shot dead also in Ab Band.1824 In Muqur district on 15 June
2020 four men and two children were beaten when they refused to help in construction work for thegroup.1825
During 2020 in Ghazni, there were cases of destruction of property: a mosque in Dehyak district byairstrikes conducted by Afghan and US forces1826 and in July 2020, unknown gunmen destroyed ahigh school in Andar.1827
Taliban established lots of checkpoints to extort money along roads.1828 Moreover, since December
2020 Taliban has increasingly abducted travellers from Jaghuri and Malestan passing throughQarabagh district on the way to Ghazni City. In December 2020 alone they kidnapped over 50 people
allegedly for ransom.1829

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020 – 28 February 2021, reporting 3 201 persons
displaced from Ghazni province, of which 2 671 were displaced within the province. No
displacement was registered from other provinces to Ghazni.1830
The most displaced people (1 383 persons) came from Qarabagh district. They left their homes in
May and in August 2020. They settled in Ghazni district. In August 2020 some displacement also
within Ghazni district was registered. There were a total of 420 persons from Andar displaced to
Kabul in two incidents during March and in July 2020; there were 75 persons from Malestan who
relocated to the Injil, Herat province. 1831

1820 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Ghazni province,

update 25 March 2021, url
1821 Afghanistan Times, Taliban burn five people in Ghazni, 18 May 2020, url
1822 Voice of Jihad, 3 civilians martyred in Ghazni, 28 March 2020, url
1823 Voice of Jihad, 5 civilians martyred, 3 more wounded in enemy aggression, 17 April 2020, url
1824 Voice of Jihad, 2 civilians martyred, 1 injured in Ghazni 29 September 2020, url
1825UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 70
1826 Voice of Jihad, Masjid bombed out in Ghazni; 4 civilians martyred, 4 injured, 21 September 2020, url1827 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Ghazni province,
update 25 March 2021, url1828 Salaam Times, Truck drivers call Taliban 'looters' as group continues extortion on highways, 24 January 2020, url; Kabul
Now, Taliban force people to pay extortion money, Ghazni councilman confirms, 9 October 2019, url1829 Daily Outlook Afghanistan, Taliban: the Monster of Terror and Kidnap in Highways of Central Areas, 17 January 2021,
url
1830 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, 30 March 2021, url
1831 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, 30 March 2021, url

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2.11 Ghor
2.11.1 General description of the province

Map 11: Afghanistan – Ghor province, source: UNOCHA1832

The province of Ghor is located in central towards north-western Afghanistan and does not share aninternational border. It is surrounded by the provinces of Herat and Badghis to the west, Faryab andSar-e Pul to the north, Bamyan and Daykundi to the east, and Helmand and Farah to the south. Ghor
province is divided into the following administrative units: Chaghcharan (Firozkoh), Charsadra,
Dawlatyar, Du Layna, Lal Wa Sarjangal, Pasaband, Saghar, Shahrak, Taywara, Tulak and Murghab. The
provincial capital is Chaghcharan.1833 Murghab, which was part of Firozkoh, was established as a new
district of Ghor province by the Presidential Decree number 101 on 12 Jaddi 1398 (2 January 2020)
with Shorabak as its centre.1834
Afghanistan, NSIA estimated the population of Ghor at 751 254 in 2019-20.1835
According to the provincial profile published by the US Naval Postgraduate School, the largest ethnic
group in Ghor are Tajiks, followed by Hazaras, Aimaqs and a small number of Pashtuns and1832 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Ghor Province - District Atlas, April 2014, url1833 Afghanistan, IEC, Afghanistan 2019 Presidential Elections – Final results by Polling Stations: Province Ghor, 2020, url;

Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan 2020-21, n.d., url, p. 33; Pajhwok Afghan News, Elections 2019,
Ghor administrative units, n.d., url1834 ACKU, ، ‫ا در مورد ایجاد واحد اداری ولسوایل مرغاب بھ مرکزیت‬.‫ا‬.‫ فرمان رئیس ج‬،‫ رسم جریده‬،‫ د عدلت وزارت‬،‫د افغانستان اسالم جمهوریت‬‫ي‬‫ر‬‫[ شورابھ در چوکات والیت غور‬informal translation: ‘Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Ministry of Justice, official Gazette,
Presidential decree of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan for the creation of administrative unit of Murghab district with
Shorabak as its centre as part of Ghor province], 2 January 2020, url; Afghan Bios, Murghab district, Ghor province, 1
October 2020, url
1835 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan 2019-20, 18 November 2019, url, p. 29

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Uzbeks1836; RFE/RL stated that Aimaqs constitute the majority of Ghor.1837 The Aimaqs are ‘closely
related to the Hazara, and to some degree the Tajiks’ according to the US Naval Postgraduate
School.1838
Ghor is located 480 km from Kabul. It is mountainous, and among the most undeveloped provinces.
The roads are frequently blocked to traffic during several months of winter due to heavy
snowfall.1839 In November 2020, the rehabilitation of 35 km long Herat-Ghor highway (also known as
Herat-Chesht highway) has begun and 35 % of it has been completed.1840 As of November 2020,
drivers have reported on the presence of ‘Taliban, robberies and illegal armed men’ on the highway
between Herat and Ghor.1841 In January 2021, an important part of the Herat-Ghor highway, in
Shahrak district, was reportedly destroyed by the Taliban.1842 According to Afghan Civil Aviation
Authority report of November 2020, there is an airport in Ghor (spelled as Chakhcharan), which islocated one mile North-East Chaghcharan City.1843 According to Kam Air flight schedule plan, there
are three flights per week between Ghor and Kabul.1844

2.11.2 Conflict background and actors in Ghor
According to AAN, ‘Ghor is known for its particularly confusing pattern of conflicts, involving
insurgent groups and “freelancing” militias, the dividing line between which is all but hermetic[...].’1845 Besides Taliban insurgents, armed groups partially affiliated to political parties in the central
government are present in the province. According to AAN, the ‘insurgent’ activities of some groups
can be hardly distinguished from crime and allegiances have been shifting several times in thepast.1846 During the period of 2017, 2018 and 2020, the absence of rule of law and government wasallegedly a particular pressing problem in Ghor.1847
AAN reported in November 2016 of a network of militants active in the district of Chaghcharan,
which maintained close links to the political party and former militia, Jamiat-e Islami, but also withestablished links to the Taliban after 2010. It was said to sympathise with ISKP after 2015 – eventhough AAN stated that claims of an IS-affiliation of the group proved wrong. While the network’s
criminal activities led to protests and resistance of local residents, the government forces’ weak
presence in Ghor, as well as the network’s affiliation with Jamiat reportedly prevented its
disarmament. On the contrary, after fighting between the group and the Taliban erupted, provincial
officials treated the group as a ‘popular uprising’ force and the ANDSF provided logistical support for
the fight against the Taliban. However, when ANDSF launched a clearing operation against the
network in the wake of protests caused by the killing of more than 30 civilians by the network in
2016, the Taliban allegedly fought against ANSF, as they perceived the presence of government
forces as a threat against their strongholds in neighbouring Charsadra district.1848 Furthermore,1836 US Naval Postgraduate School, Ghor Provincial Overview, n.d., url
1837 RFE/RL, Female Afghan Governor Won't Back Down Amid Threats, Controversy, 19 October 2015, url
1838 US Naval Postgraduate School, Ghor Provincial Overview, n.d., url1839 Pajhwok Afghan News, Elections 2019, Introduction of Ghor Province, n.d., url
1840 Salaam Times, Government development projects gave Herat residence hope for future, 23 November 2020, url1841 New York Times (The), on Afghan highways, even the police fear Taliban’s toll collectors, 12 November 2020, url
1842 Salaam Times, Taliban glorify destruction of vital roads in Nimruz and Ghor provinces, 5 January 2021, url
1843 Afghanistan, ACAA, Aeronautical Information Publication, 5 November 2020, url1844 Kam Air, Book flight, Kam Air news, n.d., url
1845 Ruttig, T., The ‘Humvee Bomb’ Series: The October wave of Taleban attacks in 2017 context, AAN, 7 November 2017,url
1846 Osman, B., Carnage in Ghor: Was Islamic State the perpetrator or was it falsely accused?, AAN, 23 November 2016, url1847 New York Times (The), Seesaw Conflict With Taliban Takes Toll in Fallen Afghan District, 7 August 2017, url; New YorkTimes (The), No Justice, ‘No Value’ for Women in a Lawless Afghan Province, 7 July 2017, url; IWPR, Afghanistan: Women
Abused in Lawless Ghor, 24 July 2018, url; RFE/RL, Taliban courts seek to undermine Afghan judiciary, url1848 Osman, B., Carnage in Ghor: Was Islamic State the perpetrator or was it falsely accused?, AAN, 23 November 2016, url

174Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situationaccording to an AAN report of 2017, an MP from Ghor province stated that affiliates of Hezb-e Islami,
a rival party to Jamiat-e Islami, distributed a large quantity of weapons to their supporters in
Ghor.1849 According to Pajhwok Afghan News, two sons of a former Hezb-e Islami commander died ina clash with Taliban insurgents in January 2018. The fighting reportedly erupted over the collectionof ushr taxes, a leadership dispute between the former Hezb-e Islami commander and Taliban
insurgents.1850
In August 2019, Etilaatroz cited Mohammad Mehdi, deputy provincial council for Ghor province,
stating that the Taliban strength in Ghor province has weakened after Mawlawi Zarif deputy[commander] of Red Unit of the Taliban militants has been killed by the security forces. According to
the source Mehdi indicated [informal translation] ‘government and public uprising forces control
Tolak, Shahrak, Saghar, Tyora, Pasaband, Dawlatyar district centres.’ According to the source, Mehdi
added that due to the lack of security forces, the Taliban are present in remote areas of Ghor
province and public uprising forces keep the security of governmental buildings in the province. The
source also cited Abdul Rahim Rezazadeh, member of provincial council of Ghor, confirming thepresence of Taliban in remote areas of Ghor province.1851 Taliban claimed that in 2019 they took thecontrol of Charsadra district centre of Ghor province.1852
In January 2020, around 70 Taliban fighters surrendered to the government forces in Ghor province
due to continued military pressure by the ANDSF.1853 According to Kabul Now (local media), in
February 2020, the Taliban maintained full control in many Ghor districts.1854 During the same
period, AAN reported that there were several fighting actors present in many of the nine remote
districts of Ghor province, including illegal and criminal armed groups, the Taliban and ANDSF.1855
In March 2020, Ariana News quoted MoD claiming the killing of Qari Rauf, a Taliban shadow
governor for Lal Wa Sarjangal district, and several other Taliban fighters including Qari Niyatullah
from Zarzughal village and IEDs fabricator for Taliban.1856
In May 2020, the UN Security Council indicated that the Taliban shadow governor for Ghor was
Mawlawi Abdul Qayum Rohani Noorzai.1857 In June 2020, Afghanistan Times cited Fakhruddin, police
chief of Pasaband district, stating that the deputy governor of Taliban for Ghor province was Mullah
Ahmadshah1858, who entered Pasaband district with the Taliban shadow governor and over 200
militants on motorbikes.1859
Taliban claimed having captured Murghab district of Ghor province on 17 August 2020 after a heavy
fight,1860 which the Afghan government reportedly acknowledged and recaptured the district thefollowing day on 18 August 2020.1861

1849 Ruttig, T., A Matter of Registration: Factional tensions in Hezb-e Islami, AAN, 25 November 2017, url
1850 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban kill HIA commander’s sons in Ghor clash, 13 January 2018, url‫[ بررسی اوضاع امنیتی غرب کشور؛ از افزایش تحرکات طالبان تا تلفات سنگین این گروه‬informaltranslation: ‘security assessment of the west of the country; from the increase of Taliban’s mobility to heavy losses of thegroup’], 30 August 2019, url
1851 Etilaatroz,‫[ د تېر کال فتوحاتو ته ځغلنده کتنه‬informal translation: ‘a quick look at last year’s victories’], 31
December 2019, url1853 Salaam Times, Increased military pressure forces 70 Taliban fighters to surrender in Ghor, 14 January 2020, url
1854 Kabul Now, Women exchanged for weapons in parts of Ghor, 1 February 2020, url
1855 AAN, Placating Ghor, for now: ten-days protest pushed the government to respond, 5 February 2020, url
1856 Ariana News, Taliban shadow district governor among 10 dead – Ghor, 26 March 2020, url
1857 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, p. 27
1858 Afghanistan Times, Seven security forces killed in Ghor Taliban attack, 13 June 2020, url1859 Afghanistan times, Ghor’s Pasaband district at risk of collapse to Taliban, 16 June 2020, url
1860 Voice of Jihad, Afghanistan in the month of August 2020, 5 September 2020, url
1861 Tolonews, Officials: Govt retakes Ghor’s Murghab district from Taliban, 18 August 2020, url1852 Voice of Jihad,

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A survey Pajhwok Afghan News conducted from November 2020 until February 20211862 designated52.82 % of Ghor’s territory under government control, 45.36 % under Taliban control and 1.82 %under the control of no side. According to the same survey, 403 780 of Ghor’s inhabitants lived inareas under government control, 346 792 of the province’s population lived in areas under Taliban
control and 13 899 of Ghor’s population lived in areas controlled by neither side.1863
As of 28 February 2021, assessment by the LWJ, presented in a frequently updated map and basedon open-source information, indicated Tulak, Dawlatyar, Pasaband, Charsada and Taywara districts
as ‘contested’ and the remaining districts as under ‘GoA control or undetermined’. More recently, asof 26 May 2021, Dawlatyar and Charsada districts shifted to ‘GoA control or undetermined’, andSaghar district as ‘contested’.1864
In February 2021, Tolonews cited Amrullah Saleh, the first Vice-President declaring a ban on theactivities of Hizb ut-Tahrir (a radicalised Salafi group1865) in Afghanistan including in Ghor
province.1866
According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, opium poppy cultivation in Ghor province increasedby 45 %.1867
The 207th Zafar Corps is in charge of ANA operations in the province of Ghor1868 and its first regimentis based in Ghor province to maintain security.1869 As part of the NATO Resolute Support (RS), Italianforces provide ‘functionality-based’ security assistance to ANA 207th Corps and ANP in the west ofAfghanistan including Ghor.1870

2.11.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 270 civilian casualties, including 59 killed and 211 injured in Ghor
province, which represents a 251 % increase compared to 2019. The leading causes of casualties
were non-suicide IEDs, ground engagements, and threats/intimidation/harassment.1871 According to
SIGAR, RS (Resolute Support) recorded between 26 and 50 civilian casualties in Ghor province during
the first quarter of 20201872, and the mentioned source recorded between 51 and 75 civilian
casualties during the second quarter of 2020.1873 During the second half of 2020, no RS information
on civilian casualties per province was available in SIGAR quarterly reports.1874
In the period from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, ACLED collected data from reports in open
sources on 136 incidents related to insurgents in Ghor province, of which 86 were coded as ‘battles’,1862 For this survey Pajhwok Afghan News interviewed (through telephone interviews or by distributing questionnaires) a

total of 1 266 respondents, randomly selected across the country; Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated
Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url
1863 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url
1864 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url.
1865 RFE/RL, The dilemma of moving primary education to mosques in Afghanistan, url
1866 Tolonews, Saleh calls an end to Hizb ut-Tahrir activity in Afghanistan, 28 February 2021, url
1867 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 9
1868 Afghanistan, MoD, 207 Zafar Corps, n.d., url; USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, 1 July
2020, url, p. 59
1869 Afghanistan, MoD, 207 Zafar Corps, n.d., url
1870 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, 1 July 2020, url, p. 14
1871 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 110
1872 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 April 2020, url, p. 69
1873 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 July 2020, url, p. 72
1874 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 October 2020, url; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 January 2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

39 as ‘explosions/remote violence’, 10 as ‘violence against civilians’, and one concerned a riot overfood distribution.1875

Figure 22: Ghor province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data1876

Figure 23: Ghor province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on
ACLED data1877

Regarding the battles, nearly all concerned ‘armed clashes’. The majority of these armed clashes
were attacks by the Taliban on Afghan security forces, including military, police or NDS personnel.
Operations and attacks by Afghan security forces against AGEs were also registered under armed
clashes by ACLED in Ghor.1878

1875 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Ghor province, update 25 March
2021, url
1876 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Ghor province, update
25 March 2021, url1877 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Ghor province, update
25 March 2021, url; 3 battles in the province for which ACLED has no information about the location, were not included inthis graph (geoprecision code 3 – see introduction)
1878 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Ghor province, update
25 March 2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Roadside bombs or IEDs represented around 20 % of all reported security incidents in Ghor.1879 For
example: on 29 May 2020, one child was killed and another was injured in a bomb blast in Pozalichvillage of Firozkoh, the provincial capital; on 10 June 2020, a bomb, reportedly planted by the
Taliban, exploded in Tarbulaq village of Du Layna district, killing one child and wounding threeothers; on 17 June 2020, a roadside bomb, planted by the Taliban, went off in the village of Pa-i
Kamar in Firozkoh (Chaghcharan) district killing three children1880; on 19 June 2020, a roadsidebomb planted by the Taliban went off in Somak village of Dawlatyar district killing one civilian on his
motorcycle.1881 On 20 August 2020, a roadside bomb blast killed seven civilians including three
women and two children in Badgah village of Firozkoh1882; on 28 September 2020, in two separate
Taliban roadside bomb explosions in Ghor, a man and a woman were killed in Awlad-e Khairullah
village of Dawlatyar district and two children were killed in Pay-e Hesar village in Taywara district; on
29 September 2020, a roadside bomb, placed by the Taliban, exploded and killed one civilian in
Awlad-e Khairullah village in Dawlatyar district1883; on 9 October 2020, a roadside bomb explosion
killed a civilian after the latter stepped on the bomb placed by the Taliban in Madrasah village inFirozkoh1884; on 18 October 2020, a vehicle-borne IED blast, which targeted ANP provincial
headquarters in Chaghcharan city, killed 15 civilians and injured 173 others, including 125 men, 33
boys, 9 girls and 6 women. It was the single attack which caused the most civilian casualties in 2020.
No party has claimed responsibility for the incident;1885 on 25 October 2020, a roadside bomb blast
killed a child aged ten in Shah Bidak village in Firozkoh;1886 on 7 November 2020, a roadside bomb
explosion killed two civilians on a motorcycle in Firozkoh.1887
Shelling, artillery and missile attacks by the Taliban represented 1.30 % of all registered incidents in
Ghor.1888 For instance, on 10 August 2020, five civilians were killed including two women and threechildren in Qaziha village in Dawlatyar district after a mortar hit their house during clashes between
the Taliban and ANSF.1889
During the reporting period, air/drone strikes represented 5 % of all registered incidents in Ghor.1890
ACLED categorised 6 % of all violent events recorded in Ghor as ‘violence against civilians’.1891 For
instance: on 6 June 2020, the Taliban kidnapped and killed a civilian man in Shaidan village in Dow
Lina district in Ghor province;1892 on 30 September 2020, the Taliban killed a civilian in Dahan Tafraqi
village of Firozkoh, who was accused of collaborating with the government;1893 on 1 January 2021,
local Taliban commanders reportedly killed a journalist named Bismillah Adel Aimaq in Tighi Timorvillage at West of Firozkoh and the group returned on 2 March 2021 and killed his brother, a niece
and a cousin as well.1894 On 10 March 2021, unknown gunmen killed two civilians including an

1879 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Ghor province, update

25 March 2021, url
1880 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: June 2020, 29 October 2020, url
1881 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: June 2020, 2 July 2020, url
1882 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: August 2020, 29 October 2020, url
1883 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 1 October 2020, url
1884 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2020, 29 October 2020, url
1885 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 56
1886 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2020, 29 October 2020, url
1887 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 26 November 2020, url
1888 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Ghor province, update
25 March 2021, url
1889 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: August 2020, 29 October 2020, url
1890 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Ghor province, update
25 March 2021, url
1891 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Ghor province, update
25 March 2021, url1892 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: June 2020, 29 October 2020, url
1893 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 1 October 2020, url1894 Salaam Times, 2 months after killing reporter in Ghor, Taliban return to kill his family, 2 March 2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

employee of a health department in Kotal-e Shaidan village in Du Layna District; on 11 march 2021,
the Taliban killed in a gunfire a teacher and a pro-government militia member in Maidan-e Bara
Khana village in Firozkoh.1895
In May 2020, Afghanistan Times reported on an increasing number of informal courts in Ghor
province, where local religious and tribal leaders or influential figures punish people accused ofcrimes.1896

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data from the period 1 January – 28 February 2021, reporting 13 731 persons
displaced from Ghor province, with 90 % displaced within the province itself (mainly in
Chaghcharan), 9.70 % displaced into Herat and the remaining 0.30 % displaced into Faryab
province.1897
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January – 28 February 2021, reporting 12 786 persons
displaced to Ghor province, with almost 97 % coming from within the province itself and theremaining 3 % coming from Badghis, Balkh, Daykundi, Faryab, Herat, Laghman and Sar-i Pul.1898
According to UNOCHA, security situation in the West of Afghanistan including in Ghor provinceremained tense and unstable in July,1899 October,1900 November1901 and December 20201902,
January1903 and February 20211904 with continued reports of IED attacks, illegal checkpoints andmilitary operations in West of Afghanistan including in Ghor province.1905

1895 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: March 2021, 1 April 2021, url
1896 Afghanistan Times, Drumhead courts-martials in rise in Ghor, 19 May 2020, url
1897 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 28 February 2021, url
1898 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 28 February 2021, url
1899 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (13 – 19 July 2020), 23 July 2020, url, p. 21900 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (19 – 25 October 2020), 28 October 2020, url, p. 21901 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (23 – 29 November 2020), 3 December 2020, url, p. 21902 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (14 – 20 December 2020), 23 December 2020, url, p. 21903 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (25 – 31 January 2021), 3 February 2021, url, p. 2
1904 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (8 – 14 February 2021), 17 February 2021, url, p. 2; UNOCHA,

Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (15 – 21 February 2021), 24 February 2021, url, p. 2
1905 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (25 – 31 January 2021), 3 February 2021, url, p. 2

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

2.12 Helmand
2.12.1 General description of the province

Map 12: Afghanistan – Helmand province, source: UNOCHA1906

1906 UNOCHA, Afghanistan. Provincial reference Map, 25 May 2015, url, p. 11

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

The province of Helmand is situated in southern Afghanistan. In the south, Helmand shares a 162kilometre border with Pakistan.1907 Helmand is the largest province of Afghanistan.1908 It is divided
into the following administrative units: Nad Ali, Nawa-e-Barikzayi (Nawa), Nahr-e-Saraj(Gereshk/Grishk), Washer, Garm Ser, Nawzad, Sangin, Musa Qala, Kajaki, Reg-e-Khan Nishin (Reg),
Baghran, Dishu, Lashkargah, Marja (temporary district), and Nawamish (temporary district). The
provincial capital of Helmand is Lashkargah.1909
According to estimates for 2019-2020 by NSIA, Helmand province has a population of 1 420 682,
with 190 555 of its residents living in the provincial capital Lashkargah.1910
The majority of Helmand's residents are reportedly Pashtuns, with a Baloch minority in the south at
the border to the Pakistani province Balochistan1911 and with some Hazara minority in the north.1912
Most Pashtuns in the province belongs to Durrani tribes1913, including Alizai, Barakzai, Alakozai,
Nurzai, Ishaqzai and several smaller tribes.1914 The Ishaqzai are allegedly ‘[...] one of the mostreligiously conservative tribes across Afghanistan’1915, with the late Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar
Muhammad Mansur belonging to this tribe.1916
A section of the Ring Road (Highway One) runs through the districts of Nahr-e-Saraj, Sangin andWasher1917, connecting major population centre Herat in the west with Kandahar in the east andeventually the capital Kabul.1918 According to Tolo News, as of January 2020, the five districts,
Khanashin, Baghran, Musa Qala, Nawzad and Disho, had no road access due to Taliban presence.1919
A domestic scheduled passenger flight service reportedly exists in Helmand's capital Lashkargah,
connecting the city with Kabul.1920

2.12.2 Conflict background and actors in Helmand
Taliban restarted its activity in Helmand between 2004 and 2006. The massive deployment of ISAF
forces and heavy losses of Taliban didn’t prevent the spread of insurgency.1921 In 2012, expert
Antonio Giustozzi explained that the conflict in Helmand was driven by several factors including weak
governance and corruption of the government, but also inter and intra tribal rivalries, competition
between criminal networks over narcotic routes and resources, and outdated, dysfunctional social
structures based on feudal landlords. Moreover, Taliban managed to receive large amounts of moneyfrom drug trade which made them self-sufficient.1922
After U.S. and NATO combat mission formally ended in December 2014, the Taliban overran several‘chiefdoms’ in Helmand, which had been under control of ANP, ALP and pro-government militia

1907 Pajhwok Afghan News, Recognition of southern Helmand province, n.d., url1908 Diplomat (The), 5 Reasons Why Helmand Matters to the Taliban, 31 May 2016, url1909 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan, 1 June 2020, url, p. 40
1910 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, 18 November 2019, url, p. 36
1911 US Naval Postgraduate School, Helmand Provincial Overview, n.d., url1912 Ruttig, T., The Afghanistan Election Conundrum (12): Good news and bad news about district numbers, AAN, 16 August

2018, url1913 Giustozzi A. (ed), Decoding the New Taliban: insights from the Afghan field, Hurst & Co: London, 2009, url, p. 122
1914 Amiri, R., Helmand (1): A crisis a long time coming, AAN, 10 March 2016, url
1915 Amiri, R., Helmand (1): A crisis a long time coming, AAN, 10 March 2016, url
1916 Amiri, R., Helmand (1): A crisis a long time coming, AAN, 10 March 2016, url; Guardian (The), Why capturing Helmand is
top of the Taleban’s strategic goals, 26 December 2015, url
1917 Amiri, R., Helmand (1): A crisis a long time coming, AAN, 10 March 2016, url
1918 Diplomat (The), 5 Reasons Why Helmand Matters to the Taliban, 31 May 2016, url; Amiri, R., Helmand (1): A crisis along time coming, AAN, 10 March 2016, url
1919 Tolonews, Efforts Underway to Clear 5 Helmand Districts of Insurgents, 10 January 2020, url
1920 Sweden, Swedish Migration Agency, Inrikesflyg I Afghanistan, 17 February 2021, url, p. 121921 Giustozzi A. and Farrell T., The Taliban at war: inside the Helmand insurgency 2004-2012, Abstract, url
1922 Giustozzi A. (ed), Decoding the New Taliban: insights from the Afghan field, Hurst & Co: London, 2009, p. 151, url

181

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situationcommanders.1923 In 2017, US Marines were deployed again in the province, reportedly in order toadvise Afghan government forces and to increase air strikes without conducting ground operations
on their own1924 but the main aim was to secure the provincial capital Lashkargah from falling to the
Taliban.1925 Some other districts in the province, for example Nad Ali, have passed from hands tohands several times.1926
In October 2020, Taliban started another major offensive against provincial capital, Lashkargah.
Heavy clashes lasted several days and ANSDF was supported by US airstrikes. Humanitarianorganisations reported massive displacement.1927
Taliban managed to develop centralized structure and militarized shadow government in Helmand
province.1928 In 2017, BBC reported that the Taliban captured nearly 85% of the province, making thecities of Sangin and Musa Qala the centre of its command and commerce. According to locals
interviewed by BBC, areas entirely under Taliban control experienced less fighting and there was arise in trade but some personal freedoms were limited such as girls’ education and healthcare forwomen.1929 According to AAN analysis conducted in Nad Ali district and published in 2021, Taliban
established tax collection and court system although it has no offices or court headquarters because
of security reasons.1930
A survey Pajhwok Afghan News conducted from November 2020 until February 2021 designated21.80% of Helmand territory and population under government control, 72.87% of territory andpopulation under Taliban control and 5.33% territory and population controlled by neither side. The
entire district and its centres under Taliban: Nawzad, Musa Qala, Baghran, Dishu and Reg-e-Khan
Nishin.1931 As of 28 February 2021, an assessment by the LWJ, presented in a frequently updated
map and based on open-source information, indicated Baghran, Musa Qala, Nawzad, Sangin, Dishu,
Reg-e Khan Nishin, as under ‘Taliban control’ and the rest of the districts as ‘contested’. Morerecently, as of 26 May 2021, Kajaki district shifted to under the ‘Taliban control’ and Lashkargah as‘contested’.1932 Early on 1 May 2021, Taliban reportedly carried out ‘large scale attacks against
security belt of Lashkargah city’ on highway 611, and as well as on Gereshk and Nawa districts,
where 12 checkpoints were captured by the Taliban.1933
On 13 May 2021, following Taliban’s offensive on Lashkargah, the group took the city under siege
against few GoA soldiers, who remained as the last defence front.1934 On 25 May 2021, Bilal Sarwary
quoted Sami Sadat, commanding general of the 215 Maiwand Corps, stating that the Taliban carriedout 390 attacks in Helmand province in seven days, mostly against Nawa, Nihar-ul Siraj and
Lashkargah. ANDSF reportedly pushed back these attacks.1935

1923 Amiri, R., Helmand (1): A crisis a long time coming, AAN, 10 March 2016, url; Amiri, R., Helmand (2): The chain ofchiefdoms unravels, AAN, 11 March 2016, url
1924 Task & Purpose, The Marines Returned To Helmand Province. Is Their Mission A Blueprint For Trump’s Afghanistan
Strategy?, 15 November 2017, url
1925 Task & Purpose, The Marines Returned To Helmand Province. Is Their Mission A Blueprint For Trump’s Afghanistan
Strategy?, 15 November 2017 url; Quilty A., Static War: Helmand after the US Marines’ return, 23 April 2020, url
1926 AAN, Living with the Taleban (2): Local experiences in Nad Ali district, Helmand province, 18 January 2021, url
1927 BBC News, Afghan-Taliban conflict: Fears grow for families trapped in Helmand, 15 October 2020, url
1928 Giustozzi A. and Farrell T., The Taliban at war: inside the Helmand insurgency 2004-2012, Abstract, url
1929 BBC News, Taliban territory: Life in Afghanistan under the militants, 8 June 2017, url
1930 AAN, Living with the Taleban (2): Local experiences in Nad Ali district, Helmand province, 18 January 2021, url
1931 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban make exaggerated claims of territory they control, 12 February 2021, url
1932 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url; LWJ, however, does not specify when and which information of
the aforementioned map was updated.
1933 Sarwary, B., (@bsarwary), [Twitter], posted on: 3 May 2021, url
1934 Sarwary, B., (@bsarwary), [Twitter], posted on: on 13 May 2021, url
1935 Sarwary, B., (@bsarwary), [Twitter], posted on: 25 May 2021, url

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According to local authorities, Al Qaida is present in the province, providing ‘military and financial
support’ for Taliban. There are reportedly some training camps in Dishu district.1936 Governor ofHelmand accused Taliban of cooperation with Al Qaeda during the military offensive in October
2020. He claimed that foreign fighters took part in the attacks in the province. Taliban howeverinsisted that its forces were recruited locally.1937
There is no known presence of ISIL-KP in Helmand. UNAMA did not documented civilian casualties
from ISIL-KP attacks in Helmand in 2019 or 2020.1938
According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, opium poppy cultivation in Helmand province
increased by 27 % and it ‘remained the country’s major opium poppy cultivating province’.1939
In terms of the presence of government security forces, Helmand province is under the responsibilityof the 215th ANA Corps, which falls under Task Force Southwest (TF Southwest), led by US forces.1940
Following US-Taliban agreement signed in February 2020, US troops started leaving the military basein Lashkargah in March 2020.1941
Local provincial council authorities stated in January 2020 that ANA had too few troops to maintainor retake the checkpoints from Taliban but army officials denied this.1942 In November 2020, special
forces were deployed in Helmand to protect Lashkargah. Military bases maintained by ANA are
supplied by air because of the key roads blockades. 1943
On the government side, along with Afghan security forces such as the ANP, ALP, ANA, various progovernment ‘uprising forces’ take active part in fighting. One of the local initiatives of this type isalso the Sangorian Group, a pro-government militia group1944. At the beginning it turned to beeffective but when clashes started in October 2020, they were not able to uphold checkpoints andsurrendered them to Taliban without any fight.1945

2.12.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 410 civilian casualties (214 deaths and 196 injured) in Helmand
province. This represents a decrease of 39 % compared to 2019. According to UNAMA, leading
causes of civilian casualties in 2020 were ground engagements, non-suicide IEDs and air strikes.1946

1936 Tolonews, Al Qaeda Training Taliban in Helmand: Local Officials, 30 July 2020, url
1937 Sky News, Al. Qaeda aiding Taliban in Helmand fight, Afghan governor claims, 2 November 2020, url
1938 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 43;

UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, February 2020, url, p. 36
1939 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, pp. 5, 91940 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, 1 June 2020, url, p. 14
1941 Bangkok Post, US begins military pullout from two Afghan bases 11 March 2020, url; Stars and Stripes, US troops haveleft bases in Helmand, Laghman provinces, officials say, 13 March 2020, url
1942 Tolonews, Efforts Underway to Clear 5 Helmand Districts of Insurgents, 10 January 2020, url1943 Washington Post (The), With less U.S. tactical support, Afghanistan’s elite forces are struggling to roll back Taliban
advances, 7 March 2021, url
1944 Jamestown Foundation (The), The Sangorian: Weakening the Taliban from Within, 11 January 2019, url; RFE/RL, SecretAfghan Force Mimics, Infiltrates Taliban, 15 February 2018, url1945 Tolonews, Clashes in Lashkargah Continue on 5th Day of Helmand Fighting, 14 October 2020, url
1946 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2020, url, p. 110

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In the period from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, ACLED reported a total of 771 incidents
related to security in Helmand province: 507 battles, 247 remote violence, 17 cases of violenceagainst civilians.1947

Figure 24: Helmand province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2020, based on ACLED data1948

Figure 25: Helmand province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2020, basedon ACLED data1949

In the reporting period, clashes between security forces and AGEs took place mainly in Lashkargah
city and districts: Nad Ali, Nawa-e Barikzayi and Nahr-e Saraj.1950 In autumn, when intra-Afghan
peace talks were beginning, Taliban fighting intensified in the province1951 and Taliban started ‘a1947 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website on a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Helmand province, update 25 March
2021, url
1948 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Helmand province,
update 25 March 2021, url
1949 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Helmand province,
update 25 March 2021, url; 9 events (7 battles and 2 remote violence) in the province for which ACLED has no information
about the location, were not included in this graph (geoprecision code 3 – see introduction)1950 UNOCHA Afghanistan Weekly Humanitarian Update, Humanitarian Response, Situation Report, 01 January 2020 – 28
February 2021, url
1951 BBC News, Afghan-Taliban conflict: Families flee fresh fighting in Helmand, 13 October 2020, url

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major offensive from different directions in bid to capture Lashkargah’.1952 According to Amnesty
International, ‘tens of thousands of people [were] trapped in the middle of a bloody battle thatshows no sign of abating’. 1953 In the reporting period, Helmand was one of the provinces where thenumber of victims of ground engagements was the highest. 1954 In February 2021, the provincial
capital was still surrounded by AGEs who controlled key roads leading to the city.1955
In 2020, UNAMA reported 187 civilian casualties, including 81 fatalities resulting from groundengagements.1956 For example, on 29 June 2020, in Sangin district of Helmand province, ANA forces
fired three mortars that landed in a busy marketplace, killing 19 civilians (including 6 children), andinjuring 31 others (including 11 children).1957 On 8 January 2021, five civilians, including children,were killed by Afghan forces during the air raid in Lashkargah.1958
According to UNAMA, in 2020 in Helmand province 87 persons were killed and 52 injured as aconsequence of IEDs’ explosions.1959 For instance, on 25 March 2020 at least eight civilians were
killed after the explosion of a roadside bomb in Musa Qala district.1960 On 31 March 2020, eight othercivilians were killed in an explosion in Nahr-e Saraj district.1961 UNAMA reported also several IEDs
explosions during Taliban attack on Lashkargah in October 2020 which killed or injured civilians who
were trying to escape from the fighting zone.1962 On 9 October 2020, five civilians were killed andnine wounded in the explosion of roadside bomb in also Nahr-e Saraj.1963 On 12 October 2020, an
explosion killed 15 civilians, including eight children, travelling through Marja district.1964
AGEs targeted also selected groups of civilians in Helmand. There were reports of killings a tribal
elder1965, government officials1966 and journalists1967 in Lashkargah city during the reporting
period.1968 According to a Human Rights Watch report, any contact with the Afghan government forcivilian population is prohibited in Taliban-controlled areas. For example, Taliban targeted a residentof Helmand whose relatives worked for the police and accused him of being ‘a police spy’.1969
According to Amnesty International, during the Taliban offensive on Lashkargah in October 2020, thepower and telecommunication networks were cut off and roads were blocked so civilians couldn’t
escape from the city. People had to leave their houses and slept on the street. UNAMA called on

1952 A Jazeera, As violence flares in south Afghanistan, key questions answered, 19 October 2020, url
1953 BBC News, Afghan-Taliban conflict: Fears grow for families trapped in Helmand, 15 October 2020, url; RFE/RL, Fear

Grows Over Afghan Civilians 'Trapped' In Helmand's Capital, 15 October 2020, url
1954 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 72
1955Washington Post (The), With less U.S. tactical support, Afghanistan’s elite forces are struggling to roll back Taliban
advances, 7 March 2021, url
1956 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 72
1957 UNAMA, Afghanistan Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict Annual Report, 2020 Mid-year Update, 27 July 2020, url,
p. 15; Stars and Stripes, Afghan forces launched mortar attacks that killed civilians in Helmand, UN says, 30 June 2020, url;
Tolonews, 23 Civilians Killed in Rocket Attacks in Helmand 29 June 2020, url
1958 AA, 'Kids among 5 of a family killed in Afghan airstrike', 8 January 2021, url
1959 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 49
1960 Afghanistan Times, 8 killed in Helmand after vehicle hit by roadside bomb, 25 March 2020, url
1961 SATP, Helmand Timeline 2020, 22 May 2021, url
1962 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 50
1963 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Helmand province,
update 25 March 2021, url
1964 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 50
1965 Khaama Press, Two Separate Attacks Claim Civil Society Activist, Tribal Leader, 01 January 2021, url
1966 Pajhwok Afghan News, Washer district chief killed, guards wounded, 19 January 2021, url
1967 Khaama Press, Media staff killed in Afghanistan’s southern province Helmand, 2 January 2020, url; BBC News, Theassassination of a ‘Brave Journalist of Afghanistan’, 23 November 2020, url
1968 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Helmand province,
update 25 March 2021, url
1969 HRW, “You Have No Right to Complain” Education, Social Restrictions, and Justice in Taliban-Held Afghanistan, 30 June
2020, url, pp. 5-7

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making ‘safe paths for those wishing to leave’.1970 Access to health services was limited.1971 WHO
reported 15 health care facilities in several districts were attacked and temporary closed.1972 Taliban
destroyed several bridges over the main highway during their last offensive.1973
In the villages under Taliban control, they used civilian neighbourhood for military purposes andpunished residents who tried to oppose.1974 Access to cultivation areas were restricted by IEDs.1975
There were cases when Taliban tried to intimidate the workers of de-mining NGOs in Gereshk (Nahre Saraj) district.1976

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020 – 28 February 2021, reporting 31 551 persons
displaced from Helmand province. 29 206 persons were displaced within the province itself fromdifferent localities mainly to Lashkargah and Washer district. 2 345 persons were displaced from
Helmand to other provinces: Kandahar, Herat and Nimroz. The largest group of people weredisplaced within Lashkargah at the beginning of Taliban offensive on 11 October 2020. 1977 According
to various sources, between 20 000 and 40 000 people were forced to leave their homes in thecity.1978
In the reporting period 103 persons arrived to the Helmand’s district Nahr-e Saraj from Daykundi
province in January 2020.1979

1970 BBC News, Afghan-Taliban conflict: Fears grow for families trapped in Helmand, 15 October 2020, url; RFE/RL, Fear

Grows Over Afghan Civilians 'Trapped' In Helmand's Capital, 15 October 2020, url
1971 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Weekly Humanitarian Update, 2-8 November 2020, url
1972 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Flash Update No. 5, Fighting, displacement and civilian casualties in Southern Afghanistan, 26
October 2020, url
1973 Al-Arabiya, In spite of truce talks, US forces hit Taliban with air strikes in Helmand, 12 October 2020, url
1974 HRW, “You Have No Right to Complain” Education, Social Restrictions, and Justice in Taliban-Held Afghanistan, 30 June
2020, url, pp. 53-54; AAN, Living with the Taleban (2): Local experiences in Nad Ali district, Helmand province, 18 January
2021, url
1975 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Weekly Humanitarian Update, 14-20 December 2020, url
1976 HRW, “You Have No Right to Complain” Education, Social Restrictions, and Justice in Taliban-Held Afghanistan, 30 June
2020, url, p. 44
1977 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, 30 March 2021, url
1978 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, 30 March 2021, url; Christian Science Monitor (The),
Fleeing the Taliban in the night, a family’s faith in peace wavers, 23 October 2020, url
1979 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, 30 March 2021, url

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2.13 Herat
2.13.1 General description of the province

Map 13: Afghanistan – Herat province, source: UNOCHA1980

Herat (Hirat) Province is located in the western part of Afghanistan and borders Iran to the west andTurkmenistan to the north.1981 The administrative districts of the province are Adraskan, Chisht-e
Sharif, Fersi (Farsi), Ghoryan (Ghorian), Gulran (Golran), Guzara (Gozareh), Injil (Enjil), Herat, Karukh,
Kohsan (Kuhestan), Kushk (Robat-e Sangi), Kushk-e Kuhna, Obe (Obeh), Pashtun Zarghun, Zinda Jan(Zendahjan); the districts of Shindand, Poshtko (Pushtko), Koh-e Zore (Koh-e Zawar), Zawol, andZerko are defined as ‘temporary’ districts. The provincial capital is Herat city.1982
According to estimates for 2019-2020 by NSIA, the province has a population of 2 095 117.1983
The main ethnic groups in Herat are Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Turkmen, Uzbeks, and Aimaqs.
Pashtuns are the majority in 11 border districts;1984 in 2015, it was estimated that Hazaras, who aremostly Shia Muslims, might constitute up to a fourth of the urban population of the province.1985
The population of Herat city is largely ‘either Sunni or Shia Farsiwans’ (Persian speakers), with Sunni
Farsiwans tending to identify as Tajiks.1986 The city has a significant Pashtun minority1987 as well as

1980 UNOCHA, Afghanistan, Provincial reference Map, Hirat Province 25 May 2015, url, p. 12
1981 UNOCHA, Afghanistan, Provincial reference Map, Hirat Province 25 May 2015, url, p. 12
1982 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan 2020-21, June 2020, url, p. 42
1983 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, 18 November 2019, url, p. 38
1984 Pajhwok Afghan News, Background profile of Herat province, n.d., url
1985 Leslie, J., Political and Economic Dynamics of Herat, USIP, 2 April 2015, url, p. 13
1986 Foschini, F., Back to Stopgap Appointments? The Story behind the Replacement of Herat’s Governor, AAN, 24 July

2013, url
1987 Foschini, F., Back to Stopgap Appointments? The Story behind the Replacement of Herat’s Governor, AAN, 24 July
2013, url; Leslie, J., Political and Economic Dynamics of Herat, USIP, 2 April 2015, url, pp. 8, 13

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Hazara and Aimaq ethnic groups.1988 The share of Hazaras, who are considered newcomers, hasbeen increasing since 2001, due to repatriation from Iran and displacement from central provincesof Afghanistan.1989
A ring road connects Herat Province to Farah and Kandahar provinces. Primary roads connect Herat
to Islam Qala (border crossing with Iran) and Turghundi (border crossing with Turkmenistan).
Mountainous roads connecting Herat to the provincial capitals of Ghor and Badghis were reported
to be in a poor condition.1990
In December 2020, a 225-kilometre-long railway connecting Herat province with the city of Khaf innorth-eastern Iran was inaugurated. While the construction of the three sections covering around
150 kilometres from Khaf to the city of Rozanak in Herat was finalised,1991 the line is scheduled to beextended to Robat Paryan and Herat Airport.1992
Herat International Airport, named after Khwaja Abdullah Ansari in January 20211993, is one of
Afghanistan’s four international airports.1994 The airport is located about 19 kilometres south ofHerat city.1995

2.13.2 Conflict background and armed actors in Herat
Reporting on a killing of a Taliban leader in a drone strike in Herat in December 2018, the Khaama
Press noted that Herat was ‘among the relatively calm provinces in the west of Afghanistan’; still,according to the source, the Taliban insurgents were ‘active in some of its the remote districts’.1996
The deterioration of the security situation in Herat province was reported in 2016 with insurgent
groups establishing their control in such districts as Shindand, Adraskan, Gulran, Kushke-e Kuhna,
and Farsi and violent clashes occurring between the GoA and the Taliban and between rival Taliban
fractions.1997 The infighting between the main Taliban group, the Quetta Shura, and militants led by
Mullah Muhammad Rasoul (Rasool), was reported to continue in the subsequent years.1998
According to AAN reporting in October 2018, ‘large swathes of territory’ in Herat—and particularly
the areas distant from the provincial and district centres—were ‘either contested or partially orcompletely controlled’ by the Taliban.’1999 In August 2019, a member of Herat provincial council
stated that the Taliban was present in the districts of Shindand, Kushk-e Kuhna, Gulran, Robat-e
Sangi (Kushk), Pashtun Zarghun, Adraskan, and Fersi and established checkpoints on the Herat-Islam
Qala Highway, noting that the government kept its control over all district capitals.2000

1988 Leslie, J., Political and Economic Dynamics of Herat, USIP, 2 April 2015, url, pp. 8, 13
1989 Kazemi, R.S., Speculation Abounding: Trying to make sense of the attacks against Shias in Herat city, AAN, 3 February

2019, url
1990 Logistics Capacity Assessment, Afghanistan Road Network, n.d., url
1991 France 24, First rail network opens between Iran and Afghanistan, 10 December 2020, url
1992 Railway Gazette, Two presidents inaugurate Afghanistan – Iran railway, 10 December 2020, url
1993 Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of, President Ghani Names Herat International Airport after Khwaja Abdullah Ansari, 21
January 2021, url
1994 SIGAR, Afghanistan’s Civilian Aviation: Capacity has improved but challenges remain, including reliance on donor
support for operations, July 2019, url, p. 5
1995 Afghanistan, ACAA, AIRAC AIP Amendment, 28 January 2021, url, p. 65
1996 Khaama Press, Prominent Taliban leader killed in Herat drone strike, 17 December 2018, url
1997 Kazemi, R.S., The Battle between Law and Force: Scattered political power and deteriorating security test Herat’s
dynamism, AAN, 11 January 2017, url
1998 Salaam Times, Taliban infighting over power, leadership continues in Herat, 26 November 2018, url
1999 Kazemi, R.S., The 2018 Election Observed (6) in Herat: Insecurity, organisational shambles, alleged rigging, AAN, 20
December 2018, url‫[ بررسی اوضاع امنیتی غرب کشور؛ از افزایش تحرکات طالبان تا تلفات سنگین این گروه‬informaltranslation: ‘security assessment of the west of the country; from the increase of Taliban’s mobility to heavy losses of thegroup’,], 30 August 2019, url
2000 Etilaatroz,

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In January 2020, a regional commander of Mullah Muhammad Rassoul fraction Mullah Mohammad
Nangyalai was reportedly killed by a U.S. drone strike. According to the U.S. independent military
news source Stars and Stripes, the Rasoul insurgent group continued fighting the main Taliban groupin Herat, although the infighting between the two became less frequent compared to previous
years.2001
According to the report of the UN Security Council, the Taliban shadow governor for Herat as of May
2020 was Mawlawi Abdul Rashid.2002 In May 2020, the National Directorate of Security (NDS)
reported on an arrest of Qari Shafi (also known as Hafiz Omeri), a Taliban commander and a key
member of the Taliban’s leadership commission, in Shindand district.2003
As of 28 February 2021, LWJ assessed the districts of Gulran, Kushk, Kushk-e Kuhna, Obe, Adraskan,
Shindand, and Ghoryan as ‘contested’, the district of Farsi as under ‘unconfirmable Taliban claim ofcontrol’, and the districts of Kohsan, Zinda Jan, Injil, Herat, Karukh, Pashtun Zarghun, Guzara, andChisht-e Sharif as under ‘GoA control or undetermined.’ More recently, as of 26 of May 2021,
Pashtun Zarghun and Chisht-e Sharif districts shifted to ‘contested’.2004 A survey conducted by
Pajhwok Afghan News from November 2020 until February 2021, designated 37.25 % of Herat’s
territory as controlled by the Afghan government and 62.75 % as under the Taliban control.
According to the same survey, 1 157 755 of Herat’s inhabitants lived in areas controlled by thegovernment and 982 907 in areas under the Taliban control.2005
While there were no reports of an established presence of ISKP in Herat in the reporting period, thegroup claimed responsibility over an IED explosion in a Shia-dominated area in Herat city on 29 July
2020.2006 The blog kept by the Swiss Institute for Global Affairs mentioned that the cells of ‘alleged
Daesh groups’ in Herat province were of ‘a more unclear extent’ than those in and around Kabul city;
still, as pointed out by the blog, the group claimed responsibility over two attacks conducted in
Herat between 1 August and 28 October 2020.2007
According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, opium poppy cultivation in Herat province
increased by 30 %.2008
In terms of the presence of the government security forces, the ANA operations in Herat were under
the responsibility of the 207th Zafar Corps.2009 Italian forces provided ‘functionality-based’ security
assistance to ANA 207th Corps and ANP, as a part of the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission.2010

2001 Stars and Stripes, Airstrike in western Afghanistan kills leader of Taliban splinter group, may have killed civilians, 9January 2020, url
2002 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, p. 27
2003 Tolonews, “Key” Taliban member arrested in Herat by NDS, 23 May 2020, url
2004 LWJ, Maping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url, accessed 28 February 2021. The source, however, does not
specify when and which information of the map was updated.
2005 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url. For
this survey Pajhwok Afghan News interviewed (through telephone interviews or by distributing questionnaires) a total of 1
266 respondents, randomly selected across the country.
2006 Salaam Times, Fractured ISIS-K struggles to keep up appearances in Afghanistan, 7 August 2020, url
2007 Swiss Institute for Global Affairs, The Opaque Remnants of the Self-Declared Islamic State in Afghanistan, updated 10
November 2020, url
2008 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 9
2009 Afghanistan, MoD, 207 Zafar Corps, n.d., url; USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, url,
p. 59
2010 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, url, p. 14

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2.13.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 339 civilian casualties, including 124 killed and 215 injured, in Heratprovince, which represents a 15 % decline compared to 2019. The leading causes of civilian
casualties were ground engagements, targeted killings, and non-suicide IEDs.2011 Reporting in April
2020 on the security situation in the provinces after the U.S.-Taliban agreement, Kate Clark notedthat two AAN interviewees in Herat reported on the intensification of violence. According to a GoA
employee, the district of Obe was ‘entirely in Taleban hands, except for the district centre.’2012
According to ACLED data, between 1 January 2020 and 28 February 2021 there were 362 security
incidents recorded in Herat province, of which 232 were coded as ‘battles’, 95 as ‘explosions/remoteviolence’, 32 as ‘violence against civilians’ and 3 concerned prison riots.2013

Figure 26: Herat province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2020, based on ACLED data2014

2011 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 110
2012 Clark, K., Voices from the Districts, the Violence Mapped (2): Assessing the conflict a month after the US-Taleban

agreement, 8 April 2020, url
2013 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website on a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Herat province, update 25 March
2021, url
2014 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Herat province, update
25 March 2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Figure 27: Herat province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2020, based on
ACLED data2015

The vast majority of battles concerned ‘armed clashes.’2016 After the RIV, the Taliban reportedlyattacked ‘government convoy going from Herat city to Chesht-e Sharif district through Pashtun
Zargun and Obeh district,’ which caused casualties on both sides. Between Pashtun Zargun and Obe,the convoy reportedly ‘fired mortars on Taleban areas, injuring some civilians and damaging some
civilian houses.’2017 Other incidents which caused civilian casualties during the reporting period
comprised, but were not limited to the following: on 14 June 2020, during the clashes between the
Taliban and ANSF, a civilian was killed in the village of Band-e Benafsh in Obe district;2018 in
September 2020, three civilians were killed and four injured, including two children, in the armed
clashes in the Noorzai Ha area in Kushk district;2019 on 16 January 2021, during clashes between
ANDSF and the Taliban in the village of Qodus Abad in Kohsan District, a mortar fired by the Taliban
reportedly hit a house, killing a woman and wounding 11 civilians, including women and children.2020
As reported by AAN researcher Reza Kazemi, on 17 February 2020, at least five civilians were killedin ‘one or several airstikes by Afghan or NATO forces’ in Kushk.2021
In the EASO reporting period, the Taliban conducted numerous attacks on security forces’
compounds and checkpoints located in Herat province2022 and on military convoys;2023 in some cases,
the attacks caused civilian casualties.2024 Thus, on 7 March 2020, the Taliban attacked a progovernment militia outpost in the village of Khawja-Noor in Kushk district, resulting in one militia
member being killed and 11 civilians injured. Following the attack, the Taliban abducted six civilians,

2015 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Herat province, update

25 March 2021, url; 6 events (3 battles and 3 remote violence incidents) in the province, for which ACLED has no
information about the location, were not included in this graph (geoprecision code 3 – see introduction).
2016 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Herat province, update
25 March 2021, url
2017 Clark, K., Voices from the Districts, the Violence Mapped (2): Assessing the conflict a month after the US-Taleban
agreement, 8 April 2020, url
2018 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: June 2020, 2 July 2020, url
2019 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (21 – 27 September 2020), 27 September 2020, url, p. 22020 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2021, 7 January 2021, updated 28 January 2021, url
2021 Kazemi, R., Disputed Casualties in Kushk: The cost of blurring lines between fighters and civilians, 25 February 2020, url
2022 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: June 2020, 4 June 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; New YorkTimes (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 4 February 2021, 12 February 2021, url; Voice of Jihad, Check
post stormed in Herat, 6 killed, url, 11 February 2021
2023 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: May 2020, 28 May 2020, url
2024 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: March 2020, 26 March 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan
War Casualty Report: May 2020, 28 May 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: May 2020, 28 May
2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 12 February 2021, url

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including a teacher, killing all of them later.2025 On 14 May 2020, one woman was killed and twoother civilians were injured when the Taliban opened fire on a security checkpoint in Sarak-e Naw
village of Ghoryan district;2026 on 1 July 2020, a civilian was killed and nine security forces officers
were injured in Fooshkan village of Pashton Zarghun district, after the Taliban attacked the ANSF
convoy;2027 on 27 January 2021, a civilian was killed and a police officer injured in the Taliban attack
over security forces in the village of Qala-i Reeg in Zinda Jan District;2028 on 8 February 2021, theTaliban attacked the Adraskan district compound, killing one police officer and injuring five otherpersons, including a civilian.2029
Some of the incidents of Taliban attacks on GoA security posts were connected to ‘insider
attacks’.2030 For instance, an insider attack on a security outpost in the village of Sarchishma in
Gulran district on 14 June 2020 caused four casualties among police officers; three police officers
were ‘taken prisoner,’ and three ‘Taliban infiltrators’, who committed the attack, joined theinsurgency.2031 On 16 January 2021 in Ghoryan district, ‘Taliban fighters in security forces rank’ werereported to enter ‘the public uprising forces bases’, killing at least 12 pro-government militiamen;2032
following the attack, the Afghan government forces claimed to regain control of the area.2033
According to ACLED data, ‘remote explosive/landmine/IEDs’ were the cause of 60 security incidents,
or 59 %, of the incidents coded as ‘explosions/remote violence’ in Herat province.2034 The
representative cases of this type of security incidents comprise the following: on 9 October 2020,
the civilian bus stuck a roadside bomb in the village of Sarayek in Zawol district, killing 3 and injuring
13 civilians;2035 on 14 October 2020, as reported by the New York Times, 7 civilians, travelling to a
wedding party, were killed after their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in the village of Lar-e Sorkh in
Kushk-e Kuhna district; 11 civilians were reportedly injured.2036 UNAMA described the bomb as ‘a
Taliban pressure-plate IED’ and reported that the vehicle was ‘filled with mostly women’ who were
‘on the way to accompany a bride to her new house;’ 3 women and 5 girls were killed and four
women, 7 children, and 1 man were injured in the incident.2037
While most of the incidents caused by IEDs across Afghanistan remained unclaimed, ISKP claimed a
responsibility over an incident of 29 July 2020, in which an IED attached to a minibus killed three andinjured five civilians, including one child, in the village of Mahal-e Haji Abbas in the 12th Police
District of Herat city;2038 ISKP stated that their target was the Shi’a Muslim community.2039
The highway between Herat and Islam Qala, which is a key road to transport most of the import
goods from Iran, was reportedly insecure due to the presence of the insurgent groups.2040 In April
2020, on the Herat-Islam Qala Highway in Kohsan district, three Taliban fighters abducted five2025 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: March 2020, 5 March 2020, updated 26 March 2020, url
2026 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: May 2020, 7 May 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
2027 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: June 2020, 4 June 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
2028 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2021, 7 January 2021, updated 28 January 2021, url
2029 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 4 February 2021, updated 12 February 2021, url
2030 AP, Official: 2 insider attackers kill 12 Afghan militiamen, 16 January 2021, url
2031 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: June 2020, 29 October 2020, url
2032 Pajhwok Afghan News, Over a dozen pro-govt forces killed in Herat attack, 16 January 2021 url
2033 AP, Official: 2 insider attackers kill 12 Afghan militiamen, 16 January 2021, url
2034 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Herat province, update

25 March 2021, url
2035 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2020, 29 October 2020, url
2036 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2020, 29 October 2020, url
2037 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, p. 48
2038 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Third Quarter Report: 1 January to 30 September
2020, October 2020, url, p. 9; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 2020, 9 July 2020, updated 30 July
2020, url
2039 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Third Quarter Report: 1 January to 30 September
2020, October 2020, url, p. 92040 Eurasia Review, Afghanistan: The Calculus of Violence – Analysis, 28 July 2020, url

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employees of Da Afghanistan Bank (the central bank of Afghanistan), who were travelling in a car,and killed them a few hours later.2041 in February 2021, AP mentioned that locals considered theroad between two cities dangerous due to activities of criminal groups and the use of the road by
the Taliban insurgents.2042 The increase in insecurity was reported on Herat-Turghandi highway; inJanuary 2021, Kabul Now reported on a kidnapping of passengers of a bus, who were soonreleased.2043 In February 2021, roads connecting Herat to Saghar district in Ghor province andChaghcharan, provincial capital of Ghor, were reported closed to civilian and commercial use due toongoing fighting.2044 All roads connecting Herat locations to Saghar district remained reportedly
closed in the beginning of March 2021.2045
In October 2020, the Taliban reportedly damaged an electricity pylon in Ghoryan district, leaving
almost half of the Herat’s population without electricity.2046
According to ACLED data, the district of Herat, in which the provincial capital of Herat city is situated,
witnessed the second-highest number of security incidents across the province. In the period
between 1 January 2020 and 28 February 2021, ACLED recorded 55 security incidents in Herat
district, almost 53 % of which were coded as ‘battles,’ 31 % as ‘explosions/remote violence,’ and
16 % as ‘violence against civilians.’2047
The representative security incidents, which caused civilian casualties due to the use of IEDs in Herat
city, comprise the following: in November 2020, at least three policemen were killed and two otherpersons, including a civilian, were injured in an IED explosion that was placed on a motorbike anddetonated in a proximity of a police checkpoint;2048 in March 2021, at least one person was killed
and at least 23 people injured, including 21 civilians, when ‘an explosive-loaded vehicle detonated in
PD14’ of Herat city.2049
In late 2019 and early 2020, Herat city was reported to witness ‘a series of security incidents,
including targeted killings and attacks on the police.’ However, as underlined by Reza Kazemi in April
2020, the city had ‘mostly seen criminal and security incidents, certainly no large scale attacks oropen fighting.’2050 Representative incidents of killings and targeted killings, which occurred in the city
within the reporting period, are as follows: in April 2020, unknown gunmen killed a judge in thecapital’s Police District 12;2051 in August 2020, unknown gunmen killed two women, who weretravelling in a rickshaw in Hawoz Karbas area of Herat city2052; in October 2020, a tribal elder was
killed by a gunmen after he left a mosque close to his house2053; in November 2020, in the area of
Babaji of the city, unknown gunmen killed a prosecutor for Herat province, when he was heading tohis office;2054 in December 2020, a 45-year-old man was reportedly ‘assassinated’ by two gunmen ona public road in Herat city.2055

2041 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Midyear Report: 1 January – 30 June 2020, July 2020,

url, p. 122042 AP, Fuel Tanker blast at Afghan-Iran border causes massive fire, 13 February 2021, url
2043 Kabul Now, Taliban kidnap passengers in Herat, 2 January 2021, url
2044 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update, 15 – 21 February 2021, 21 February 2021, url, p. 2; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update, 22 – 28 February 2021, 28 February 2021, url, p. 22045 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update, 1 – 7 March 2021, n.d., url
2046 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United Stated Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 141
2047 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Herat province, update
25 March 2021, url
2048 Tolonews, Three Policemen killed in Herat Blast, 1 November 2020, url
2049 Ariana News, Heavy explosion rocks Herat, 12 March 2021, url
2050 Kazemi, R., Herat City’s reported spike in insecurity: what a sober of reading events reveals, AAN, 21 April 2020, url
2051 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: April 2020, 2 April 2020, updated 30 April 2020, url
2052 Tolonews, Two Women Killed by Unknown Gunmen In Herat City, 11 August 2020, url
2053 Tolonews, [Twitter], posted on: 22 October 2020, url
2054 TKG, Prosecutor Killed in Afghanistan’s Western Herat, 8 November 2020, url
2055 AVA, Man Assassinated in Herat City, 27 December 2020, url

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As reported by Kazemi, journalists and civil society activists in Herat city described ‘the existence ofcomplex rivalries among the provincial elites,’ partly manifesting itself in the competition ‘forinfluence in the police force.’ The relations between the local elites and the police were reported to‘undermine the police’s ability to pursue and address crime and insecurity.’ Moreover, locals andjournalists reportedly believed that some of the elites were involved in some of the security
incidents, which the city witnessed in 2019 and the beginning of 2020, including targeted killings andattacks on the police.2056

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020 – 31 December 2020, reporting 3 785 persons
displaced from Herat, of which 3 755 were displaced within the province: from the districts ofAdraskan, Farsi, Gulran, Kushk, Kushk-I Kohna, Obe, Pashtun Zarghun, and Shindand to Injil. During
the same period, 30 persons were displaced to Ghor (from Chisht-e Sharif and Obe).2057 According to
UNOCHA, 4 289 persons were displaced to Herat province in 2020, comprising 4 047 persons
displaced to Injil, 144 to Karukh, 58 to Guzara, and 40 to Herat city.2058
Between 1 January 2021 and 31 March 2021, UNOCHA reported on 660 persons displaced within
Herat province, comprising the displacements from Adraskan, Gulran, Kushk, Kushk-e Kohna, Obe,
Pashtun Zarghun, and Shindand to Injil. During the same period, 150 persons were displaced fromother provinces to Herat province, to Injil district.2059
In July 2020, DACAAR reported that the inhabitants of Pashtun Zarghun district were displaced to
Herat city, due to fighting between ANDSF and the Taliban.2060 For the period between 5 September
2020 and 27 October 2020, DACAAR reported that the clashes between the ANDSF and the Talibanin Badghis and Herat provinces were causing displacement to Herat city;2061 due to the fighting,inhabitants Daykundi and Helmand were reported to be displaced to Herat city in the period
between 5 November 2020 and 7 January 2021.2062 As reported by DACAAR, during 10 December
2020 and 6 February 2021, the displacement to Herat city was caused by the fighting between the
ANDSF and the Taliban in Helmand, Ghor, and Herat provinces.2063

2056 Kazemi, R., Herat City’s reported spike in insecurity: what a sober of reading events reveals, AAN, 21 April 2020, url
2057 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, 30 March 2021,

url
url
2059 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, 25 April 2021, url
2060 DACAAR, ERM Household Assessment Report, 26 July 2020, url
2061 DACAAR, ERM 45 Household Assessment Report, 10 December 2020, url
2062 DACAAR, ERM, 15 Household Assessment Report, 20 January 2021, url
2063 DACAAR, ERM 55 Household Assessment Report, 24 February 2021, url
2058 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, 30 March 2021,

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2.14 Jawzjan
2.14.1 General description of the province

Map 14: Afghanistan – Jawzjan province, source: UNOCHA2064

2064 UNOCHA, Afghanistan. Provincial reference Map, 25 May 2015, url, p. 13

195

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Jawzjan province is located in the northern part of Afghanistan and is divided into the following
districts: Aqcha, Darzab, Fayzabad, Khamyab, Khanaqa, Khwajadukoh, Mardyan, Mingajik, Qarqin,
Qushtepa and Shiberghan. The provincial capital is Shiberghan.2065 According to AAN, Darzab has
been transferred from Faryab to Jawzjan because of security reasons. Later, the district of Qushtepa
was carved out of Darzab.2066
According to estimates for 2019-2020 by NSIA, the province has a population of 590 866, 188 808 of
whom live in the provincial capital, Shiberghan.2067
The main ethnic groups in the province are Uzbeks and Turkmen. Other groups present include
Pashtuns and so-called Arabs – i.e. descendants of migrants who left the Arabian Peninsula in the
14th century –, as well as some Tajiks and Kuchi nomads, whose numbers vary depending on theseason.2068
The Ring Road connects the provincial capital of Jawzjan with Mazar-e Sharif in Balkh to the east
(crossing Khanaqa and Fayzabad districts) and Faryab to the west (crossing Khwajadukoh district).
Another main road connects neighbouring Sar-e Pul to the Ring Road in Shiberghan.2069 According to
UNOCHA, the road between Mazar-e Sharif and provincial capital Shiberghan remained contested in
January 2020.2070 AGEs had control and were taxing commercial and logistic vehicles.2071 Shiberghan
airport is a small airport in Jawzjan,2072 however no information on its services was available.

2.14.2 Conflict background and actors in Jawzjan
Despite being home to the former powerful Uzbek militia leader Abdul Rashid Dostum and in spite of
the presence of his ‘former militia fighters’, insurgent activity reportedly increased in Jawzjan after
NATO-led forces handed over control to Afghan security forces in 2012.2073 A 2017 study on IslamicState (IS) presence in Afghanistan found that ‘there are enormous numbers of armed forces in [...]
Jawzjan [...], among which the irregular (arbaki, private paramilitary units of commanders) and antigovernment forces (mostly various local Taliban groups) clearly outnumber the ANSF (ANA, ANP and
ALP) and National Uprising units.’2074
AAN reported that conflict emerged between local Taliban commanders and the Taliban leadership in2014 after the latter tried to enhance the accountability of the commanders in operations. According
to AAN, the appearance of IMU in Qushtepa subsequently favoured the formation of an ‘IslamicState (IS)’ faction in the district.2075

2065 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Northern Region - District Atlas, April 2014, url, pp. 34-45; Afghanistan, NSIA, EstimatedPopulation of Afghanistan 2020-21, June 2020, url, p. 38
2066 Ruttig, T., The Afghanistan Election Conundrum (12): Good news and bad news about district numbers, AAN, 16 August
2018, url
2067 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, 18 November 2019, url, p. 34
2068 Larsson, K., A Provincial Survey of Balkh, Jowzjan, Samangan and Saripul, Sida, November 2008, url, p. 28
2069 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Northern region District Atlas, 13 April 2014, url, p. 34; LCA, Afghanistan Administrative Map, 19
September 2017, url; Diplomat (The), Kabul's Plan to Realize Afghanistan’s Geographic Dividend, 5 December 2017, url
2070 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (13 January – 19 January 2020), 22 January 2020, url, p. 2;
UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (20 January – 26 January 2020, 29 January 2020, url, p. 22071 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (13 January – 19 January 2020), 22 January 2020, url, p. 2; Payk
Fact-Check, Security Situation In The Northern Highways Of The Country Have Gotten Worse, Instead Of Getting Better, 9
December 2020, url
2072 MSF, Afghanistan Country Kit, 12 January 2016, url, p. 3; Afghanistan, ACAA, All airports, 24 September 2017, url
2073 RFE/RL, Afghanistan's New Northern Flash Points, n.d., url
2074 Mielke, K. and Miszak, N., Making sense of Daesh in Afghanistan: A social movement perspective, BICC/TLO, June 2017,
url, pp. 28-29
2075 Ali, O., Non-Pashtun Taleban of the North (4): A case study from Jawzjan, AAN, 18 September 2017, url

196Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

IMU, which appeared to have started infiltrating Jawzjan in early 2015 from neighbouring Faryab
province according to RFE/RL,2076 has been a former ally of the Taliban, but shifted allegiancetowards IS after the disclosure of Taliban leader Mullah Omar's death in 2015.2077 Most of the IMU
fighters in some of Afghanistan’s provinces, including Jawzjan, returned to the Taliban not muchlater.2078
The presence of IMU in Jawzjan reportedly provided former Taliban shadow district governor of
Darzab district, Qari Hekmat,2079 who had been removed earlier from the Taliban’s ranks after aconflict, and his followers, with an opportunity to pledge allegiance to IS in 2015. Subsequently,
Hekmat succeeded in shaping his former Taliban unit into an independent IS-associated group.
According to AAN, Hekmat's shift to ‘IS’ was rather driven by ‘[...] power-saving opportunism [...]’
than by ideological motives.2080 The self-proclaimed IS group managed to hold control over ‘anenclave’ or ‘an island’ in the districts of Qushtepa and Darzab for three years, fighting the Taliban2081– though not expanding its territory due to the widespread Taliban presence in the province2082 – andinitially outlasting the death of its founder by a US drone strike in April 2018.2083 In August 2018, theTaliban overran the group's strongholds,2084 prompting a faction of Hekmat's former unit tosurrender to the government forces in fear of retaliation by the Taliban, while others (reportedly
mainly Central Asian fighters) surrendered to the Taliban.2085
While Afghanistan analyst Obaid Ali wrote in 2017, that he had found no reliable evidence of aconnection between Hekmat's IS group and Nangarhar's Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP),
which was recognised by the ‘Daesh central’ in Syria and Iraq (i.e. the main franchise) as an IS
branch,2086 a finding that was supported in a 2017 study on IS presence in Afghanistan,2087 the UN
Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team reported, after the investigation following thesurrender in the Summer of 2018, that ‘it appears that the ISIL branch in Jowzjan was directly andregularly in touch with ISIL in Nangarhar and received all communications through them.’2088 No
security incidents specifically attributed to ISKP were recorded by ACLED in Jawzjan province
between January 2020 and 28 February 2021.2089

2076 RFE/RL, Afghanistan's New Northern Flash Points, n.d., url
2077 Ali, O., Non-Pashtun Taleban of the North (4): A case study from Jawzjan, AAN, 18 September 2017, url; Osman, B.,

Toward Fragmentation? Mapping the post-Omar Taleban, AAN, 24 November 2015, url
2078 Modern Diplomacy, UN Security Council: Taliban continues to patronize Central Asian Jihadists, 6 March 2021, url
2079 Ali, O., Qari Hekmat’s Island: A Daesh enclave in Jawzjan?, AAN, 11 November 2018, url
2080 Ali, O., Non-Pashtun Taleban of the North (4): A case study from Jawzjan, AAN, 18 September 2017, url
2081 Ali, O., Qari Hekmat’s Island: A Daesh enclave in Jawzjan?, AAN, 11 November 2018, url; Ali, O., Precarious
Consolidation: Qari Hekmat’s IS-affiliated ‘island’ survives another Taleban onslaught, AAN, 4 March 2018, url; Der Spiegel,Afghanistan 120 Tote bei Kämpfen zwischen Taliban und IS [Afghanistan: 120 Dead in Clashes Between Taliban and IS], 19
July 2018, url
2082 Ali, O., Non-Pashtun Taleban of the North (4): A case study from Jawzjan, AAN, 18 September 2017, url
2083 Ali, O., Still under the IS’s Black Flag: Qari Hekmat’s ISKP island in Jawzjan after his death by drone, AAN, 15 May 2018,
url; UN Security Council, Tenth Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant to
Resolution 2255 (2015) Concerning the Taliban and other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat to thePeace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, 13 June 2019, url, para 53
2084 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, 22 February 2020, url, p. 85
2085 Ali, O., Qari Hekmat’s Island Overrun: Taleban defeat ‘ISKP’ in Jawzjan, AAN, 4 August 2018, url; UN Security Council,
Tenth Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant to Resolution 2255 (2015)
Concerning the Taliban and other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat to the Peace, Stability andSecurity of Afghanistan, 13 June 2019, url, para 53
2086 Ali, O., Qari Hekmat’s Island Overrun: Taleban defeat ‘ISKP’ in Jawzjan, AAN, 4 August 2018, url
2087 Mielke, K., Miszak, N., Making sense of Daesh in Afghanistan: A social movement perspective, BICC/TLO, June 2017, url,
pp. 28-29
2088 UN Security Council, Tenth Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant to
Resolution 2255 (2015) Concerning the Taliban and other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat to thePeace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, 13 June 2019, url, para 54
2089 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Jawzjan province,
update 25 March 2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

AAN reported in 2017 that the Taliban became increasingly successful in Jawzjan, setting up
administrative and military institutions, after opening their ranks to non-Pashtun fighters. The
recruitment of Uzbeks allegedly proved particularly successful in the province.2090 Subsequently, theTaliban were able to expand their control in Jawzjan,2091 reportedly pushing into the province's
northern and eastern parts, as well as the strategic areas around the provincial centre.2092 In August
2019 provincial police officials stated that 1 500 fighters, forming 123 groups, have been involved infighting against government forces under the Taliban leadership in Jawzjan province.2093 The Taliban
took control of Darzab district on 31 December 2019.2094 The Afghan security forces reportedly
withdrew peacefully from their Antan Hill military base on demand of the local residents.2095 Despite
official claims that government forces had retaken Khamyab and Qarqin districts in April 2020,2096 inits assessment, presented in a frequently updated map and based on open-source information,
consulted on 12 March 2021, LWJ continued to indicate Khamyab as ‘Taliban-controlled’. The LWJ
further assessed Darzab and Qushtepa districts also as ‘Taliban-controlled’, Mardyan, Mingajik andShiberghan districts as ‘government-controlled’ and the remaining districts in Jawzjan province as‘contested’. More recently, as of 26 of May 2021, Mardyan and Mingajik districts shifted to‘contested’.2097 A survey Pajhwok Afghan News conducted from November 2020 until February
20212098 designated 58.64 % of Jawzjan’s territory under Taliban control, with only Darzab (‘Zarab’)
district, including the district centre, entirely under Taliban control and 41.36 % under government
control. According to the same survey, 353 039 of Jawzjan’s inhabitants lived in areas under Taliban
control and 249 043 of the province’s population lived in areas under government control.2099
According to information available to the UN Security Council in 2020, the Islamic Movement of
Uzbekistan (IMU) operated mainly in Faryab and Jawzjan provinces where it maintained links tosplinter groups such as Islamic Jihad Group and Khatiba Imama al-Bukhari.2100 In 2019, IMU wasreported to have no more than 100 members, overall in Afghanistan.2101 In its January 2021 report,

2090 Ali, O., Non-Pashtun Taleban of the North (4): A case study from Jawzjan, AAN, 18 September 2017, url
2091 RFE/RL, Afghanistan's New Northern Flash Points, n.d., url; Ali, O., Non-Pashtun Taleban of the North (4): A case study

from Jawzjan, AAN, 18 September 2017, url
2092 Ali, O., Qari Hekmat’s Island Overrun: Taleban defeat ‘ISKP’ in Jawzjan, AAN, 4 August 2018, url
2093 Pajhwok Afghan News, ‘123 groups fight government forces under Taliban leadership in Jawzjan’, 3 August 2019, url;
Tolonews, Jawzjan Security Needs More Attention: Official, 5 August 2019, url
2094 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, A/74/753–
S/2020/210, 17 March 2020, url, para 23
2095 Khaama Press, Taliban takes over Darzab district of northern Jawzjan province, 31 December 2019, url
2096 Khaama Press, 25 Taliban militants killed, 17 wounded in the operation ‘Retake of Khamaab’, 12 April 2020, url;
Afghanistan Times, Security forces purge Jawzjan’s Khomaab district, kill 25 Taliban rebels, 12 April 2020, url; 1TV, Afghan
forces retake Jowzjan's Khumab district, kill 14 Taliban militants, 19 April 2020, url; USDOD, Enhancing Security andStability In Afghanistan, June 2020, 1 July 2020, url, pp. 2, 18; Salaam Times, Residents return home after Afghan forces
clear Taliban from Jawzjan districts, 23 July 2020, url
2097 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url. The source, however, does not specify when and which
information of the aforementioned map was updated. For more information on the methodology used by, see theIntroduction section of this report.
2098 Through telephonic interviews or by distributing questionnaires, Pajhwok Afghan News interviewed a total of 1 266
respondents for this survey, randomly selected across the country. Pajhwok acknowledges the complexity of this task andthe possible inaccuracy of the provided information.
2099 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban make exaggerated claims of territory they control, 12 February 2021, url
2100 UN Security Council, Eleventh Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant to
Resolution 2501 (2019) Concerning the Taliban and Other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat to thePeace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, 27 May 2020, url, para 85
2101 UN Security Council, Tenth Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant to
Resolution 2255 (2015) Concerning the Taliban and other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat to thePeace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, 13 June 2019, url, para 72

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

the UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team did not mention the presence ofmembers of the Central Asian groups in Jawzjan.2102
According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, opium poppy cultivation in Jawzjan province
decreased by 16 %.2103
In terms of the presence of government security forces, Jawzjan province was under the
responsibility of the 209th ANA Shaheen corps and included in the area of responsibility of the Train
Advise Assist Command – North (TAAC – North), part of NATO's Resolute Support Mission within
Afghanistan. TAAC-North was led by German forces and had its headquarters in Mazar-e Sharif, Balkhprovince.2104

2.14.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 120 civilian casualties (47 deaths and 73 injured) in Jawzjan. While
this represents an overall decrease of 2 % compared to 2019, the number of civilian deaths
increased by 63 %.2105 Leading causes of casualties were ground engagements, followed by nonsuicide IEDs and UXO/Landmines.2106 Resolute Support (RS) recorded between 26 and 75 civilian
casualties in Jawzjan in the first half of 2020, reporting a decrease in the number of civilian casualties
in the second quarter of 2020, compared to the first.2107 RS data on civilian casualties per province
for the second half of 2020 were no longer available in the SIGAR quarterly reports.2108
In the period from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, sources consulted by ACLED reported 151
violent events in Jawzjan province, of which 106 were coded as ‘battles’, 39 as ‘explosions/remoteviolence’ and 6 as ‘violence against civilians’.2109

2102 UN Security Council, Twenty-Seventh Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted

Pursuant to Resolution 2368 (2017) Concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and Associated Individuals and Entities, 3 February
2021, url
2103 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 92104 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability In Afghanistan. December 2019, 23 January 2020, url, pp. 11-12, p. 50;
USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability In Afghanistan. June 2020, 1 July 2020, url, p. 14; USDOD, Enhancing Security andStability In Afghanistan. December 2020, 23 April 2021, url, p. 52105 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, 22 February 2020, url, p. 94.
2106 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Midyear Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 110
2107 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 April 2020, url, p. 69; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 July 2020, url, p. 72
2108 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 October 2020, url; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 January 2021, url
2109 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website on a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Jawzjan province, update 25 March
2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Figure 28: Jawzjan province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data2110

Figure 29: Jawzjan province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on
ACLED data2111

The battles concerned mostly armed clashes.2112 The majority of those incidents were attacks by the
Taliban on Afghan security forces, including military, police or NDS personnel, and members of progovernment militias or local uprising forces2113 or attacks on their facilities such as checkpoints2114

2110 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Jawzjan province,

update 25 March 2021, url
2111 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Jawzjan province,
update 25 March 2021, url; 8 events (6 battles, 1 remote violence and 1 violence against incidents) in the province forwhich ACLED has no information about the location, were not included in this graph (geoprecision code 3 – seeintroduction)
2112 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Jawzjan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
2113 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 5 November 2020, updated 26 November 2020,
url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2020, 8 October 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url;
New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2020, 6 February 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; NewYork Times (The), War Casualty Report: March 2020, 5 March 2020, updated 26 March 2020, url
2114 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: August 2020, 6 August 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; NewYork Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2020, 8 October 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; Pajhwok
Afghan News, 3 policemen killed, 8 wounded in Jawzjan firefight, 28 January 2020, url; RFE/RL, Afghans Say Taliban Attacks
Kill At Least 17 Military Personnel In Northern Provinces, 17 June 2020, url

200Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situationand military bases2115 or clashes between ANDSF or local uprising forces and AGEs.2116 At times such
incidents resulted in civilian casualties,2117 as for example in a Taliban attack in Aqcha district in May
2020.2118
Operations and attacks carried out by Afghan security forces against AGEs, as for example in
Mangajik in January 2020,2119 were also registered under ‘armed clashes’ by ACLED.2120‘Air/drone strikes’ made up 12 % of all violent incidents recorded by ACLED in Jawzjan between 1
January 2020 and 28 February 2021,2121 all carried out by Afghan forces.2122 While air strikes targeted
and inflicted losses among AGEs,2123 in an incident on 20 May 2020, six civilians were also killed
when Afghan forces bombed houses in response to a Taliban attack in Mardyan district.2124 The
Taliban also reported civilian casualties as a result of air strikes by the Afghan forces in April 2020 in
Aqcha and Khamyab districts.2125
AGEs also used roadside bombs or IEDs to target security forces.2126 Such incidents represented 8 %of all violent incidents registered by ACLED in Jawzjan in the reporting period.2127 Sometimes theycaused casualties among civilians, as happened on 24 June 2020 when six civilians were killed andone more was injured when their vehicle was hit by a landmine in Mardyan district2128 or on 22
August 2020 when three employees of a government-run gas company were killed in a roadsidebomb explosion in Shiberghan district.2129
Six incidents categorised by ACLED as ‘violence against civilians’2130 included the killing of a tribal
elder by a pro-government militia in Aqcha district in February 20202131, the wounding of a civilian at
a wedding in Qarqin district in March 20202132 and the killing of a shepherd in August 2020 by Afghan
military forces, all reported by the Taliban2133 as well as the killing of two civilians at a clinic in Aqcha

2115 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url
2116 RiV Monitoring (@rivmonitoring), [Twitter], posted on: 27 October 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, 7 Taliban killed, 11

injured in Jawzjan clashes, 19 August 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, 5 killed, 6 wounded in Jawzjan firefight, 26
December 2020, url
2117 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (14 – 20 September 2020), 23 September 2020, url, p. 22118 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: May 2020, 7 May 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
2119 TKG, Casualties Left to More Than 30 Taliban in Balkh, Jawzjan, 26 January 2020, url
2120 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Jawzjan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
2121 These do not include air strikes carried out during operations categorised by ACLED under ‘battles’. For more
information on ACLED’s methodology, please consult the introduction.
2122 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Jawzjan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
2123 Ariana News, 43 Taliban militants killed in Balkh, Jawzjan operations: MoD, 10 February 2020, url
2124 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection Of Civilians In Armed Conflict, Midyear Report: 1 January – 30 June 2020, 27 July
2020 (revised on 10 August 2020, url, p. 16; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: May 2020, 7 May 2020,
updated 29 October 2020, url
2125 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Jawzjan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
2126 RiV-Monitoring (@rivmonitoring), [Twitter], posted on: 30 November 2020, url
2127 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Jawzjan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
2128 Tolonews, 6 civilians killed in Jawzjan landmine explosion, 24 June 2020, url
2129 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: August 2020, 6 August 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; RiVMonitoring (@rivmonitoring), [Twitter], posted on: 23 August 2020, url
2130 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Jawzjan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
2131 Voice of Jihad, Tribal elder martyred, another one injured in enemy aggression, 21 February 2020, url
2132 Voice of Jihad, 4 civilians martyred, 1 injured in country’s north, 23 March 2020, url
2133 The killing of the shepherd was registered by ACLED as reported by the Taliban, but the original source could not befound.

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district by unknown armed men in August 2020.2134 The killing of three civilians including the head ofthe district development council during or after prayers in Fayzabad district November 2020 seemed
to be entered twice in the ACLED database, possibly due to conflicting reporting, as some sources
attributed this killing to the Taliban,2135 while the Taliban claimed the Afghan Forces were
responsible.2136
Security incidents along the Balkh-Jawzjan Highway occurred in February,2137 July,2138 August2139 andOctober 20202140 as well as on the highway connecting Sar-e Pul to Jawzjan in February, March, June,
July and November 2020.2141 Continuing conflict was reported on these roads in December 2020.2142
Without further specifying which provinces or districts were impacted, UNOCHA observed how
civilian movements along main roads and roads between provincial capital and district centres wereinterrupted and humanitarian activities were obstructed in the northern region of Afghanistan due
to clashes and illegal checkpoints in September 20202143 as well as in January and February 2021.2144
Despite reassurances and promises by the Afghan security forces about improving the security on
the northern highways, the situation worsened in the last quarter of 2020. Passengers complained
about increasing insecurity, the presence of Taliban checkpoints, extortion and threats by the
Taliban or other armed men.2145 The New York Times reported in February 2021 that the highways in
the north, which are vital as they offer the limited options of traveling between provinces by road,‘have increasingly become the front line for an emboldened Taliban insurgency’.2146 Reports of
disrupted freedom of movement and extortion of villagers and drivers along the Mazar-Shiberghan
highway by the Taliban in Fayzabad prompted Afghan forces to conduct an operation in that districtin November 2020.2147
The WHO did not register any attacks related to health care provision in Jawzjan province in
2020.2148 However, in July 2020, the WHO expressed concern about the potential disruption on
timely assessment and response in some of the northern provinces, including Jawzjan due to thesecurity threat on the Mazar-Shiberghan-Faryab highway.2149

2134 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: August 2020, 6 August 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; RiV-Monitoring (@rivmonitoring), [Twitter], posted on: 25 August 2020, url
2135 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 5 November 2020, updated 26 November 2020,
url; Pajhwok Afghan News, 3 individuals gunned down in Jawzjan, 11 November 2020, url
2136 Voice of Jihad, War Crimes (November 2020, url
2137 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (17 February – 23 February 2020), 26 February 2020, url, p. 2;
UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (24 February – 1 March 2020, 4 March 2020, url, p. 2
2138 International Crisis Group, Crisis Watch, 3 August 2020, url
2139 RiV-Monitoring (@rivmonitoring), [Twitter], posted on: 29 August 2020, url
2140 International Crisis Group, Crisis Watch, 18 October 2020, url; RiV-Monitoring (@rivmonitoring), [Twitter], posted on:
22 October 2020, url
2141 Xinhua, 13 killed in N. Afghanistan clashes, including pro-gov't local leader, 4 February 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News,
3 uprising members killed in Jawzjan clashes, 3 March 2020, url; Khaama Press, Taliban militants suffer heavy casualties in
Jawzjan province, 30 June 2020, url; RiV-Monitoring (@rivmonitoring), [Twitter], posted on: 27 November 2020, url;
MENAFN, Afghanistan- Taliban militants suffer heavy casualties in Jawzjan province, 3 July 2020, url
2142 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (7 – 13 December 2020), 16 December 2020, url, p. 22143 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (14 – 20 September 2020), 23 September 2020, url, p. 22144 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (22 – 28 February 2021), 2 March 2021, url, p. 2; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (4 – 10 January 2021), 13 January 2021, url, p. 2; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Weekly Humanitarian Update (11 – 17 January 2021), 19 January 2021, url, p. 2; UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly
Humanitarian Update (18 – 24 January 2021), 27 January 2021, url, p. 22145 Afghanistan Times, Passengers, drivers affected by security situation in north, 21 October 2020, url; Payk Fact-Check,
Security Situation In The Northern Highways Of The Country Have Gotten Worse, Instead Of Getting Better, 9 December
2020, url
2146 New York Times (The), Inside the Shadowy Militias Luring Unsuspecting Afghans to Fight, or Die, 4 February 2021,
updated 22 March 2021, url
2147 Xinhua, 6 militants killed during operation in N. province, 23 November 2020, url
2148 WHO, Afghanistan – Attacks on Health Care (January 01 - December 31, 2020, 11 January 2021, url
2149 WHO, Situation Report. Afghanistan. Emergency Type: protracted emergency, July 2020, url

202Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

In August 2020 gas supply from Shiberghan to the electric fertilizer factory in Mazar-e Sharif was cut
off after the Taliban had blown up a gas pipeline in Aqcha district.2150

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020 – 28 February 2021, reporting 13 328 persons
displaced from Jawzjan, of which 12 278 (92 %) were displaced within the province. During the same
period, 16 625 persons were displaced to Jawzjan.2151
Over half of all registered IDPs from Jawzjan originated from Mardyan and Darzab districts. No
displacement was registered from Khwajadukoh and Qarqin districts.2152 UNOCHA reported how
fighting caused displacement in Jawzjan in May 2020, in particular from Mingajik districts as a resultof armed clashes between AGEs and the ANDSF.2153
A few hundred IDPs were displaced within Shiberghan district in late August and early November
2020.
Shiberghan district hosted 81 % of all IDPs to Jawzjan. In addition to the people displaced within
Jawzjan province, Shiberghan district also hosted IDPs from different districts in Faryab and Sar-e Pul
provinces.2154

2.15 Kabul province
2.15.1 General description of the province

Map 15: Afghanistan - Kabul province, source: UNOCHA2155

2150 RiV Monitoring (@rivmonitoring), [Twitter], posted on: 26 August 2020, url
2151 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 23 February 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict

Displacement 2021, updated 8 March 2021, url
2152 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 23 February 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict
Displacement 2021, updated 8 March 2021, url
2153 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (25 May – 31 May 2020, 3 June 2020, url, p. 22154 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 23 February 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict
Displacement 2021, updated 8 March 2021, url
2155 UNOCHA, Afghanistan. Provincial Reference Map, 25 May 2015, url, p. 14

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Kabul province is located in the central region of Afghanistan and is divided into the following
districts: Bagrami, Chaharasyab, Dehsabz, Estalef, Farza, Guldara, Kabul, Kalakan, Khak-e Jabbar,
Mirbachakot, Musayi, Paghman, Qarabagh, Shakardara and Surobi. The provincial capital is Kabul
City, the capital of Afghanistan.2156 More than half of the province consists of mountainous or semimountainous terrain.2157 North of Kabul City lies the Shomali plain, a plateau stretching from theoutskirts of the city to the Salang Pass. According to AAN analyst Fabrizio Foschini, the Shomali area
has been a central part of Afghan economy and politics in the last couple of centuries, featuringstrong political-armed networks dating back to the mujahideen time.2158
According to estimates for 2019-20 by NSIA, Kabul province has a population of 5 029 850.2159 Kabul
province has the largest share of population of any province, an estimated 16 % of the national
total.2160
AAN describes Kabul province as the most ethnically diverse of all provinces.2161 The main ethnic
groups in Kabul are Tajik, Pashtun and Hazara.2162 Other groups present include Uzbek, Turkmen and
Baloch. The majority of the population of Kabul province are Sunni Muslims, but there are also Shias,
Sikhs and Hindus.2163
Major roads depart from Kabul and connect the Afghan capital with the rest of the country. The mainhighway to Mazar-e Sharif in Balkh province passes through the districts of Shakardara, Mirbachakot,
Kalakan and Qarabagh. Another primary road connects Kabul City with Bagram in Parwan provinceand passes through Dehsabz and Qarabagh districts. The Kabul-Jalalabad Highway leads to
Nangarhar province through the districts of Bagrami, Khak-e Jabbar and Surobi. The Kabul-Kandahar
Highway connects Kabul to Wardak province through Paghman district in the south-west of theprovince. Another primary road passes through Bagrami and Chaharasyab districts in the south andconnects Kabul City with Logar province.2164 Kabul City hosts Hamid Karzai Airport, served byinternational and domestic scheduled passenger flights.2165

2.15.2 Conflict background and actors in Kabul province
As reported by AAN analyst Fabrizio Foschini in 2015, the government’s control over the Uzbin
Valley in Surobi, the easternmost district of Kabul province,2166 had decreased and members of
Hezb-e Islami, which has historically been the stronger group in the area, as well as the Taliban, werereported present in the district. The Uzbin Valley has been serving as a relatively easily traversableconnection to the insecure neighbouring districts of Tagab in Kapisa province and Bad Pakh in
Laghman province. According to Foschini, this broader region is ‘an important crossing point
and sanctuary for insurgents moving deeper into Afghanistan from the border area [withPakistan]’.2167 According to a November 2018 article from UNAMA, Surobi district has witnessed
several community conflicts. The Surobi local council head described ‘the major causes of conflict in2156 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Kabul Province - District Atlas, April 2014, url; Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of

Afghanistan 2019-2020, November 2019, url, p. 42157 WFP, Provincial Profile: Kabul, n.d., url
2158 Foschini, F., Elections 2014 (6): Two Types of Security in the Shomali, AAN, 7 April 2014, url
2159 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, 18 November 2019, url, pp. 2, 42160 Warden, S., Past as Prologue? What the Parliamentary Election Results Tell Us About the September Presidential
Election, AAN, 23 August 2019, url
2161 Warden, S., Past as Prologue? What the Parliamentary Election Results Tell Us About the September Presidential
Election, AAN, 23 August 2019, url
2162 US Naval Postgraduate School, Kabul Provincial Overview, n.d., url
2163 Pajhwok Afghan News, Elections 2019: Kabul Province Background Profile, n.d., url
2164 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Kabul Province - District Atlas, April 2014, url
2165 CAPA - Centre for Aviation, Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport, n.d., url
2166 Ruttig, T. and Sabawoon, A.M., A Threat at Kabul’s Southern Gate: a Security Overview of Logar Province, AAN, 18 July
2020, url
2167 Foschini, F., Classics of Conflict (2): Reviewing Some of Afghanistan’s Most Notorious Hotspots, AAN, 9 July 2015, url

204Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

the district’ as ‘underdevelopment and poverty’.2168 In February 2020, UNOCHA reported on an
increasingly volatile situation in Surobi district, due to a rising number of militant attacks on ANDSF
positions.2169 According to AAN analysts Ruttig and Sabawoon, Surobi district (where fighting
reportedly increased recently) together with neighbouring provinces such as Logar, Wardak andwestern Nangarhar are ‘part of a belt that could cut off the capital from southern and eastern
Afghanistan’, if the security situation would escalate.2170
An increased activity of non-state armed groups was reported in several provinces in the summer of
2020, including in areas in Kabul previously considered as safe, according to UNOCHA.2171
In May 2020, the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team reported to the UN Security
Council on a reorganisation of the Taliban shadow governance and military structure in several
provinces, with key new appointments made, including in Kabul province.2172 An LWJ assessment
mapping Taliban control in Afghanistan in a frequently updated map and based on open-source
information, consulted on 12 March 2021, indicated all Kabul’s districts as ‘government-controlled’ or‘undetermined’. More recently, as of 26 May 2021, Chaharasyab, Paghman, Dehsabz, Musayi,
Kalakan, Guldara, Shakardara, Qarabagh and Surobi districts shifted to ‘contested’.2173 As confirmed
by SIGAR in April 2020 and by USDOD in June 2020 and December 2020, the capital, Kabul City, hasremained under the control of the Afghan government.2174 A survey Pajhwok Afghan News
conducted from November 2020 until February 20212175 designated 91.20 % of Kabul’s territory
under government control, 7.33 % under Taliban control and 1.47 % controlled by neither side.
According to the same survey, 5 136 897 of Kabul’s inhabitants live in areas under government
control, 56 475 of the province’s population live in areas under Taliban control and 11 295 of Kabul’s
residents live in areas controlled by neither side.2176
As reported by the New York Times in August 2020, the Taliban have long had a quiet presence in thesouthern and south-eastern districts of Kabul, particularly targeting government vehicles in Surobi
district. In 2020, the militants reportedly displayed a more open presence in the district, frequently
forcing families to cut ties with the Afghan government and providing food and financial support to
the insurgency group. An increased Taliban presence in the districts north of Kabul City has equally
been reported in 2020, forcing government employees to relocate their families. ANDSF operations
have only temporarily been able to dismantle Taliban positions in these areas, with the militants
reinforcing when government forces were distracted by other priorities. Residents from Shakardara
district declared to the New York Times how a small group of men, gathered by a former ANA soldier,proclaiming themselves as Taliban, had easily established a foothold in the district and had carried

2168 UNAMA, Kabul Elders Call for Participation of Afghans in Peacefully Resolving Community Conflict, 15 November 2018,

url
2169 UNOCHA, Afghanistan - Weekly Humanitarian Update (27 January - 2 February 2020), 3 February 2020, url, p. 22170 Ruttig, T. and Sabawoon, A.M., A Threat at Kabul’s Southern Gate: a Security Overview of Logar Province, AAN, 18 July

2020, url
2171 UNOCHA, Afghanistan - Weekly Humanitarian Update (13 - 19 July 2020), 23 July 2020, url, p. 2
2172 UN SECURITY COUNCIL, Eleventh Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant
to Resolution 2501 (2019) Concerning the Taliban and Other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat tothe Peace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, 27 May 2020, url, pp. 8-92173 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url; (LWJ, however, does not specify when and which information of
the aforementioned map was updated.)
2174 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 April 2020, url, p. 66; USDOD, Enhancing Security andStability in Afghanistan, June 2020, 1 July 2020, url, pp. 2, 18; USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan,
December 2020, 23 April 2021, url, p. 33
2175 Through telephonic interviews or by distributing questionnaires, Pajhwok Afghan News interviewed a total of 1 266
respondents for this survey, randomly selected across the country. Pajhwok acknowledges the complexity of this task andthe possible inaccuracy of the provided information.
2176 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url

205Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situationout an attack on a government official.2177 According to an AAN report, also published in August
2020, there is no active Taliban presence in Shakardara district.2178
In May 2020, a Taliban commander known as Mullah Jan was injured, when a mortar, which he wasreportedly attempting to launch on a security forces’ base in the Uzbin Valley of Surobi district, went
off prematurely.2179 In September 2020, the deputy commander of the Taliban’s Red Unit, known as
Ghairatullah or Mullah Sangeen, was killed in an ANDSF operation in Surobi.2180 In July 2020,
increasing (though still small-scale) Taliban activity was reported in Paghman,2181 for example inseveral villages of the Arghandi area in the district.2182 According to local residents, cited by
Tolonews, well-armed Taliban militants were launching attacks on security checkpoints, planting
IEDs and extorting people. NDS officials, cited in the same Tolonews article, confirmed two
prominent Taliban commanders were operating in the area between Arghandi and the Kohna Kumar
Valley in Wardak province.2183 In October and December 2020, several Taliban militants, reportedly
responsible for various targeted killings and IED attacks against the Afghan security forces in Kabul,
were arrested and killed during operations in Paghman district.2184 In August 2020, the Taliban’spresence was reported in Qarabagh district.2185 Two of the group’s militants, reportedly involved intargeted assassinations of government employees in Qarabagh, were arrested by a police special
operations unit in November 2020.2186 In August 2020, dozens of families reportedly left their homes
in Shakardara and Guldara districts, following a surge in security threats and intensifying Taliban
activity. Shortly after the Taliban were pushed back from Shakardara district in a large-scale ANDSF
operation, clashes were reported in Guldara district.2187 During the operation, a Taliban unit leader
known as Mullah Akhtar was arrested in Shakardara.2188
While ISKP represents a diminished threat since receiving a significant setback in late 2019 in what
had been its Afghan headquarters in Nangarhar province,2189 the group has remained active,
ambitious and threatening, according to a UN Security Council report from February 2020.2190
Grounds for concern have been added that ISKP groups might have relocated to Kunar and Kabul
provinces, raising the potential for a resurgence.2191 According to a March 2021 AAN dispatch, no2177 New York Times (The), With Delay in Afghan Peace Talks, a Creeping Sense of ‘Siege’ Around Kabul, 23 August 2020,

updated 22 September 2020, url
2178 Clark, K. et al., Afghanistan’s Newest Local Defence Force: Were “All the Mistakes of the ALP” Turned into ANA-TF
Safeguards?, AAN, August 2020, url, pp. 4, 25
2179 Khaama Press, Taliban Commander Loses Both Legs in Premature Mortar Round Explosion in Kabul, 4 May 2020, url
2180 Tolonews, Key Taliban Commander Killed in Afghan Forces Operation, 17 September 2020, edited 18 September 2020,
url
2181 Ruttig, T. and Sabawoon, A.M., A Threat at Kabul’s Southern Gate: a Security Overview of Logar Province, AAN, 18 July
2020, url
2182 Tolonews, Residents West of Kabul City Report Rise in Taliban Activity, 15 July 2020, url
2183 Tolonews, Residents West of Kabul City Report Rise in Taliban Activity, 15 July 2020, url
2184 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban Commander Killed in Kabul Operation, 10 October 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News,
Target Killers, Bomb Planters Arrested in Kabul, 1 December 2020, url
2185 Pajhwok Afghan News, Qarabagh District Chief Survives Armed Attack, Security Guard Killed, 20 August 2020, url
2186 Khaama Press, Police Busted Two over Target Killings and Assassinations: Kabul, 28 November 2020, url
2187 Tolonews, Dozens Flee Homes as Taliban Increases Presence North of Kabul, 21 August 2020, url
2188 Tolonews, Taliban Unit Leader Arrested in Kabul Operation, 23 August 2020, url; Khaama Press, Key Taliban Member
Arrested in a Joint Military Operation in Kabul, 23 August 2020, url
2189 Ali, O., Hit from Many Sides 1: Unpicking the Recent Victory Against the ISKP in Nangarhar, AAN, 1 March 2020, url;
USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2020, 23 April 2021, url, p. 82190 UN Security Council, Tenth report of the Secretary-General on the threat posed by ISIL (Da’esh) to international peaceand security and the range of United Nations efforts in support of Member States in countering the threat, S/2020/95, 4February 2020, url, pp. 6-7
2191 UN Security Council, Tenth report of the Secretary-General on the threat posed by ISIL (Da’esh) to international peaceand security and the range of United Nations efforts in support of Member States in countering the threat, S/2020/95, 4February 2020, url, pp. 6-7; Washington Post (The), Afghanistan Claims the Islamic State Was ‘Obliterated’. But Fighters
Who Got Away Could Stage a Resurgence, 9 February 2020, url; UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed
Conflict, Annual Report 2019, 22 February 2020, url, p. 37

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

open ISKP presence is left in Kunar, or elsewhere in Afghanistan, but a small underground presence
remains.2192 Between 1 January 2020 and 28 February 2021, ACLED recorded one incident
specifically attributed to ISKP in Kabul province, outside of Kabul district (for information on thepresence of ISKP in the capital region, see the chapter on Kabul City). In February 2020, ISKP
reportedly fired missiles on a US military base in Bagrami district.2193 Information on civilian
casualties reported during this incident was not found among the sources consulted. In May 2020,
various ISKP and Haqqani Network hideouts in the capital (see chapter on Kabul City) as well as in
Shakardara district were raided during an operation by NDS special units. Several members of themilitant groups, including a regional ISKP leader,2194 were reportedly arrested and killed.2195
According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, opium poppy cultivation in Kabul province
increased by 44 %.2196
In terms of the presence of government security forces, the main part of Kabul province wasreported to be under the responsibility of the Train, Advise and Assist Command - Capital (TAAC-C),
part of NATO’s Resolute Support Mission within Afghanistan. TAAC-C is led by Turkish forces. The
district of Surobi was reported to be under the responsibility of the 201st ANA corps.2197 The Special
Mission Wing (SMW), an ANDSF unit established in 2012, has several assault squadrons in Kabul tosupport counterterrorism and counternarcotic missions conducted by Afghan Special Forces. The
unit also has an imagery, surveillance and reconnaissance squadron in Kabul.2198 NDS unit 01 isreported to operate in the central region, including in Kabul province. This paramilitary CIA-backed
militia has been allegedly accused of human rights abuses, such as involvement in extrajudicial
executions, enforced disappearances and attacks on medical facilities.2199

2.15.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 817 civilian casualties (255 deaths and 526 injured) in Kabul province.
This represents a decrease of 48 % compared to 2019. Leading causes of casualties were targetedkillings, followed by non-suicide IEDs and suicide attacks.2200 Resolute Support (RS) recorded thehighest countrywide number of civilian casualties (208) in Kabul province in the first quarter of 2020,
representing the most substantial countrywide increase (151 %) compared to the last quarter of
2019.2201 In the second quarter of 2020, RS indicated Kabul as one out of three provinces, together
with Nangarhar and Ghazni, that experienced the highest number of civilian casualties countrywide,

2192 Ali, O. and Gharani, K., Hit from Many Sides (2): The Demise of ISKP in Kunar, AAN, 2 March 2021, url
2193 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kabul province, update

25 March 2021, url
2194 RFE/RL, Afghan Forces Capture Key Figures From Islamic State's South Asia Branch, 11 May 2020, url
2195 Tolonews, Afghan Forces Raid Daesh Hideout North of Kabul, 6 May 2020, url; Khaama Press, 5 killed As Special Forces
Bust Major Network Led by ISIS, Haqqani Network in Kabul, 6 May 2020, url
2196 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 92197 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2020, 23 April 2021, url, p. 52198 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, 1 July 2020, url, p. 75; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to
the United States Congress, 30 July 2020, url, p. 122; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 October
2020, url, p. 134
2199 HRW, “They’ve Shot Many Like This” Abusive Night Raids by CIA-Backed Afghan Strike Forces, 31 October 2019, url;
Clark, K., CIA-Backed Afghan Paramilitaries Accused of Grave Abuses: New Human Rights Watch Report, AAN, 31 October
2019, url
2200 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 110
2201 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 April 2020, url, pp. 69-70

207

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

with an average of 204 civilian casualties each.2202 RS data on civilian casualties per province for thesecond half of 2020 were no longer available in the SIGAR quarterly reports.2203
ACLED collected data on 347 violent events in Kabul province from 1 January 2020 to
28 February 2021 from reports in open sources, of which 138 were coded as ‘battles’, 151 as‘explosions/remote violence’ and 58 as ‘violence against civilians’.2204

Figure 30: Kabul province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data2205

Figure 31: Kabul province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on
ACLED data2206

ACLED recorded around 40 % of the violent incidents in Kabul province as ‘battles’, nearly all ofwhich were coded as ‘armed clashes’. The majority of the armed clashes in Kabul province were2202 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 July 2020, url, pp. 71-72
2203 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 October 2020, url; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 January 2021, url
2204 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kabul province, update 25 March
2021, url
2205 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kabul province, update
25 March 2021, url
2206 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kabul province, update
25 March 2021, url; 7 incidents (4 battles and 3 violence against civilians) in the province for which ACLED has no
information about the location, were not included in this graph (geoprecision code 3 - see introduction)

208

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

attacks by the Taliban or unidentified armed groups on Afghan security forces, including military,
police and NDS personnel as well as members of pro-government militias or so-called arbakis2207.2208
Examples of such incidents included attacks on military or police checkpoints, such as: Taliban
assaults on security outposts in Shakardara district in July 20202209 and in Khak-e Jabbar district in
September 2020,2210 Taliban attacks on police checkpoints in Paghman district in May 20202211 and in
January 2021,2212 in Guldara district in June 20202213 and in Qarabagh district in November 2020;2214
as well as ambushes on security convoys/vehicles, such as: a Taliban attack on an Afghan militaryconvoy in the Tangi area of Surobi district in February 2020,2215 the kidnapping and killing of threeAfghan soldiers by the Taliban when their convoy left the military base of Darban in Khak-e Jabbar
district in August 20202216 and an unknown gunmen attack on an NDS convoy while escorting an UN
convoy on the Kabul-Jalalabad Highway in Surobi district in February 2021;2217 the shooting of
security personnel by unknown gunmen in Qarabagh district in July 20202218 and November 20202219(killing one civilian), in Kalakan district in July 20202220 (killing one civilian), in Paghman district inAugust 20202221 and December 20202222 and in February 2021,2223 and in Bagrami district in October
2020,2224 November 20202225 and in February 2021.2226 Apart from the ones mentioned above, nofurther information on civilian casualties reported during these incidents was found among thesources consulted.
Operations and attacks by Afghan security forces against AGEs and criminal groups were also
registered under armed clashes by ACLED.2227 For example: in May 2020, a criminal gang leader was
killed by police forces in the Cheh Dukhtaran area of Chaharasyab district.2228 Also in May 2020,

2207 For more information on arbaki: see section 1.2.1 Pro-government forces.
2208 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kabul province, update

25 March 2021, url
2209 Tolonews, Insurgents Attack Security Checkpoints in Kabul, 6 July 2020, url
2210 Tolonews, 1 Taliban Killed, 2 Wounded in Kabul Clashes: MoD, 8 September 2020, url
2211 UNAMA, Afghanistan: Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict. Special Report: Attacks on Healthcare during the Covid19 Pandemic, June 2020, url, p. 142212 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2021, 7 January 2021, updated 28 January 2021, url
2213 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: June 2020, 4 June 2020, updated 25 June 2020, url; Tolonews, 15
Soldiers Killed in Past Day Despite Unofficial Truce, 6 June 2020, url; AP, Separate Attacks Kill 14 Afghan Forces in Kabul,
Northeast, 6 June 2020, url
2214 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 5 November 2020, updated 26 November 2020,
url
2215 Liveuamap, Afghanistan – Taliban: Enemy Convoy Engaged on Kabul-Jalalabad Highway in Tangi Area of Sarubi District
Kabul on Sun. Resulting in 2 Pickup Trucks Destroyed & 5 Gunmen Killed/Wounded, 3 February 2020, url
2216 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: August 2020, 6 August 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url;
Tolonews, Bodies of 3 Captured, Tortured, Executed ANA Soldiers Found, 13 August 2020, url
2217 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 4 February 2021, updated 25 February 2021, url;
Tolonews, 5 Security Personnel Killed in Attack while Escorting UN Convoy, 11 February 2021, url; Al Jazeera, Five Afghan
Security Force Members Killed in Attack on UN Convoy, 11 February 2021, url
2218 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 2020, 9 July 2020, updated 30 July 2020, url
2219 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 5 November 2020, updated 26 November 2020,
url
2220 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 2020, 9 July 2020, updated 30 July 2020, url
2221 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: August 2020, 6 August 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
2222 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: December 2020, 10 December 2020, updated 31 December 2020,
url
2223 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 4 February 2021, updated 25 February 2021, url
2224 Tolonews, 5 Killed in Spate of Security Incidents in Kabul, 4 October 2020, url
2225 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 5 November 2020, updated 26 November 2020,
url
2226 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 4 February 2021, updated 25 February 2021, url;
Reporterly, [Twitter], posted on: 17 February 2021, url
2227 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kabul province, update
25 March 2021, url
2228 Khaama Press, Gang Leader Killed During a Clash with the Police Forces in Kabul, 18 May 2020, url

209Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

several ISKP militants were killed and arrested in an NDS operation in Shakardara district.2229 In June,
July, August and December 2020, several Taliban members were arrested during operations in
Qarabagh2230 and Shakardara districts.2231 Two prominent Taliban commanders were killed inmilitary operations in Surobi district in September 2020.2232 Operations in Paghman district resulted
in the killing of a key Taliban commander in October 20202233 and in the killing and arresting of twomagnetic bomb planters in February 2021.2234 In February 2021, the Afghan government reported onmilitary operations in Surobi district, killing and wounding several Taliban fighters and clearing alarge area from the militants in Dagari and Jegdalak.2235
AGEs, using roadside bombs or IEDs, often targeted the Afghan security forces.2236 These attacks
represented about 38 % of all reported security incidents in Kabul province. The majority of these
IED incidents were recorded in Kabul district (see chapter on Kabul City).2237 Several IED incidents inother districts of Kabul province resulted in casualties among civilians. This happened for example inJune 2020, when a roadside bomb detonated in Qarabagh district2238 and in Paghman district, killing
several family members of writer and analyst Assadullah Walwalji.2239 Mid-July 2020, five civilians
were killed and several others injured when a minibus hit a Taliban-planted roadside bomb in Surobi
district.2240 In November 2020, a senior Afghan telecom official was killed in a magnetic bomb blast
in Bagrami district; there was no claim of responsibility for the attack.2241 In February 2021, one
civilian was killed and two others injured when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Bagrami
district.2242 On 8 May 2021, at least 64 people were killed and 187 injured after a Vehicle Borne
Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) followed by two bomb explosions2243targeted a girls school inwest of Kabul city.2244

2229 Tolonews, Afghan Forces Raid Daesh Hideout North of Kabul, 6 May 2020, url; RFE/RL, Afghan Forces Capture Key

Figures From Islamic State's South Asia Branch, 11 May 2020, url; Tolonews, 'Key' Daesh Leaders Arrested in Kabul: NDS, 11
May 2020, url
2230 Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Key Taliban Figures Arrested in Kabul’s Qarah Bagh, 26 June 2020, url
2231 Tolonews, 1 Taliban Killed, 4 Arrested in Police Operation in Kabul, 21 July 2020, url; Khaama Press, Kabul Police Kill
Taliban Militant, Arrest 4 Others During an Operation, 21 July 2021, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, 5 Taliban Killed, 25
Detained in Kabul Operations, 17 August 2020, url; Tolonews, Taliban Unit Leader Arrested in Kabul Operation, 23 August
2020, url; Khaama Press, Taliban Commander Busted in Kabul, 14 December 2020, url
2232 Tolonews, Key Taliban Commander Killed in Afghan Forces Operation, 18 September 2020, url; Khaama Press, Key
Taliban Commander Killed in Kabul, 23 September 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban Commander Killed in Sarobi
Operation, Police Claim, 23 September 2020, url
2233 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban Commander Killed in Kabul Operation, 10 October 2020, url
2234 Reporterly, [Twitter], posted on: 10 February 2021, url
2235 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kabul province, update
25 March 2021, url
2236 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 4 February 2021, updated 25 February 2021, url;
Tolonews, 3 Blasts Hit Kabul, 2 Bodies Found in Deh Sabz, 7 February 2021, url; Al Jazeera, Two More Killed as Afghan
Capital Reels under Near-Daily Violence, 10 February 2021, url
2237 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kabul province, update
25 March 2021, url
2238 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: June 2020, 4 June 2020, updated 25 June 2020, url; Khaama Press,
Explosion Leaves 4 Dead, Wounded in Kabul, 4 June 2020, url
2239 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: June 2020, 4 June 2020, updated 25 June 2020, url; Tolonews,
Afghan Writer Walwalji Loses 4 Family Members in IED Blast, 20 June 2020, url
2240 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 2020, 9 July 2020, updated 30 July 2020, url; Al Jazeera, At
Least Four Civilians Killed by Kabul Roadside Bomb, 14 July 2020, url
2241 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 5 November 2020, updated 26 November 2020,
url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Senior Afghan Telecom Official Killed in Blast, 1 November 2020, url
2242 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: March 2021, 4 March 2021, updated 1 April 2021, url
2243 Sarwary, B., (@bsarwary), [Twitter], posted on: 9 May 2021, url
2244 Sarwary, B., (@bsarwary), [Twitter], posted on: 8 May 2021, url

210Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Seven incidents were registered as ‘suicide bombs’ in Kabul province by ACLED. The majority ofthese events were reported in Kabul district (see chapter on Kabul City).2245 One suicide bomb attack
was reported in Chaharasyab district: an unidentified suicide bomber detonated his explosives nearan ANDSF special operations facility in the Reshkor area in April 2020, causing several civilian
casualties.2246 Two suicide bomb attacks were reported in Paghman district: mid-November 2020,
four Afghan soldiers were killed and several others injured when a military compound was hit by asuicide car bomb;2247 in December 2020, at least one civilian was killed in an unidentified militant’ssuicide attack near a funeral event at a mosque.2248
ACLED coded about 3 % of the violent incidents in Kabul province as ‘shelling, artillery and missile
attacks’. For example: the Taliban reported on shelling an Afghan military base in Surobi district inJanuary 2020 and on a grenade attack of their militants on a security checkpoint in Paghman districtin September 2020. In February 2020, ISKP reportedly fired missiles on a US military base in Bagrami
district. Some of these incidents resulted in civilian casualties. In September and October 2020, theTaliban reported on the killing and injuring of several civilians when residential areas were shelled by
the Afghan military forces in Musayi district.2249
ACLED categorised around 17 % of all reported violent incidents in Kabul province as ‘violenceagainst civilians’.2250 The majority of these incidents were recorded in Kabul district (see chapter on
Kabul City). Examples of these incidents in the province’s other districts included: the shooting ofseveral members of President Ashraf Ghani’s personal security team while off-duty by unknown
gunmen in Paghman district in April 2020;2251 the killing of the Supreme Court’s administrative chiefby unidentified gunmen in Surobi district in May 2020;2252 the shooting of two prosecutors and threeother employees of the office of the Attorney General in Dehsabz district in June 2020;2253 the killingof the head of the biometrics department of the Ministry of Interior by unknown gunmen in
Chaharasyab district in July 2020;2254 the shooting of two government engineers by Taliban militantsin Kalakan district2255 and an attack on Fawzia Koofi (member of the government’s peace negotiatingteam) by unknown gunmen in Qarabagh district,2256 both in August 2020; the shooting of an army
doctor by unknown gunmen in Bagrami district in October 2020;2257 and an unidentified militants’ambush attack on Koh-e Safi’s district chief (Parwan province) in Kalakan district in November
2020.2258

2245 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kabul province, update

25 March 2021, url
2246 RFE/RL, Afghanistan Suicide Bombing Kills at least Three, Wounds 15, 29 April 2020, url; Reuters, Bombing near Afghan
Capital Kills Three amid Unabated Violence, 29 April 2020, url
2247 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 5 November 2020, updated 26 November 2020,
url; Tolonews, Four Army Soldiers Killed in Car Bomb Attack in Paghman: MoD, 13 November 2020, url
2248 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: December 2020, 10 December 2020, updated 31 December 2020,
url; Khaama Press, Suicide Bomber Targets Funeral Ceremony in Paghman, Killing 1, 21 December 2020, url; Pajhwok
Afghan News, Civilian Killed in Paghman Suicide Attack, 21 December 2020, url
2249 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kabul province, update
25 March 2021, url
2250 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kabul province, update
25 March 2021, url
2251 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: April 2020, 2 April 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; RFE/RL,
Gunmen Shoot Dead Afghan Presidential Guard on Kabul Outskirts, 4 April 2020, url
2252 Pajhwok Afghan News, Supreme Court Official Gunned Down in Kabul, 3 May 2020, url
2253 AP, Gunmen Kill 5, Including 2 Prosecutors, in Afghan Capital, 22 June 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War
Casualty Report: June 2020, 4 June 2020, updated 25 June 2020, url
2254 Tolonews, [Twitter], posted on 8 July 2020, url
2255 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: August 2020, 6 August 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
2256 Pajhwok Afghan News, Peace Negotiator Kofi Injured in Armed Attack, 15 August 2020, url; Khaama Press, Member ofAfghanistan’s Peace Negotiating Team Injured in Militants Ambush, 15 August 2020, url
2257 Tolonews, Kabul Attacks: 3 Security Force Members Killed in Past 24 Hours, 13 October 2020, url
2258 Pajhwok Afghan News, Koh-i-Safi District Chief Injured in Kabul Attack, 29 November 2020, url

211Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

In recent years, many of the security incidents outside of Kabul City have taken place along
Afghanistan’s main highways and transit routes. AGEs regularly attacking Afghan security forces’
outposts have reportedly caused problems for the movement of humanitarian aid workers andassets, as well as for ANDSF forces to distribute supplies.2259 In July 2020, a surge in security threatson the main highways connecting Kabul with neighbouring provinces was reported.2260 According to
UNOCHA reporting in September 2020 and February 2021, the main roads connecting Kabul to
Jalalabad, Logar, Ghazni, Bamyan, Kandahar and Paktika provinces remained insecure due toongoing clashes between ANDSF forces and non-state armed groups, impacting civilian
movements.2261
In the beginning of 2020, road movements from Pul-i Khumri in Baghlan province to Kabul wereinterrupted due to the presence of non-state armed groups.2262 In January 2020, the Taliban
attacked the security outpost of Khwaja Zaid (Baghlan province) on the Kabul-Baghlan Highway,
killing one police officer and wounding two others.2263 The same highway was attacked by the
Taliban once more in February 2020 in the area of Doshi district (Baghlan province), resulting in thekilling of a truck driver and the kidnapping of two civilians.2264 In July 2020, illegal Taliban
checkpoints were reported on the Kabul-Baghlan Highway to Mazar-e Sharif in Balkh province.2265
Many of the roads from Kabul to the north-eastern province of Badakhshan are reportedly
controlled by insurgents, exposing travellers to Taliban checkpoints and capture.2266 Also on the
Kabul-Baghlan Highway further on to Kunduz province, Taliban control and taxation was reported in
October 2020.2267
On the highway between Kabul and Kandahar, passing through the provinces of Wardak and Ghazni
and nicknamed ‘the highway of death’,2268 Afghan forces and the Taliban reportedly frequently
engage in heavy fighting.2269 AGEs were reported controlling some parts of the road2270 and using
roadblocks to target government employees and members of the Afghan security forces.2271 Greater
freedom of movement for the Taliban and a significant rise in their use of IEDs against ANDSF troops
was reported on the Kabul-Kandahar Highway in October 2020 and in January 2021, with the Taliban
conducting regular attacks (reportedly from trees and homes along the road) on government
outposts and ANDSF troops abandoning many positions.2272 Also in October 2020, ‘makeshift’
Taliban checkpoints were reported along the road (in the region of Ghazni province), with themilitants going through smartphones from bus passengers.2273 Further on, this highway connects
Kabul to Herat in the west. On the stretches of this strategically important Kabul-Herat Highway,

2259 UN Security Council, The Situation in Afghanistan and Its Implications for International Peace and Security, Report of

the Secretary-General, A/73/777–S/2019/193, 28 February 2019, url, p. 14; USDOD, Lead Inspector General for Operation
Freedom’s Sentinel, Report to the United States Congress, 1 April - 30 June 2019, 16 August 2019, url, p. 35
2260 Tolonews, Fierce, Widespread Fighting Surges to Control Afghan Highways, 7 July 2020, url
2261 UNOCHA, Afghanistan - Weekly Humanitarian Update (21 - 27 September 2020), 30 September 2020, url, p. 22262 UNOCHA, Afghanistan - Weekly Humanitarian Update (20 - 26 January 2020), 29 January 2020, url, p. 1; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan - Weekly Humanitarian Update (22 - 28 February 2021), 2 March 2021, url, p. 22263 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2020, 2 January 2020, updated 30 January 2020, url
2264 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2020, 6 February 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
2265 VOA, Taliban Attacks Continue as Negotiations Near, 20 July 2020, url
2266 New York Times (The), ‘I Wake Up and Scream’: Secret Taliban Prisons Terrorize Thousands, 27 February 2021, url
2267 Quilty, A., Taleban Opportunism and ANSF Frustration: How the Afghan Conflict Has Changed since the Doha
Agreement, AAN, 12 October 2020, url
2268 Rolling Stone Magazine, Highway to Hell: A Trip Down Afghanistan’s Deadliest Road, 22 January 2021, url
2269 Tolonews, Fierce, Widespread Fighting Surges to Control Afghan Highways, 7 July 2020, url
2270 Norway, Landinfo, Afghanistan: Sikkerhetssituasjon og konfliktmonster i 2019, 22 January 2020, url, p. 29
2271 Sweden, Lifos/Migrationsverket, Säkerhetsläget i Afghanistan (Version 2.0), 7 April 2020, url, p. 52
2272 Quilty, A., Taleban Opportunism and ANSF Frustration: How the Afghan Conflict Has Changed since the Doha
Agreement, AAN, 12 October 2020, url; Rolling Stone Magazine, Highway to Hell: A Trip Down Afghanistan’s Deadliest
Road, 22 January 2021, url
2273 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Taliban Mines Afghan Phone Data in Bid for Control, 30 October 2020, url

212Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

which traverses much of the country, the Taliban operate a ‘sophisticated highway tax scheme’,reportedly earning between USD 155 000 to USD 195 000 a day.2274
The Kabul-Jalalabad Highway, an important trade route and often considered ‘one of the world’s
most dangerous roads’ (referring to numerous traffic accidents that have happened on this road),passes through areas where AGEs have been reported active - such as Surobi district.2275 In July 2020,
22 Taliban militants were killed or wounded during an ANDSF operation along this highway,2276 which
reportedly faced increased security threats.2277 In August 2020, parts of the Kabul-Jalalabad Highway
were blocked in Surobi district, due to landslides.2278
In a December 2019 AAN dispatch, analyst Ehsan Qaane described how the Kabul-Bamyan Highway,
connecting the Hazarajat region to the capital and going through Jalrez district in Wardak province,
has many side roads and mountain paths leading to several districts in Wardak, Parwan and Kabul
provinces. According to Qaane, these serve as ‘supply and escape routes’ providing safe havens tomilitant groups and impeding the movement of government forces. The highway has two direct
passes to Kabul’s Paghman district through Kohna Khumar and Sanglakh.2279
Security threats reportedly increased on the Kabul-Gardez Highway, connecting Kabul to Logar andPaktya provinces, in July 2020.2280 According to AAN analyst Fabrizio Foschini, the location of
Chaharasyab district along this highway is strategic for both the government and AGEs, affecting thesecurity situation of the district’s areas beside the highway.2281 Several areas on this highway werereported under Taliban control, with the militants temporarily blocking the road and abducting
government officials and NGO employees.2282 In October 2020, Taliban militants attacked several
security outposts in the Niazi area on the highway from Kabul to Logar, causing road blockades andtraffic delays.2283 In November 2020, government employees were reportedly murdered by the
Taliban on this highway between Kabul and the city of Khost.2284
Concerning attacks related to health care provision in 2020, the WHO registered 14 health careproviders as severely affected (eight killed and six injured) and nine other persons affected (fourkilled and five injured) in Kabul district of Kabul province.2285 According to UNAMA reporting, amadrasa in Kabul province was raided by ANA soldiers in June 2020, on suspicion that Taliban
militants were inside. Multiple classrooms were damaged.2286 Human rights activists and media
personnel faced continuous security threats in Kabul.2287 In its 2020 Annual Report, the Afghan
Journalists Safety Committee (AJSC) registered 44 incidents involving violence against journalists in
Kabul province, accounting most cases (33 %) of violence and threats to the Kabul zone.2288
According to UNAMA data, eight human rights defenders, journalists and media workers were killed
2274 New York Times (The), On Afghan Highways, Even the Police Fear the Taliban’s Toll Collectors, 1 November 2020,

updated 12 November 2020, url
2275 Diplomat (The), Next Stop Jalalabad: Traveling One of the World‘s Most Dangerous Roads, 13 December 2015, url
2276 Khaama Press, 22 Taliban Militants Killed, Wounded on Kabul-Jalalabad Highway, 7 July 2020, url
2277 Tolonews, Fierce, Widespread Fighting Surges to Control Afghan Highways, 7 July 2020, url
2278 UNOCHA, Afghanistan - Flash Update No. 1: Localised Floods in Central and Eastern, 26 August 2020, url, p. 1
2279 Qaane, E., One Land, Two Rules (9): Delivering Public Services in Insurgency-Affected Jalrez District of Wardak Province,
AAN, 16 December 2019, url
2280 Tolonews, Fierce, Widespread Fighting Surges to Control Afghan Highways, 7 July 2020, url
2281 Foschini, F., Kabul Unpacked - A Geographical Guide to a Metropolis in the Making, AAN, 19 March 2019, url, p. 25
2282 Ruttig, T. and Sabawoon, A.M., A Threat at Kabul’s Southern Gate: a Security Overview of Logar Province, AAN, 18 July
2020, url
2283 Ariana News, [Twitter], posted on: 13 October 2020, url
2284 New York Times (The), On Afghan Highways, Even the Police Fear the Taliban’s Toll Collectors, 1 November 2020,
updated 12 November 2020, url
2285 WHO, Afghanistan – Attacks on Health Care (January 01 - December 31, 2020, 11 January 2021, url
2286 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 38
2287 UN Security Council, The Situation in Afghanistan and Its Implications for International Peace and Security, 9 December
2020, Report of the Secretary-General, url, p. 102288 AJSC, Annual Report 2020, 2021, url, pp. 4, 8

213

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situationin Kabul province in 2020.2289 Mid-2020, UNOCHA indicated the impact of the unstable security
situation in Kabul on government resources and law enforcement in the province, contributing torising criminality.2290

2.15.3.2 Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020 - 28 February 2021, reporting 900 persons
displaced from Kabul province, of which the majority (868) were displaced within the province itself,
constituting a group of 124 families that were displaced within Surobi district in July 2020. The
remaining 32 IDPs from Kabul (from Surobi and Qarabagh districts) sought shelter in neighbouringprovinces Nangarhar (Surkhrod district) and Kunar (Asadabad district) in November 2020 andJanuary 2021.2291
During the same period, UNOCHA collected data on 3 652 persons displaced to Kabul province,coming from other provinces (Badakhshan, Baghlan, Bamyan, Daykundi, Faryab, Ghazni, Kapisa,
Kunduz, Logar, Nangarhar, Samangan, Takhar and Wardak) and all relocating to in Kabul district.
Most IDPs arriving in Kabul province came from the provinces of Baghlan (959) (mainly from Dahane Ghori and Doshi districts, with a peak from January to April 2020), Wardak (448) (from Saydabad
and Jalrez districts, with a peak in April 2020) and Ghazni (420) (from Andar district, with a peak in
March 2020). Smaller groups of IDPs came from the provinces of Logar (315) (from Baraki Barak and
Chak districts), Daykundi (301) (from Gizab/Patoo, Nili and Kiti districts), Kunduz (271) (mainly from
Chardarah and Dasht-e Archi districts), Kapisa (238) (all from Tagab district) and Faryab (210) (allfrom Dawlatabad district).2292
In its Weekly Humanitarian Update from 5 - 11 October 2020, UNOCHA reported on ongoing needs
assessments for 6 482 people displaced by conflict in Kabul province.2293
According to IOM displacement data from January to June 2020, Kabul is indicated as one out ofeight provinces where 63 % of Afghan IDPs and 49 % of Afghan returnees reside. IOM ranked Kabul
district fourth out of the countrywide top 25 districts hosting most IDPs and returnees.2294

2289 UNAMA, Special Report: Killing of Human Rights Defenders, Journalists and Media Workers in Afghanistan 2018-2021,

February 2021, url, p. 222290 UNOCHA, Afghanistan - Weekly Humanitarian Update (6 - 12 July 2020, 15 July 2020, url, p. 22291 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 23 February 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict
Displacement 2021, updated 8 March 2021, url
2292 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 23 February 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict
Displacement 2021, updated 8 March 2021, url
2293 UNOCHA, Afghanistan - Weekly Humanitarian Update (5 - 11 October 2020), 14 October 2020, url, p. 22294 IOM, DTM Afghanistan, Baseline Mobility Assessment: Summary Results Round 10 Jan-June 2020, 1 October 2020, url,
pp. 1, 6214Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

2.16 Kandahar
2.16.1 General description of the province

Map 16: Afghanistan – Kandahar province, source: UNOCHA2295

The province of Kandahar is situated in the south of Afghanistan.2296 Kandahar is divided into thefollowing administrative units: the provincial capital Kandahar, Arghandab, Daman, Panjwayee,

2295 UNOCHA, Afghanistan. Provincial reference Map, 25 May 2015,
2296 UNOCHA, Afghanistan. Provincial reference Map, 25 May 2015,

215

url, p. 15
url, p. 15

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Zhire, Shah Wali Kot, Khakrez, Arghistan, Ghorak, Maiwand, Spin Boldak, Nesh, Miyanishin,
Shorabak, Maruf, Reg (Shiga), Dand (temporary district) and Takhtapul (temporary district).2297
According to NSIA estimates in 2019-2020, the province has a population of 1 368 036, with 614 811
of its residents living in the provincial capital Kandahar City.2298
The majority of Kandahar's population belongs to Pashtun tribes with the confederation of the
Durani tribes being the largest one. It is divided into sub-confederations: Panjpayi and Zirak. There
are also some Ghilzai tribes. The Balochs live in the Kandahar’s desert leading a nomadic life andthey often deals with smuggling.2299 Hazaras and Tajiks, as well as other ethnicities are usuallyreferred to as Farsiwan, i.e. Farsi/Dari speakers.2300 They mainly live in cities and towns.2301
The Ring Road (Highway One) connects the provincial capital of Kandahar with the major population
centres of Herat and Kabul. A northbound road towards Uruzgan forks in Kandahar City.2302 In March
2018, the Afghan news portal Tolonews described the Kandahar-Kabul-Herat highway as being ‘[...]
in extremely bad condition due to heavy road usage, a lack of maintenance and continued attacks byinsurgents’.2303 Heading southwards, a road connects the city of Kandahar with the Afghan-Pakistaniborder crossing at Spin Boldak-Chaman.2304 It is one of the most important border-crossing withPakistan, leading to Quetta at Pakistani side. Border towns Spin Boldak and Chaman are consideredas the major smuggling hubs with a flourishing bazaar called Wesh situated in Spin Boldak.2305 The
Pakistani government has been trying to build a fence along the border to improve the bordercontrol and to prevent illegal border-crossing from Afghanistan. Spin Boldak residents protested
against the fence and Afghan security services tried many times to prevent the fence construction
anytime Pakistani forces attempted to have a fencing operation completed which has led tofrequent cross-border clashes and shelling.2306
According to the airport website, an airport with scheduled passenger services to domestic andinternational destinations exists in Kandahar City.2307

2.16.2 Conflict background and actors in Kandahar
After U.S. and NATO combat mission started in 2001, local Taliban surrendered and returned to theirhomes. There was not however any amnesty for them, and constant persecutions pushed them out
to Pakistan where they restarted insurgency and new recruitment.2308 Taliban received support
especially from Durrani Panjpayi tribes which were largely excluded from government position in theprovince.2309 According to Anand Gopal, a journalist and a scholar, tribal leaders in the province
2297 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan, 1 June 2020, url , p. 37
2298 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, 18 November 2019, url, p. 33
2299 Kohistani, Kandahar profile, 2016, url; Sabawoon A. and Rutting T., Kandahar from Razeq to Tadin (1): Building the‘American tribe’, AAN 12 August 2019, url
2300 Naval Postgraduate School, Kandahar Provincial Overview, n.d., url
2301 Kohistani, Kandahar profile, 2016, url; Sabawoon A. and Rutting T., Kandahar from Razeq to Tadin (1): Building the‘American tribe’, AAN 12 August 2019, url
2302 LCA, Afghanistan Administrative Map, 19 September 2017, url; Diplomat (The), Kabul's Plan to Realize Afghanistan’s
Geographic Dividend, 5 December 2017, url
2303 Tolonews, Seven Die In Kandahar-Herat Highway Accident, 14 March 2018, url;
2304 LCA, Afghanistan Administrative Map, 19 September 2017, url; Diplomat (The), Kabul's Plan to Realize Afghanistan’s
Geographic Dividend, 5 December 2017, url
2305 Sabawoon A. and Rutting T., Kandahar from Razeq to Tadin (1): Building the ‘American tribe’, AAN 12 August 2019, url
2306 Sabawoon A. and Rutting T., Kandahar from Razeq to Tadin (1): Building the ‘American tribe’, AAN 12 August 2019, url;
Afghanistan Times, Army repulses Pakistan’s Durand Line fence bid, 13 April 2020, url; VOA, Pakistan Border Fencing
Disrupts Local Trade in Chaman, 18 December 2020, url
2307 Kandahar Airport Webpage, n.d., url; Sweden, Lifos/Migrationsverket, Inrikesflyg I Afghanistan, 17 February 2021, url,
p. 122308 Gopal A., ‘The Taliban in Kandahar’, in: Bergen, P. (ed.), Talibanistan, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013, pp 2-42309 Gopal A., ‘The Taliban in Kandahar’, in: Bergen, P. (ed.), Talibanistan, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013, pp 16-18

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could not remain neutral in the new conflict due to principles of revenge applied both bygovernment forces and Taliban. The ‘government allies often had to escape to the cities controlled
by the government like Kandahar or Kabul. The rest had no choice but to ally with Taliban.’2310
From 2006, Taliban has been able to conduct ‘asymetric warefare’ against government in theprovince, conducting road attacks and suicide bombings.2311 Between 2010 and 2014 the powerfulstrongman and police chief General Abdul Razeq managed to ‘build a network of local commanders
loyal to him’ that helped US to push out the Taliban from the province. Razeq appointed his allies aspolice chiefs of the key districts. ALP, in particular, was an important element of security
management. Razeq was, however, accused of serious human rights abuses.2312
Razeq managed to keep the Taliban away from the central Kandahar districts but he did not prevent
some Taliban activity there, including bomb attacks and targeted killings. Since 2016, however, theTaliban have started regaining control in more remote districts of the province and in October 2018,
Razeq was assassinated, allegedly by the Taliban.2313
According to local officials and residents, the security situation deteriorated following theassassination of Razeq, with an increasing number of targeted killings and heavy losses among
policemen and soldiers.2314 Moreover, the security forces staff started ‘taxing and abusing residents
with little oversight’. Meanwhile, Taliban managed to get support from local tribal leaders andstarted to bribe low-level policemen to abandon their posts.2315 In 2019, attacks increased in the
remote districts, but the central parts remained relatively stable under government control. The
Taliban however was capable to conduct the terrorist attacks, assassinations and small-scaleshootings there. In order to prevent expansion by the Taliban, the government carried out armed
operations, including air strikes.2316 The new wave of heavy fighting started in October 2020.
According to Al Arabiya, ‘the insurgents have launched continuous attacks in several districts on theoutskirts of Kandahar city, which still remains in the control of Afghan forces’.2317
The Taliban movement was founded in Kandahar province, in a madrassa run by its now deceased
leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar in Sangesar. Kandahar city was also the Taliban’s quasi capitalwhen they ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.2318 For the Taliban, Kandahar is a strategic
province, not only because it is considered to be ‘the birthplace of the group’, but also because it
borders with the Pakistani province of Baluchistan, which ‘serves as the group’s safe haven as well asa prime recruitment center’. In addition, Kandahar is a main region of production and distribution ofopium, a major source of the Taliban’s income.2319 The UN reported on increased presence of AGEs
on major transit routes in Afghanistan, including highways between Kabul and Kandahar, andKandahar and Tirinkot.2320
As Anand Gopal wrote in 2013, Taliban established their formal administrative structures in theprovince: a shadow governor, Military Commission, district governors and local judges. In practise,2310 Gopal A., ‘The Taliban in Kandahar’, in: Bergen, P. (ed.), Talibanistan, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013, p. 31
2311 Gopal A., ‘The Taliban in Kandahar’, in: Bergen, P. (ed.), Talibanistan, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013, pp 2-42312 Sabawoon A. and Rutting T., Kandahar from Razeq to Tadin (1): Building the ‘American tribe’, AAN 12 August 2019, url
2313 Ruttig, T., The Killing of Razeq: Removing the Taleban’s strongest foe in Kandahar, an indirect hit at elections, AAN, 19

October 2018, url
2314 Stars and Stripes, Violence escalates in strategic Afghan province as US continues peace talks, 6 July 2019, url
2315New York Times (The), The Taliban Close In on Afghan Cities, Pushing the Country to the Brink, 15 February 2021, url
2316 Sabawoon A. and Rutting T., Kandahar from Razeq to Tadin (1): Building the ‘American tribe’, AAN 12 August 2019, url
2317 Al-Arabiya, Thousands of Afghan families flee fighting in Taliban bastion of Kandahar, 7 January 2021, url
2318 Sabawoon A. and Rutting Th, Kandahar from Razeq to Tadin (1): Building the ‘American tribe’, AAN 12 August 2019, url
2319 LWJ, Taliban overruns Afghan army camp in Kandahar, 19 October 2017, url
2320 UN Security Council, The Situation in Afghanistan and Its Implications for International Peace & Security, Report of theSecretary-General, A/73/777–S/2019/193, 28 February 2019, url , p. 14

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many local military actions were not consulted within this structure. Moreover, some informal
networks connecting field commanders with certain leaders in Quetta existed in parallel.2321
UNAMA did not document attacks and civilian casualties caused by ISIL-KP activity in Kandahar
province in 2019 or 2020, 2322 however at the beginning of April 2020, NDS forces detained several
members of the top leadership of the organisation in Kandahar, including the ISKP’s leader in
Afghanistan, Abdullah Orakzai alias Aslam Farooqi, who originates from Pakistan.2323
A survey conducted by Pajhwok Afghan News, from November 2020 until February 2021, designated40.28% of Kandahar territory and 67.27% of population under government control, 53.61% of
territory and 29.37% of population under Taliban control and 6.11% territory and 3,35% population
controlled by neither side. The only entire district with its centre under Taliban control is Reg.2324
According to LWJ, the districts of Ghorak, Nesh, Miya Nishin and Maruf are under control of Taliban.
Maiwand, Khakrez, Shah Wali Kot, Arghandab, Arghistan on the north, Reg and Shorabak on thesouth are ‘contested’. More recently, as of 26 May 2021, Shah Wali Kot and Reg districts shifted to‘Taliban control’.2325
According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, opium poppy cultivation in Kandahar province
increased by 47 %.2326
Kandahar is under the responsibility of the 205th ANA Corps, supported by the US Train, Advice, andAssist Command-South (TAAC-S) which has its headquarters in the province.2327 It was to be handed
over to Afghan forces after Doha Agreement but due to general unrest the final withdrawal wasdelayed. New York Times reported in February 2021 that there is still a small detachment of US andNATO troops in the province.2328 The counterterrorism operations are under responsibility of NDS
03, called also Kandahar Strike Force (KSF) which is based in the former headquarters of Mullah
Omar.2329
ANSF representatives complain that ‘they’re severely understaffed and their pleas for support havegone unheeded by officials in Kabul’. During attack, police ‘puts up very little fight’. In December
2020, almost 200 checkpoints in Zhire, Maiwand, Arghandab and Panjwayee were abandoned by
Afghan soldiers who had left their military equipment and ammunition there.2330

2.16.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 540 civilian casualties (189 deaths and 351 injured) in the province of
Kandahar. This represents an increase of 16 % compared to 2019. Leading causes of casualties were
non-suicide IEDs, ground engagements, followed by targeted killings.2331

2321 Gopal A., ‘The Taliban in Kandahar’, in: Bergen, P. (ed.), Talibanistan, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013, p. 31
2322 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 43;

UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, February 2020, url , p. 362323 Diplomat (The), The Islamic State Remains Alive in Afghanistan, 27 April 2020, url
2324 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban make exaggerated claims of territory they control, 12 February 2021, url
2325 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url. The source, however, does not specify when and which
information of the aforementioned map was updated.
2326 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 92327USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, 1 June 2020, url, p. 132328 The New York Times, The Taliban Close In on Afghan Cities, Pushing the Country to the Brink, 15 February 2021, url
2329 HRW, “They’ve Shot Many Like This” Abusive Night Raids by CIA-Backed Afghan Strike Forces, 31 October 2019, url
p.13
2330 The New York Times, The Taliban Close In on Afghan Cities, Pushing the Country to the Brink, 15 February 2021, url; AlArabiya, Afghan troops, police abandon nearly 200 checkpoints to Taliban, 30 December 2020, url
2331 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 110

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

In the period from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, ACLED reported a total of 770 incidents
related to security in Kandahar province, of which 496 battles, 240 remote violence, 33 cases ofviolence against civilians and one incident concerning a prison riot.2332

Figure 32: Kandahar province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data2333

Figure 33: Kandahar province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 202 to 28 February 2021, based on
ACLED data2334

In 2020 and at the beginning of 2021, clashes between security forces and AGEs took place mainly in
districts surrounding Kandahar city: Maiwand, Arghandab, Zhire and Panjwayee.2335 At the end of
February 2021, Taliban was closer to Kandahar city as ever before and neighbouring Panjwayee
district was near to collapse.2336

2332 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website on a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Kandahar province, update 25 March
2021, url
2333 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Kandahar province,
update 25 March 2021, url
2334 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Kandahar province,
update 25 March 2021, url ; 16 events (9 battles and 7 remote violence) in the province for which ACLED has no
information about the location, were not included in this graph (geoprecision code 3 – see introduction)
2335 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Weekly Humanitarian Update, 26 October – 1 November 2020, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan:
Weekly Humanitarian Update, 25-31 January 2021, url
2336 New York Times (The), The Taliban Close in on Afghan Cities, Pushing the Country to the Brink, 15 February 2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

According to UNAMA, the main cause of civilian deaths in Kandahar province in 2020 were nonsuicide and IEDs explosions. The organisation reported 101 civilians killed due to IEDs.2337 For
example, on 3 June 2020, nine passengers travelling by bus between different districts of theprovince were killed by explosion of roadside bomb.2338 Between 7 and 9 August 2020, UNAMA
registered five cases of IEDs explosions in Arghistan district which killed in total 26 civilians. Taliban‘denied responsibility for four out of five’ these incidents.2339
On 10 April 2020 US drone killed three civilians in Shah Wali Kot district.2340
Kandahar city witnessed a high number of targeted killings in the reported period. AGEs targeted apolicewoman in February 20202341, a tribal elders2342 in March 2020, a former policeman, a doctor
and a former district governor of Sangin district in three separate attacks in June 20202343, threemarket-sellers and Zhari district council Head in September 20202344, a prosecutor for Kandahar /Dand district in December 20202345, two imams2346 and a former bodyguard of president Hamid
Karzai2347 were killed in various incidents in January and February 2021.2348
Early autumn in 2020 Taliban increased attacks in the districts surrounding Kandahar city which
forced many people to leave their houses. Taliban closed the main road between Lashkargah andKandahar for civilian movement.2349 In October 2020 large part of Kandahar was cut off fromelectricity and telecommunication2350 and on February 2021 a medical facility in Panjwayee wasclosed due to clashes leaving people without any access to health services.2351 The villagers from
Kandahar province, interviewed by The Guardian, were ‘besieged by fighting’ for few days and‘people were getting shot by both sides’. Afterwards Taliban captured the village and told them toleave their houses. They were directed to IDPs camp at the suburb of Kandahar. When men returnedto the village to take more personal belongings, houses were partly destroyed and looted.2352 Many
families lost an access to their farms.2353
However in the beginning of 2021, ‘negotiating team from Panjwai district, consisting of local
farmers and tribal elders, Panjwai’s police chief and other officials in Kandahar’ managed to reach alocal cease-fire with Taliban. It was to start in March 2021 and to last 10 days from 8.00 a.m. to 5
p.m.2354

2337 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, 22 February 2020, url , p. 49
2338 AP, Bus strikes roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan; 9 killed, 3 June 2020, url
2339 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 50
2340 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Kandahar province,

update 25 March 2021, url
2341 Tolonews, Policewoman Killed by Unknown Gunmen in Kandahar, 05 February 2020, url
2342 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: March 2020, 26 March 2020, url
2343 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: June 2020, 29 October 2020, url
2344 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 1 October 2020, url
2345 Khamaa Press, Ghor Council Deputy Killed in IED Blast, 15 December 2020, url
2346 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 25 February 2021, url; Pajhwok, Prayer leader
gunned down in Kandahar capital, 3 February 2021, url
2347 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 25 February 2021, url
2348 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Kandahar province,
update 25 March 2021, url
2349 UN News, Thousands displaced by fighting in southern Afghanistan, 14 October 2020, url
2350 BBC News, Afghan-Taliban conflict: Families flee fresh fighting in Helmand, 13 October 2020, url
2351 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Weekly Humanitarian Update (22 – 28 February 2021), url
2352 The Guardian (The), 'Shot at by both sides': Families flee as Taliban battles for territory in Kandahar, 24 February 2021,
url
2353 Guardian (The), 'Shot at by both sides': Families flee as Taliban battles for territory in Kandahar, 24 February 2021, url
2354 New York Times (The), In One Afghan District, Peace From 8 A.M. to 5 P.M., 11 March 2021, url

220Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020 – 28 February 2021, reporting 22 788 persons
displaced within Kandahar province and 7 from Kandahar province to Herat province. The biggest
group of 8 868 persons was displaced within Kandahar/Dand district on the 1 January 2021. The
group of 3 323 persons was displaced from Panjwai district in November 2020.2355 Other large
groups arrived to Kandahar/Dand camp from Maiwand, Arghandab and Zhire districts also in
October and November 2020. 2356 The main destination was IDPs camps in Dand in the Kandahar city
suburbs. The displacement in the province was caused by the Taliban offensive, which started in
October 2020, and led to heavy fighting in the area.2357
In the reporting period, 2 461 persons were displaced to Kandahar province from other provinces,including 1 011 persons from Helmand, 1 100 from Uruzgan and 350 persons from Jawzjan.2358

2.17 Kapisa province
2.17.1 General description of the province

Map 17 : Afghanistan - Kapisa province, source: UNOCHA2359

Kapisa province is located in the central region of Afghanistan and is divided into the following
districts: Alasay, Hisa-i Awal-e Kohestan, Hisa-i Duwum-e Kohestan, Kohband, Mahmud-e Raqi,
Nejrab and Tagab. The provincial capital is Mahmud-e Raqi.2360
According to estimates for 2019-20 by NSIA, Kapisa province has a population of 479 875.2361

2355 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, 30 March 2021,

url
url
2357 UN News, Thousands displaced by fighting in southern Afghanistan, 14 October 2020, url; Al-Arabiya, Thousands ofAfghan families flee fighting in Taliban bastion of Kandahar, 7 January 2021, url
2358 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, 30 March 2021, url
2359 UNOCHA, Afghanistan. Provincial Reference Map, 25 May 2015, url, p. 16
2360 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Kapisa Province - District Atlas, April 2014, url; Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of
Afghanistan 2019-2020, November 2019, url, p. 6
2361 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, 18 November 2019, url, pp. 2, 62356 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, 30 March 2021,

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

The main ethnic groups in Kapisa are Pashtun,2362 Tajik and Nuristani.2363 Tajiks, constituting thelargest single group, are mainly living in the northern part of the province. Pashtuns inhabit theprovince’s southern region,2364 such as the Ghilzai tribe2365 in Tagab district.2366 Members of the Safi
tribe are found in the districts of Kohband and Nejrab.2367 Other groups present include Hazara2368
and Pashai,2369 the latter residing in the mountainous areas of Alasay and Kohband districts.2370
A primary road connects Kapisa’s capital Mahmud-e Raqi to Kabul City.2371 In October 2020, ANA
forces reportedly closed the main road connecting Alasay district with the provincial capital toprevent the movement of militants.2372 There is no functioning airport for civil aviation located in
Kapisa province.2373

2.17.2 Conflict background and actors in Kapisa
According to AAN analyst Fabrizio Foschini, Kapisa province has strategic importance, as ‘[...] it is asmall province in the middle of almost everything: it is easy for insurgents to try and reach Kapisa’s
capital and the neighbouring provinces’. Foschini suggests Kapisa is ‘sociologically divided’ between
southern districts more sympathetic towards militant groups, and a northern part, ‘where allegianceto Jamiat-e Islami makes community support for the Taliban less likely’.2374 Kapisa’s southern districtof Tagab is connected to the Uzbin Valley in Surobi district of Kabul province and further to Bad Pakh
district in Laghman province, through relatively easily traversable passes. According to Foschini, thisbroader region became ‘an important crossing point and sanctuary for insurgents moving deeper
into Afghanistan from the border area [with Pakistan]’.2375
According to a 2014 report by the New York Times, southern Kapisa ‘has always been difficult
terrain’, adding that the battle between Taliban militants and government forces intensified after the
French ISAF forces left the province in 2012. The Taliban's success was partially traced back to a lackof capacity or ‘unwillingness’ by the Afghan security forces to overtake Taliban-controlled areas in
Kapisa, leading to US Special Forces' allegations of infiltration of the Afghan army by the militants orclose cooperation between the ANA and AGEs. The Taliban in the area, on the other hand, were
described as a disciplined force, ‘able to operate freely’.2376
AAN analyst Obaid Ali defined the political landscape in Kapisa in 2015 as characterised by ‘[...] thenever-ending story of local warlords and Taliban competing with each other [...]’, in combination with‘[…] the poor economic situation of many residents [which] contributes to the high rates of militancy
and private feuds [...]’ in some districts of the province.2377

2362 FP, Are Ethnic Politics Afghanistan’s Great Hope?, 11 November 2014, url
2363 US Naval Postgraduate School, Kapisa Provincial Overview, n.d., url; Tolonews, Provincial Profile: Kapisa, n.d., url
2364 Ali, O., Fire in the Pashai Hills: A Two-District Case Study from Kapisa, AAN, 6 April 2015, url
2365 US Naval Postgraduate School, Kapisa Provincial Overview, n.d., url
2366 FP, Are Ethnic Politics Afghanistan’s Great Hope?, 11 November 2014, url
2367 US Naval Postgraduate School, Kapisa Provincial Overview, n.d., url
2368 Tolonews, Provincial Profile: Kapisa, n.d., url
2369 Ali, O. and Gharani, Kh., Hit from Many Sides (2): The Demise of ISKP in Kunar, AAN, 2 March 2021, url
2370 Ali, O., Fire in the Pashai Hills: A Two-District Case Study from Kapisa, AAN, 6 April 2015, url
2371 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Kapisa Province - District Atlas, April 2014, url; LCA, Afghanistan Administrative Map, 19

September 2017, url
2372 Pajhwok Afghan News, Inconvenience as ANA Forces Close District Road in Kapisa, 6 October 2020, url
2373 Falling Rain, Directory of Airports in Afghanistan, n.d., url; MSF, Afghanistan: Country Kit, 12 January 2016, url;
Afghanistan, ACAA, All Airports, 24 September 2017, url
2374 Foschini, F., In Kabul’s Shadow: The Attacks in the Provinces on 15-16 April, AAN, 24 April 2012, url
2375 Foschini, F., Classics of Conflict (2): Reviewing Some of Afghanistan’s Most Notorious Hotspots, AAN, 9 July 2015, url
2376 New York Times (The), Hour’s Drive Outside Kabul, Taliban Reign, 22 November 2014, url
2377 Ali, O., Fire in the Pashai Hills: A Two-District Case Study from Kapisa, AAN, 6 April 2015, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

In May 2020, the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team reported to the UN Security
Council on a reorganisation of the Taliban shadow governance and military structure in several
provinces, with key new appointments made, including in Kapisa province.2378 In July 2020, AAN
reported on the Taliban building up a presence to the northeast, north and northwest of Kabul,
including in Kapisa province.2379 According to International Crisis Group, Kapisa witnessed an‘unchanging or increasing’ level of Taliban violence in 2020.2380
An LWJ assessment mapping Taliban control in Afghanistan in a frequently updated map and basedon open-source information, consulted on 12 March 2021, indicated Tagab, Alasay and Nejrab
districts as ‘contested’. Nejrab district was designated as ‘government-influenced’. Kapisa’s remaining
districts were categorised as ‘government-controlled’ or ‘undetermined’ in this assessment.2381 A
survey Pajhwok Afghan News conducted from November 2020 until February 20212382 designated58.71 % of Kapisa’s territory under government control, 37.24 % under Taliban control and 4.05 %controlled by neither side. According to the same survey, 286 701 of Kapisa’s inhabitants live in areas
under government control, 181 833 of the province’s population live in areas under Taliban control
and 19 764 of Kapisa’s residents live in areas controlled by neither side.2383
In March 2020, a Taliban attack in Afghania village in Nejrab was reported, described as the first
battle in the area after it had been cleared from the Taliban2384 in December 2019.2385 Mid-June
2020, Taliban militants reportedly advanced to the district centre of Tagab, after taking 12
checkpoints of local uprising forces.2386 In the second half of June 2020, intense fighting between the
Taliban and the Afghan government forces was reported in Tagab district whereby Taliban attacks
forced the Afghan military to withdraw from several villages.2387 At the end of that month, thevillages of Firoozkhil, Turkandian, Baiskhel, Sarginan, Khanan and Badakhil in Tagab were reportedly
cleared from the Taliban during ANA operations.2388 Mid-July 2020, the Taliban reportedly attacked
the centre of Tagab district again but were pushed back by the Afghan security forces.2389 In October
2020, the Afghan Ministry of Defence reported on the killing of three Taliban commanders, identified
as Qari Mir Agha, Qari Himmat Mohammad and Qari Naeem, in a security forces’ operation in Tagab
district.2390 At the end of February 2021, the villages of Hajian, Khalifa Gan, Zakir Khel Kuchak andBadakhil in Afghania Dara of Nejrab district were reportedly cleared from the Taliban.2391
Before Gulbuddin Hekmatyar signed a peace agreement with the Afghan government in September
2016, Kapisa was considered one of Hezb-e Islami’s strongholds.2392 The group’s influence in the2378 UN SECURITY COUNCIL, Eleventh Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant

to Resolution 2501 (2019) Concerning the Taliban and Other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat tothe Peace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, 27 May 2020, url, pp. 8-92379 Ruttig, T. and Sabawoon, A.M., Threat at Kabul’s Southern Gate: Security Overview of Logar Province, AAN, 18 July
2020, url
2380 International Crisis Group, Crisis Watch – Overview, Afghanistan June 2020, June 2020, url
2381 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url. LWJ, however, does not specify when and which information of
the aforementioned map was updated.
2382 Through telephonic interviews or by distributing questionnaires, Pajhwok Afghan News interviewed a total of 1 266
respondents for this survey, randomly selected across the country. Pajhwok acknowledges the complexity of this task andthe possible inaccuracy of the provided information.
2383 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url
2384 Tolonews, 4 Security Force Members Killed in Kapisa, 21 March 2020, url
2385 UNOCHA, Operational Coordination Team (OCT) - Kapisa Province - Meeting Summary, 29 January 2020, url, p. 1
2386 Tolonews, 4 Public Uprising Forces, 11 Taliban Killed in Kapisa: Official, 15 June 2020, url
2387 ACLED, Regional Overview: Central Asia and the Caucasus - 21-27 June 2020, url
2388 Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Security Forces Killed, 5 Injured in Kapisa Clash, 22 June 2020, url
2389 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 2020, 9 July 2020, updated 30 July 2020, url
2390 Pajhwok Afghan News, 5 Insurgent Killed in Kapisa Airstrike, Says MoD, 28 October 2020, url
2391 Reporterly, 16 Al-Qaeda Members Killed in Kapisa: MoD, 1 March 2021, url
2392 Van Bijlert, M. and Ruttig, T., Almost Signed? The Peace Agreement with Hezb-e Islami, AAN, 21 may 2016, url

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province was reportedly the result of commander networks dating back to the 1980s. In early 2017,
the number of active Hezb-e Islami insurgents in Kapisa was estimated at 60.2393
In February 2020, USDOD reported on small groups of ISKP supporters in Kapisa province.2394 One
security incident specifically attributed to ISKP has been recorded in Kapisa between 1 January 2020
and 28 February 2021 by ACLED.2395 In February 2020, at least a dozen ISKP militants were killed anda hideout of the group was destroyed in a ground operation by Afghan commandos with air support
in Nejrab district.2396 In a June 2020 USIP report, analyst Borhan Osman mentioned Tagab and Nejrab
districts as areas where ISKP has been recruiting for its Kabul cell.2397
At the end of February 2021, the Afghan Ministry of Defence reported on the killing of 16 membersof an Al Qaeda group during an operation in the Afghania area of Nejrab district.2398
According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, Kapisa province ‘lost its poppy-free status’, as a 178hectare land had been dedicated to opium poppy cultivation.2399
In terms of the presence of government security forces, Kapisa was reported to be under the
responsibility of the 201st ANA Corps and included in the Train, Advise and Assist Command - East
(TAAC-E), part of NATO’s Resolute Support Mission within Afghanistan. TAAC-E is led by US forces andhas its headquarters in Nangarhar province.2400 In September 2020, local official sources in Nejrab
reported on the presence of militia groups in the district, armed by the government and backed by
the NDS. This claim was rejected by Vice President Amrullah Saleh.2401

2.17.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 148 civilian casualties (42 deaths and 106 injured) in Kapisa province.
This represented an increase of 19 % compared to 2019. Leading causes of casualties were groundengagements, followed by targeted killings and non-suicide IEDs.2402 According to UNAMA, Kapisa is
one of 16 provinces that experienced an increase in civilian casualties from ground engagements in2020 compared to 2019.2403 Resolute Support (RS) recorded between 102 and 150 civilian casualties
in Kapisa province in the first half of 2020, with no variation between the first and second quarter ofthe year.2404 RS data on civilian casualties per province for the second half of 2020 were no longer
available in the SIGAR quarterly reports.2405

2393 Johnson, C.G., The Political Deal with Hezb-e Islami: What It Means for Talks with the Taliban and Peace in Afghanistan,

USIP, July 2018, url, pp. 12, 25, 282394 USDOD, Lead Inspector General for Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, Report to the United States Congress, 1 October - 31
December 2019, 19 February 2020, url, p. 132395 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kapisa province, update
25 March 2021, url
2396 Pajhwok Afghan News, Airstrikes Kill 13 Daesh Rebels in Kapisa, Kunar, 21 February 2020, url; Bakhtar News, 12 ISISFighters Killed in Kapisa Operation, 22 February 2020, url
2397 Osman, B., Bourgeois Jihad: Why Young, Middle-Class Afghans Join Islamic State, USIP, June 2020, url, pp. 4, 11-12
2398 Reporterly, 16 Al-Qaeda Members Killed in Kapisa: MoD, 1 March 2021, url
2399 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, pp. 5, 92400 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2020, 23 April 2021, url, p. 52401 Tolonews, Militia Armed in Kapisa’s Nejrab District: Local Officials, 8 September 2020, url
2402 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 1102403 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 72
2404 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 April 2020, url, p. 69; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 July 2020, url, p. 722405 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 October 2020, url; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 January 2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

In the period from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, ACLED collected data from reports in open
sources on 188 incidents related to insurgents in Kapisa province, of which 140 were coded as‘battles’, 33 as ‘explosions/remote violence’ and 15 as ‘violence against civilians’.2406

Figure 34: Kapisa province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data2407

Figure 35: Kapisa province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on
ACLED data2408

In its Hard-to-Reach Districts Map, published in February 2021, UNOCHA ranked Tagab district 29thout of 100 districts countrywide, with a conflict intensity of 3.8 (on a scale from 1.0 to 4.0).2409
ACLED recorded around 74 % of the violent incidents in Kapisa province as ‘battles’, nearly all ofwhich were coded as ‘armed clashes’. The majority of these clashes were attacks by the Taliban on
Afghan security forces, including military, police or NDS personnel and members of pro-government

2406 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kapisa province, update 25 March
2021, url
2407 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kapisa province, update
25 March 2021, url
2408 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kapisa province, update
25 March 2021, url; 4 incidents (1 battle, 2 remote violence and 1 violence against civilians) in the province for which
ACLED has no information about the location, were not included in this graph (geoprecision code 3 - see introduction)
2409 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Access Group (HAG), Hard-to-Reach Districts - 11 February 2021, url, p. 4

225

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

militias or so-called arbakis2410.2411 Examples of such incidents included assaults on military or police
checkpoints/outposts/bases in Nejrab district in February 2020,2412 in March 20202413 and in June
20202414 and in Tagab district in March 2020,2415 in June 2020,2416 in August 2020 (four civilians were
wounded in the cross-fire)2417 and in September 2020 (killing one civilian);2418 as well as
attacks/ambushes on the convoys/vehicles of police officers and pro-government militia members in
Alasay district in January 2020,2419 in Nejrab district in July 20202420 and in Kohband district in
October 2020.2421 Further examples of these armed clashes included attacks by unknown gunmen on
NDS and police personnel in Mahmud-e Raqi district in June 2020,2422 in July 2020,2423 in November
20202424 and in January 2021,2425 and in Hisa-i Duwum-e Kohestan district in November 2020.2426
Apart from the ones mentioned above, no further information on civilian casualties reported during
these incidents was found among the sources consulted.
Operations and attacks by Afghan security forces against AGEs were also registered under armed
clashes by ACLED.2427 In a combined ground and air operation by the Afghan security forces in
February 2020 in Nejrab district, a dozen Taliban militants were killed and several others were
wounded and arrested. Two women were also reportedly killed in the operation.2428 During an
operation in Hisa-i Awal-e Kohestan district in June 2020, two NDS officers were reportedly killed by
the gunman they aimed to arrest.2429 Various operations in Nejrab district in February 2021
reportedly killed and wounded several Taliban insurgents.2430

2410 For more information on arbaki: see section 1.2.1 Pro-government forces.
2411 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kapisa province, update

25 March 2021, url
2412 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2020, 6 February 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url;
Reuters, U.S.-Taliban Pact to Cut Violence About to Start, Afghan Minister Says Amid Clashes, 18 February 2020, url
2413 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: March 2020, 5 March 2020, updated 26 March 2020, url; Pajhwok
Afghan News, 7 Security Personnel, 3 Militants Killed in Kapisa Clash, 21 March 2020, url
2414 Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Security Forces Killed, 5 Injured in Kapisa Clash, 22 June 2020, url
2415 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: March 2020, 5 March 2020, updated 26 March 2020, url
2416 Tolonews, 4 Public Uprising Forces, 11 Taliban Killed in Kapisa: Official, 15 June 2020, url
2417 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: August 2020, 6 August 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url;
Pajhwok Afghan News, 3 ANA Soldiers Killed in Kapesa Attack, 14 August 2020, url
2418 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url;
Pajhwok Afghan News, Kapisa: 5 Policemen Killed in Taliban Attack, 13 September 2020, url; Afganistan Times, 9 Security
Forces Dead in Kapisa Attack, 21 September 2020, url
2419 Pajhwok Afghan News, Kapisa: District Intelligence Chief Killed in Taliban Ambush, 30 January 2020, url
2420 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 2020, 9 July 2020, updated 30 July 2020, url
2421 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2020, 8 October 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url;
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Policemen Killed, As Many Wounded in Kapisa, 3 October 2020, url
2422 Tolonews, Head of Kapisa Traffic Dept. Killed by Unknown Gunmen, 1 June 2020, url
2423 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 2020, 9 July 2020, updated 30 July 2020, url; Tolonews,
District-Level NDS Head in Kapisa Killed by Unknown Gunmen, 25 September 2020, url
2424 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 5 November 2020, updated 26 November 2020,
url; Khaama Press, District Police Chief Killed in Kapisa Province, 17 November 2020, url
2425 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2021, 7 January 2021, updated 28 January 2021, url
2426 Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Policewomen Injured in Kapisa Gun Attack, 22 November 2020, url
2427 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kapisa province, update
25 March 2021, url
2428 Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Women among 14 Taliban Killed in Kapisa, 21 February 2020, url
2429 Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 NDS Agents Killed by Illegal Gunman in Kapisa, 21 June 2020, url
2430 Reporterly, [Twitter], posted on: 21 February 2021, url; Reporterly, [Twitter], posted on: 22 February 2021, url;
Reporterly, [Twitter], posted on: 24 February 2021, url

226Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

AGEs using roadside bombs or IEDs, often targeting the Afghan security forces or pro-government
militia members,2431 represented about 11 % of all reported security incidents in Kapisa.2432 Some ofthese incidents resulted in casualties among civilians. For example: in October 2020, three civilians
were killed when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Tagab district;2433 in January 2021, five civilians
were killed and nine more wounded (including the head of the provincial Ulema Council) in amagnetic car bomb explosion in the Sayyad area of the provincial capital Mahmud-e Raqi.2434
Shelling, artillery and missile attacks by the Taliban represented around 5 % of all registered
incidents in Kapisa, with all attacks carried out in Tagab district.2435 Several of these incidents caused
civilian casualties, when mortars, grenades or rockets landed on civilian homes and/or vehicles inMarch 2020,2436 in April 20202437 and in July 2020.2438
During the reporting period ACLED recorded three air/drone strikes in Kapisa, all carried out by theAfghan military forces in Nejrab and Tagab districts in January and February 2020. These air strikes
inflicted losses among AGEs.2439 Information on civilian casualties reported during these incidents
was not found among the sources consulted.
ACLED categorised around 8 % of all violent events recorded in Kapisa as ‘violence against
civilians’.2440 These incidents involved for example: civilian vehicles being attacked by Taliban
militants in Tagab district in March 20202441 and in October 2020;2442 the killing of an appellate court
judge by unidentified gunmen in Afghanha village in the area of PD 1 in June 2020;2443 the killing ofan uprising forces commander and three of his family members by the Taliban in Tagab district inAugust 2020;2444 the killing of an imam by unknown gunmen in Nejrab district in October 2020;2445
the shooting of human rights activist Freshta Kohistani and her brother in Hisa-i Awal-e Kohestan
district in December 2020, following a string of targeted assassinations in several parts of thecountry;2446 the shooting of a civilian by unknown gunmen in Hisa-i Duwum-e Kohestan district in

2431 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: March 2020, 5 March 2020, updated 26 March 2020, url; New YorkTimes (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 5 November 2020, updated 26 November 2020, url; New YorkTimes (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 4 February 2021, updated 25 February 2021, url
2432 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kapisa province, update
25 March 2021, url
2433 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2020, 8 October 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url;
Tolonews, 3 Civilians Killed in Kapisa Roadside Blast, 7 October 2020, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian
Update (5 - 11 October 2020), 14 October 2020, url, p. 22434 Tolonews, 5 Killed in Kapisa Blast, Local Ulema Head Wounded, 3 January 2021, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, 5 Killed,
Top Kapisa Cleric among 9 Injured in Blast, 3 January 2021, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January
2021, 7 January 2021, updated 28 January 2021, url
2435 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kapisa province, update
25 March 2021, url
2436 Pajhwok Afghan News, Civilians, Policeman Killed in Kapesa Mortar Shell Attack, 25 March 2020, url
2437 Khaama Press, Taliban Militants Kill 1 Civilian, Wound 3 Others in Kapisa Province, 20 April 2020, url
2438 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 2020, 9 July 2020, updated 30 July 2020, url; Pajhwok AfghanNews, 2 Killed, 8 Injured in Kapisa Mortar Attack, 19 July 2020, url
2439 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kapisa province, update
25 March 2021, url
2440 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Kapisa province, update
25 March 2021, url
2441 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: March 2020, 5 March 2020, updated 26 March 2020, url
2442 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2020, 8 October 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
2443 Tolonews, Gunmen Shoot and Kill Judge in Kapisa, 23 June 2020, url
2444 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban Kill 4 Men of Kapisa Family, 6 August 2020, url
2445 Khaama Press, Mullah Shot Dead in Morning Prayer Hours, 15 October 2020, url; Reporterly, Imam Assassinated In
Kapisa, Taliban Attack In Zabul, 15 October 2020, url
2446 DW, Women's Rights Activist Shot Dead in Afghanistan, 24 December 2020, url; RFE/RL/Gandhara, Prominent Afghan
Women's Rights Activist Assassinated, 24 December 2020, url; New York Times (The), Targeted Killings Are Terrorizing
Afghans. And No One Is Claiming Them, 2 January 2021, url; UNAMA, Special Report: Killing of Human Rights Defenders,
Journalists and Media Workers in Afghanistan 2018-2021, February 2021, url, p. 26

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

January 2021;2447 and the killing of an off-duty police officer in a Taliban attack on his house in Tagab
district in January 2021.2448
The WHO did not register any attacks related to health care provision in Kapisa province in 2020.2449
In August 2020, an MTN telecommunication tower was reportedly burned down by the Taliban in
Tagab district.2450

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020 - 28 February 2021, reporting 1 211 persons
displaced from Kapisa province, of which the majority (910) were displaced within the province itself(finding refuge in Nejrab, Mahmud-e Raqi, Hisa-i Awal-e Kohestan and Hisa-i Duwum-e Kohestan
districts). The remaining 301 IDPs from Kapisa sought shelter in neighbouring provinces Kabul (238)(Kabul district) and Parwan (35) (Bagram district) and in the eastern province Nangarhar (28)(Surkhrod district). The majority of IDPs in Kapisa province were displaced from Tagab district (756),with a peak in January - February 2020, further throughout the whole year 2020 and another small
peak in January 2021. A smaller number of IDPs was displaced from Nejrab district (294) in January
and March 2020 and January 2021, as well as from Alasay district (161) in March and August 2020and January 2021.2451
During the same period, UNOCHA collected data on 126 persons from other provinces displaced to
Kapisa, all coming from Tala Wa Barfak district in Baghlan province in January 2020. This group of 18
IDP families relocated to Mahmud-e Raqi district.2452
According to IOM displacement data from January to June 2020, Kapisa is one of five provinces (theother provinces indicated as Jawzjan, Paktika, Wardak and Zabul) that showed a sharp increase in
the number of IDPs, ‘most likely due to people fleeing to safer areas to escape the ongoing armed
conflict’.2453
In December 2020, UNOCHA reported on temporary movement restrictions imposed in Kapisa
province, due to the increasing risk of IED attacks, affecting humanitarian activities.2454

2447 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2021, 7 January 2021, updated 28 January 2021, url
2448 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2021, 7 January 2021, updated 28 January 2021, url
2449 WHO, Afghanistan – Attacks on Health Care (January 01 - December 31, 2020), 11 January 2021, url
2450 Pajhwok Afghan News, Mobile Phone Tower Torched in Kapesa, 7 August 2020, url
2451 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 23 February 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict

Displacement 2021, updated 8 March 2021, url
2452 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 23 February 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict
Displacement 2021, updated 8 March 2021, url
2453 IOM, DTM Afghanistan, Baseline Mobility Assessment: Summary Results Round 10 Jan-June 2020, 1 October 2020, url,
p. 52454 UNOCHA, Afghanistan - Weekly Humanitarian Update (21 - 27 December 2020), 27 December 2020, url, p. 2

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

2.18 Khost
2.18.1 General description of the province

Map 18: Afghanistan – Khost province, source: UNOCHA2455

A part of Loya Paktya (i.e. ‘Greater Paktya’), an area also encompassing the provinces of Paktya andPaktika2456, the province of Khost is located in the eastern part of Afghanistan2457 and is divided into
the following districts: Ali Sher (Terezayi), Bak, Gurbuz, Jajimaydan, Khost (Matun), Mandozayi(Esmayel Khel), Musa Khel, Nadirshahkot, Qalandar, Sabari (Yaqubi), Shamal, Spera, and Tani. The
provincial capital of Khost is the city of Khost.2458
According to estimates for 2019-2020 by NSIA, the province has a population of 625 473. The rural
population accounts for 98 % of the total.2459
One of the three major Pashtun regions of Afghanistan2460, the province is inhabited by a large
number of Pashtun tribes, the most prominent being the Zadran, Mangal, Tani, Gurbuzi, Babakar
Khel, Jaji, Sabari, Terezai, Mandozai, Moqbil, and Ismael Khel.2461 In 2013, US-based Tribal Analysis
Center (TAC) described the Zadran as a historically strong but also ‘loose tribe’, characterized by2455 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Provincial Reference Map – Khost Province, 25 May 2015, url, p. 172456 Ruttig, T., Loya Paktia‘s Insurgency: The Haqqani Network as an Autonomous Entity, in: Giustozzi, A. (ed.), Decoding the

New Taliban. Insights from the Afghan Field, Columbia, Hurst, 2009, url, p. 1
2457 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: South Eastern Region - District Atlas, April 2014, url
2458 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Khost Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url, Afghanistan, IEC, Afghanistan 2019 Presidential
Elections – Final results by Polling Stations: Province Khost, 2020, url; Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of
Afghanistan 2019-2020, November 2019, url, p. 232459 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, 18 November 2019, url, p. 192460 Ruttig, T., Loya Paktia‘s Insurgency: The Haqqani Network as an Autonomous Entity, in: Giustozzi, A. (ed.), Decoding the
New Taliban. Insights from the Afghan Field, Columbia, Hurst, 2009, url, p. 1
2461 TAC, Khost Province District Studies, 20 May 2013, url, p. 8229

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

infighting and multiple political affiliations.2462 Another group present is Tajik (approximatively1 %).2463 TAC also mentioned the presence of other minorities (Sikhs, Hazaras) in Khost City.2464
Furthermore, over 50 000 nomad families (Kuchis and Musalyans) are said to live in Khost
seasonally.2465 In April 2020, RFE/RL’s Gandhara also pointed out that, from 2014 onwards, military
operations in North Waziristan caused 7 000 families to seek shelter in Khost and Paktika.2466
In 2013, TAC described Khost as a ‘[...] major transit hub for trade from Pakistan [...]’.2467 Khost
reportedly has three border crossings with Pakistan: Ghulam Khan, Babrak Tanai and Zazai
Maidan.2468 Closed in 2014 due to military operations in Pakistan's North Waziristan, the first one has
been fully reopened in August 2019. Since then, the residents of Paktya, Paktika and Khost arereportedly allowed to get into Pakistan with their tazkira, under the condition that they haverelatives living on the other side of the Durand Line.2469 There is also an unofficial motorable crossing
point to Pakistan in Jajimaydan district, which has been temporarily closed in the past as well.2470
Nevertheless, according to various media sources, in the last years, the Pakistani military hashindered cross-border movements by installing border fencing, for example in Gurbuz district.2471
The Gardez-Khost national highway (G-K Highway, or NH08) links the province to Pakistan, on one
side, and to neighbouring Paktya, Logar and ultimately Kabul, on the other.2472 According to the US
development agency USAID, rehabilitation work was completed in December 2015.2473
A November 2020 report of the Afghan Civil Aviation Authority mentions two aerodromes in Khost:‘Khost/Chapman (OAKS)’ and ‘Salerno (OASL)’, respectively 15 kilometres southwest and2 kilometres northeast of Khost City.2474 A 2016 map by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) classifies
them as ‘small airports’.2475 In its 2021 report on Afghan domestic air traffic, Sweden’s Migration
Agency stated that it was unclear if Khost’s airports were open to commercial and civilian flights.2476

2.18.2 Conflict background and actors in Khost
In 2009, Thomas Ruttig noted that Loya Paktya – encompassing Khost – has never been a Taliban
stronghold.2477 AAN stated in August 2018 that Khost ‘[...] features an active insurgency, but it
remains somewhat curtailed by strong tribal affiliations and cohesive local communities’. It also
noted that due to the mountainous terrain of Khost, AGEs are largely dependent on the collaboration

2462 TAC, Khost Province District Studies, 20 May 2013, url, p. 82463 US Naval Postgraduate School, Khost Provincial Overview, n.d., url
2464 TAC, Khost Province District Studies, 20 May 2013, url, p. 82465 TAC, Khost Province District Studies, 20 May 2013, url, p. 9 ; Giustozzi, A., Nomad-settler conflict in Afghanistan today,

AREU, 13 November 2019, url, p. 142466 RFE/RL/Gandhara, In Afghanistan, Lockdown Hits Waziristan Refugees Hard, 21 April 2020, url
2467 TAC, Khost Province District Studies, 20 May 2013, url, p. 92468 Pajhwok Afghan News, Khost market unaffected by closure of Pakistan border, 8 July 2016, url
2469 Pajhwok Afghan News, Af-Pak trade via Ghulam Khan route set to resume, 5 March 2018, url; Sabawoon, A. M., The
Gates of Friendship: How Afghans cross the Afghan-Pakistani border, AAN, 28 January 2020, url
2470 Pajhwok Afghan News, Khost market unaffected by closure of Pakistan border, 8 July 2016, url; Sabawoon, A. M., The
Gates of Friendship: How Afghans cross the Afghan-Pakistani border, AAN, 28 January 2020, url
2471 Tolonews, Durand Line Fencing Splits Afghan Families, 31 March 2019, url ; RFEL/RL/Gandhara, Pakistan Fences Off
Afghanistan, Impacting Families And Fighters, 5 February 2021, url
2472 LCA, Afghanistan Administrative Map, 19 September 2017, url; New York Times (The), Costly Afghanistan Road Project
Is Marred by Unsavory Alliances, 1 May 2011, url
2473 US, USAID, Gardez-Khost National Highway (NH08) Overview, 7 May 2019, url
2474 Afghanistan, Civil Aviation Authority, Aeronautical Information Publication – Aerodrome (AD), Part 3, 5 November
2020, url, pp. 6, 361, 445
2475 MSF, Afghanistan: Country Kit, 12 January 2016, url, p. 32476 Sweden, Swedish Migration Agency, Landinformation: Inrikesflyg i Afghanistan (version 4.0), 17 February 2021, url, p.
142477 Ruttig, T., Loya Paktia‘s Insurgency: The Haqqani Network as an Autonomous Entity, in: Giustozzi, A. (ed.), Decoding the
New Taliban. Insights from the Afghan Field, Columbia, Hurst, 2009, url, p. 2

230

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situationof locals, as ‘the sworn hostility of even a minor community can be a logistical nightmare for
insurgents, as they have to rely on mountain routes or secrecy for the security of their movements
and the success of their operations.’ AAN concluded that ‘this discourages acts that would
antagonise whole communities.’2478
In May 2020, the UN Security Council listed Mawlawi Abdullah Hussaini, originally affiliated to thePeshawar Shura network, as the Taliban shadow governor in Khost. He was appointed after the‘reshuffle’ of the Taliban government structure ahead of the 2020 fighting season.2479 However, theformer was reportedly replaced by Mawlawi Mubarak in early 2021.2480 Moreover, Khost is one ofthe provinces where the UN Security Council observed ‘strong ties’ between the Taliban andorganised criminal groups involved in heroin, hashish, pine nut trafficking or local businesses
extortion.2481
Described in 2009 as ‘the strongest insurgent structure in Loya Paktia’, the Haqqani Network hasreportedly been most active in the ‘Zadran Arc’, an area encompassing nine districts of Khost, Paktya
and Paktika.2482 Its late founder Jalaluddin Haqqani was a member of the Zadran tribe.2483 The groupis affiliated with the Taliban, though it declared itself independent from the Quetta Shura from 2007
to 2015.2484 Declassified US cables quoted by Associated Press (AP) stated that, contrary to other
Taliban factions, the Haqqani Network ‘[…] functions more in the military area, and is not a force insetting Taliban political or social issues’2485, a perception seemingly shared by Ruttig.2486 The Haqqani
Network reportedly maintains close ties to the Pakistani secret service, ISI, as well as other Pakistani
militant groups and Al Qaeda.2487 LWJ stated that the Haqqani Network had allowed and supported
previous attacks conducted by Al Qaeda or the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on military facilities in
Khost.2488
In June 2019, the UN Security Council stated that the Haqqani Network numbered between 1 800
and 2 000 fighters leading Taliban operations in Khost, Paktya and Paktika, with the help of TTP
militants. The report added that in Loya Paktya, the Network was holding all of the main shadow
government positions (provincial governors and district governors).2489 In May 2020, the UN Security
Council added that the Haqqani Network was planning a joint unit of 2 000 fighters with Al

2478 Foschini, F., Hitting Gardez: A vicious attack on Paktia’s Shias, AAN, 18 August 2018, url
2479 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, pp. 8-9, 12, 25, 27
2480 Tolonews, Taliban Reshuffles Key Posts as New Fighting Season Nears, 6 March 2021, url
2481 UN Security Council, Tenth Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant to
Resolution 2255 (2015) Concerning the Taliban and other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat to thePeace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, S/2019/481, 13 June 2019, url, p. 122482 Ruttig, T., Loya Paktia‘s Insurgency: The Haqqani Network as an Autonomous Entity, in: Giustozzi, A. (ed.), Decoding the
New Taliban. Insights from the Afghan Field, Columbia, Hurst, 2009, url, pp. 8-92483 AP, Death of Afghan group’s founder unlikely to weaken militants, 4 September 2018, url
2484 Giustozzi, A., Afghanistan: Taliban’s organization and structure, Landinfo, 23 August 2017, url, p. 92485 AP, Death of Afghan group’s founder unlikely to weaken militants, 4 September 2018, url
2486 Ruttig, T., Loya Paktia‘s Insurgency: The Haqqani Network as an Autonomous Entity, in: Giustozzi, A. (ed.), Decoding the
New Taliban. Insights from the Afghan Field, Columbia, Hurst, 2009, url, p. 82487 AP, Death of Afghan group’s founder unlikely to weaken militants, 4 September 2018, url; Ruttig, T., Loya Paktia‘s
Insurgency: The Haqqani Network as an Autonomous Entity, in: Giustozzi, A. (ed.), Decoding the New Taliban. Insights fromthe Afghan Field, Columbia, Hurst, 2009, url, p. 46; New York Times (The), Costly Afghanistan Road Project Is Marred by
Unsavory Alliances, 1 May 2011, url
2488 LWJ, In tribute to Hakeemullah Mehsud, TTP exposes ties to Afghan Taliban, Al Qaeda, 13 April 2020, url
2489 UN Security Council, Tenth Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant to
Resolution 2255 (2015) Concerning the Taliban and other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat to thePeace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, S/2019/481, 13 June 2019, url, pp. 17-18

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Qaeda.2490 Throughout 2019 and 2020, the Afghan security forces led several operations against the
Haqqani Network in Khost and notably killed twelve of its commanders in Sabari district.2491
In February 2021, the UN Security Council listed Khost among the 11 provinces where Al Qaeda waspresent, with forces estimated between 200 and 500.2492 UNAMA added that its main tasks consist in‘training, including weapons and explosives, and mentoring’.2493
According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, Khost province remained a poppy-free province.2494
In terms of presence of government security forces, as of December 2020, Khost province was under
the responsibility of the 203th ANA Corps.2495 At that time, it was not assisted anymore by the Task
Force Southeast (TF Southeast), led by US forces, that was still active in June 2020.2496
A 2020 AAN report focused on locally-rooted security forces, discussing the geographical differencesin performance of the ALP in security improvement and treatment of the population, observed thatthe robust and ‘relatively egalitarian’ tribal structures of Loya Paktya and its tradition of local defence
groups (arbaki) had contributed to ‘more instances of effective, less abusive forces’.2497 Following the
disbandment of the Afghan Local Police (ALP) in September 2020, some of its members are meant tojoin another local force created in 2018, the Afghan National Army – Territorial Force (ANA-TF). AAN
noted that Khost was one of the provinces where local communities were involved in theidentification and vetting of potential ANA-TF recruits, to ‘actively ensure there was local support forthe programme’.2498
In 2015, the Washington Post listed the Khost Protection Force (KPF) as the most influential security
actor in the province.2499 Foreign Policy described it as ‘the most prominent of several CIA-sponsored
elite paramilitary forces along the porous border with Pakistan’, where it is charged with keeping theborder secure and preventing the entry of terrorists in Khost but also in neighbouring provinces.2500
In November 2020, journalist Emran Feroz described KPF as in control ‘of much of Khost’. From its
inception, the force was made of local Pashtun fighters and benefitted from modern weapons andequipment provided by the CIA.2501 According to UNAMA, it operates outside of the regular military
structure and without any legal basis in south-eastern Afghanistan since at least 2007, with frequent
support from foreign military forces and the Afghan air force.2502 Headquartered at Camp Chapman,outside Khost City, the KPF manpower ranges between 3 000 and 10 000, plus a network of

2490 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, p. 132491 Tolonews, 12 Haqqani Network Commanders Killed In Khost, 11 June 2019, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Khost: 20 crime
suspects arrested in a week, 12 May 2020, url
2492 UN Security Council, Twenty-seventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted
pursuant to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2021/68, 3
February 2021, url, p. 152493 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, 22 February 2020, url, pp. 85-86
2494 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 92495 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2020, url, p. 52496 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, url, p. 14 ; USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability
in Afghanistan, December 2020, url, p. 52497 Clark, K. et al., Ghosts of the Past: Lessons from Local Force Mobilisation in Afghanistan and Prospects for the Future,
AAN and GPPI, July 2020, url, pp. 46-47
2498 Clark, K. et al., Afghanistan’s Newest Local Defence Force: Were ‘all the mistakes of the ALP’ turned into ANA-TF
safeguards?, AAN, August 2020, url, pp. 6, 34, 35
2499 Washington Post (The), CIA runs shadow war with Afghan militia implicated in civilian killings, 3 December 2015, url
2500 FP, How the CIA Aims to Keep a Footprint in Afghanistan, 8 August 2019, url
2501 Feroz, E., Atrocities Pile Up for CIA-Backed Afghan Paramilitary Forces, FP, 16 November 2020,url
2502 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, 22 February 2020, url, pp. 53, 57

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informants.2503 As a hub for joint US and Afghan counterterrorism operations, Camp Chapman has
been the target of several AGEs attacks over the years, most recently in December 2020.2504
The KPF has been accused of being responsible for executions and other abuses, including
imprisoning journalists, but investigations into these allegations have never been conducted, despite
promises of the Afghan authorities.2505 This has contributed to ‘anti-government sentiment and spark
protests among the civilian population’.2506 According to the New York Times, the KPF is ‘among themost criticized parts of the American war effort’, due to its ‘brutal, lawless’, methods.2507
A survey Pajhwok Afghan News conducted from November 2020 to February 20212508 estimated that70.54 % of Khost’s territory (636 522 inhabitants) was under government control, 28.69 % (182 633
inhabitants) under Taliban control, and an exceedingly small fraction, representing less than 6 000
persons, was controlled by neither side.2509
According to information collected by LWJ and presented in a map, Gurbuz, Jajimaydan, Musa Khel,
Nadirshahkot, Qalandar, Sabari, Spera, Tere Zayi (Ali Sher) districts are assessed as ‘contested’, while
Bak, Khost, Mandozay, Shamal and Tani are listed as government-controlled or undetermined. Morerecently, as of 26 May 2021, Nadirshahkot and Qalandar districts shifted to ‘Taliban control’.2510
However, in April 2020, French daily newspaper Libération stated that Sabari district was under
Taliban control.2511 Lastly, the February 2021 Pajhwok survey listed Qalandar district centre as under
Taliban control, with the government employees having to work remotely.2512

2.18.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 281 civilian casualties (56 deaths and 225 injured) in Khost. This
represents an increase of 43 % compared to 2019. Leading causes of casualties were non-suicide
IEDs, followed by targeted killings and complex attacks. Khost was also one of the provinces where
UNAMA noted an increase in civilian casualties from ground engagements.2513 Resolute Support
recorded between 76 and 125 civilian casualties in Khost in the first half of 2020, reporting a very
marked increase during the second quarter compared to the first.2514 Such data for the second halfof 2020 were no longer available in the SIGAR quarterly reports.2515

2503 HRW, “They’ve Shot Many Like This” Abusive Night Raids by CIA-Backed Afghan Strike Forces, 31 October 2019, url
2504 FP, Another Base Attack in Afghanistan Hushed Up to Hurry U.S. Exit, 13 January 2021, url
2505 Feroz, E., Atrocities Pile Up for CIA-Backed Afghan Paramilitary Forces, FP, 16 November 2020,url
2506 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, 22 February 2020, url, pp. 9, 58,

64-652507 New York Times (The), To Save Afghan Peace Deal, U.S. May Scale Back C.I.A. Presence, 17 April 2020, url
2508 For this survey Pajhwok Afghan News interviewed (through telephonic interviews or by distributing questionnaires) a
total of 1 266 respondents, randomly selected across the country.
2509 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url
2510 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n. d., url However the source does not systematically specify when andwhich information of the aforementioned map was updated.
2511 Libération, Naître et donner la vie en pays pachtoun [To be born and to give life in Pashtun country], 11 April 2020, url
2512 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url
2513 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, pp. 72, 1102514 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 April 2020, url, p. 69 ; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 July 2020, url, p. 72
2515 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 October 2020, url; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 January 2021, url

233Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

In the period from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, ACLED collected data on 201 violent eventsin Khost province from open sources: 98 coded as ‘battles’ (49 %), 78 as ‘explosions/remoteviolence’ (39 %) and 25 as ‘violence against civilians’ (12 %).2516

Figure 36: Khost province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data2517

Figure 37: Khost province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on
ACLED data2518

Regarding events coded as ‘battles’ by ACLED, all of them were ‘armed clashes’. In this category, theSabari district was a distant leader (26 incidents), followed by Khost (19), Nadirshakot (14) and Musa
Khel (12). Conversely, the nine other districts recorded five or less battles each. Of the 98 armed
clashes analysed by ACLED, 88 were described as initiated by the Taliban, and 4 others by
unidentified armed groups. According to ACLED data, Taliban attacks mainly focused on Khost,2516 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Khost province, update 25 March
2021, url
2517 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Khost province, update
25 March 2021, url
2518 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Khost province, update
25 March 2021, url; 8 events (3 battles, 1 remote violence and 4 violence against civilians) in the province for which ACLED
has no information about the location, were not included in this graph (geoprecision code 3 – see introduction)

234

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Nadirshahkhot, Musa Khel and Sabari districts, only targeting ANDSF and pro-government
militias.2519
Examples of armed clashes include the killing by ANDSF of about 40 Taliban on two distinct events in
Musa Khel district, while repelling attacks in June and July 2020.2520 In October 2020, an explosion
followed by a 10-hour fight took place at a police special forces base, in the western part of Khost
City. Overall, seven attackers and five police officers were killed, and 34 other people (nine civilians)
wounded. No group claimed responsibility for this event.2521 Foreign Policy also reported an
unclaimed attack on KPF-headquarters, Camp Chapman, northeast of Khost City, in December 2020,
causing 13 fatalities (six civilians).2522 In December 2020, in Sabari district, a Taliban ambush targeting
an ANDSF vehicle made four to six fatalities, including several civilians.2523
In some districts, while the fighting appeared to significantly decrease following the eight-days‘reduction in violence’ period in February 20202524, in May 2020, RFE/RL’s Gandhara observed that‘the security situation [had] been deteriorating’ in the previous weeks.2525 In its August 2020
assessment based on several criteria, including conflict severity and spread, UNOCHA listed three
Khost districts among the 50 ‘hardest to reach’ in the country: Tere Zayi (n°16), Sabari (n°22), and
Bak (n°47) districts.2526 The February 2021 update mentioned Sabari (n°40) and Tere Zayi (n°41)
again, along Musa Khel (n°54) and Nadirshahkot (n°59). Bak, however, was not deemed ‘hard toreach’ anymore.2527
In terms of incidents coded by ACLED as ‘Explosions/Remote violence’, the most represented subcategory was clearly ‘Remote explosive/Landmine/IED’ (82 %). These incidents were all attributed toAGEs, particularly to the Taliban. The provincial capital’s district alone accounted for about 45 % ofsuch incidents.2528 In Khost City, deadly events took place in September, with an unclaimed bomb
killing 2 civilians, 2 soldiers and wounding 13 other people2529, and in December 2020, when on 2
consecutive days, 2 landmine blasts caused 5 fatalities and wounded a total of 15 people.2530 Khost
City district witnessed other deadly incidents in October2531 and November2532 2020, as well as inJanuary2533 and February 20212534. On 2 March 2020, 3 civilians were killed and 11 injured when a2519 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Khost province, update

25 March 2021, url
2520 Reporterly, Over 40 Taliban Killed By Afghan Forces, 30 June 2020, url; Khaama Press, Taliban militants suffer heavy
casualties in Khost; at least 29 killed, wounded, 25 July 2020, url
2521 AP, Officials: Attack in eastern Afghanistan kills 5 police, 27 October 2020, url; RFE/RL/Gandhara, Three Dead, Several
Wounded In Attack On Afghan Police Base, 27 October 2020, url; Tolonews, Attack on Police Special Unit in Khost Ends,Gunmen Killed, 27 October 2020, url
2522 FP, Another Base Attack in Afghanistan Hushed Up to Hurry U.S. Exit, 13 January 2021, url
2523 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: December 2020, 31 December 2020, url ; Tolonews, 7 Civilians, 2
ANA Soldiers Killed in Faryab, Khost, 22 December 2020, url
2524 AAN, Voices from the Districts, the Violence Mapped (1): What has happened since the reduction in violence ended?,
21 March 2020, url; Clark, K., Voices from the Districts, the Violence Mapped (2): Assessing the conflict a month after the
US-Taleban agreement, AAN, 8 April 2020, url
2525 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghan Mosque Attacks Kill 13 Worshippers Breaking Fast, 20 May 2020, url
2526 UNOCHA, Hard To Reach Districts, August 2020, url
2527 UNOCHA, Hard-To-Reach Districts, February 2021, url
2528 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Khost province, update
25 March 2021, url
2529 Khaama Press, Blast Rocks Wedding in Khost, Kills 4, 11 September 2020, url
2530 Pajhwok Afghan News, Landmine blast leaves 8 civilians wounded in Khost, 23 December 2020, url
2531 TKG, Afghanistan: Khost Blast Kills One, Injures 6, 1 October 2020, url
2532 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (23 – 29 November 2020), 3 December 2020, url
2533 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2021, 28 January 2021, url
2534 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (22 – 28 February 2021), 2 March 2021, url

235Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situationbomb exploded during a football match in Nadirshahkot district. Although they denied it, the Taliban
were suspected to have planned the attack.2535
As for violence against civilians, based on ACLED data, Khost City district accounted for half of therecorded incidents. Four other districts experienced lower levels of such violence (Jajimaydan,
Mandozayi, Sabari and Spera), the remaining eight (Bak, Gurbuz, Musa Khel, Nadirshahkot,
Qalandar, Shamal, Tani and Tere Zayi) being unaffected by it.2536 Despite a 52% decrease in thenumber of civilian casualties attributed to the KPF in 2020, UNAMA expressed particular concern
over the trend of deliberate killings of civilians suspected of involvement with AGEs. In the lastquarter of 2020, 12 civilians were reportedly killed by the KPF in Khost province across eight
incidents, during search operations and ground engagements. For instance, in October 2020, the KPF
deliberately shot dead a civilian in Matun (Khost) district.2537 Foreign Policy also mentioned that in
October-November 2020, in retaliation to Taliban attacks, the KPF conducted several raids in several
villages of Khost district’s Lakan area, causing at least five civilian fatalities.2538
In Sabari, two unclaimed shootings against worshippers praying in mosques resulted in four deaths
overall in May 2020.2539 Other incidents included the killing of nine civilians in the same home byunknown gunmen in Mandozayi district in June 2020.2540
As of June 2020, Khost was one of the five remaining Afghan provinces where MSF was still operating
medical programs.2541 UNAMA documented several attacks on health professionals and facilities in
2020, attributed to all warring parties. In November 2020, a pro-government militia killed a dentist in
November 2020, for unknown reasons.2542 In January 2021, a doctor was wounded in an unclaimed
bomb blast in Khost City.2543 UNOCHA further stated that, during the last quarter of 2020,
humanitarian workers had been wounded in an IED explosion, in an unspecified district of Khost.2544
Regarding schools, in their response to the 2020 UNAMA report, the Taliban accused the ANDSF ofdamaging a school in Musa Khel district, during an alleged ‘indiscriminate’ shelling on a village.2545
Local journalists were also victims of abuses by government friendly elements and AGEs. In July and
September 2020 respectively, the NDS was accused of searching the house of two journalists without
a warrant2546, and of detaining a journalist ‘who frequently spoke out against rights abuses’.2547 In

2535 RFE/RL, Afghan Taliban Ends Partial Truce As Deadly Bombing Hits Near Soccer Ground, 2 March 2020, url ; Tolonews,

Blast in Khost Kills Three Civilians: MoI, 2 March 2020, url ; New York Times (The), U.S. Announces Troop Withdrawal in
Afghanistan as Respite From Violence Ends, 2 March 2020, url
2536 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Khost province, update
25 March 2021, url
2537 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, pp. 62, 65,692538 Feroz, E., Atrocities Pile Up for CIA-Backed Afghan Paramilitary Forces, FP, 16 November 2020, url
2539 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: May 2020, 28 May 2020, url ; RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghan Mosque
Attacks Kill 13 Worshippers Breaking Fast, 20 May 2020, url
2540 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: June 2020, 29 October 2020, url
2541 AP, MSF closes Kabul program after May maternity hospital attack, 16 June 2020, url
2542 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, pp. 3637, 53
2543 Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 policemen killed in Jalalabad, doctor wounded in Khost, 16 January 2021, url
2544 UNOCHA, HAG Quarterly Report, 3 February 2021, url, p. 82545 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 126
2546 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of
the Secretary-General, 18 August 2020, url, p. 92547 Feroz, E., Atrocities Pile Up for CIA-Backed Afghan Paramilitary Forces, FP, 16 November 2020, url ; Tolonews, Khost
Mother Calls on NDS to Release her Journalist Son, 9 September 2020, url; UN Security Council, The situation in
Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of the Secretary General, 9 December 2020,
url, p. 10

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January 2021, two men, purportedly tasked by the Haqqani Network to kill a journalist in Khost City,
were arrested.2548
Several public agents or local political figures have been under attack as well. For instance, in April
2020, an unclaimed bomb exploded along the convoy of provincial governor Hamil Fidai, who
survived.2549 In June 2020, a member of the Hezb-e Islami, also a former candidate in 2019 generalelections, was killed along his seven bodyguards by unknown gunmen, in the Ali Sher district.2550 In
October 2020, in two distinct events, two employees of the provincial appeal court were shot in
Khost district.2551 In November 2020, the New York Times mentioned a recent trend of killing andabductions of government employees by the Taliban on the Khost-Kabul highway.2552
In March 2021, Afghan newspaper Etilaatroz reported on the deterioration of the security situation
along the road connecting Khost City to Jajimaydan district for the last two months, prompting
protests from local residents. Assassinations, robberies and abductions were attributed to a lack of
security checkpoints along the roads – claims that the local authorities acknowledged.2553

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020 – 28 February 2021, reporting 2 135 persons
displaced from Khost – one of the lowest provincial figures recorded over the period. All of themrelocated in the provincial capital’s district. During the same period, 84 persons from Logar provinceand 175 from Paktika province were displaced to Khost, also in Khost City district.2554
The main district of origin of IDPs was Sabari (840), accounting for 40 % of Khost total numbers. It
was distantly followed by Terezayi (343), Musa Khel (287) and Bak (224). Six districts appeared to beunaffected by population displacement.2555
Displacements peaked in January/February, April and August 2020.2556 According to UNOCHA
reports, ongoing conflict and, to a lesser extent, natural disasters appeared to be the main causes ofdisplacement.2557

2548 Pajhwok Afghan News, Journalist’s assassination prevented in Khost, 3 January 2021, url
2549 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Attacks Across Afghanistan Kill Dozens Of Security Force Members, Civilians , 22 April 2020, url
2550 AP, 18 people killed in separate attacks in Afghanistan, 13 June 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty

Report: June 2020, 29 October 2020, url
2551 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2020, 29 October 2020, url
2552 New York Times (The), On Afghan Highways, Even the Police Fear the Taliban’s Toll Collectors, 12 November 2020, url‫ن‬‫[ د خوست مرکز – ځاځ میدان ناامنه الر؛ ر ی‬informal translation,
2553 Etilaatroz, ‫وژب‬‫ژب پرې او ډېر نور ښکته او ي‬‫ناپېنده وسله والو له رتېېدونکو ر‬‫ي‬‘Khost Center - Zazi Maidan Insecure Road, Unidentified gunmen cut the tongues of passers-by and killed many more aftergetting them off the vehicle’], 16 March 2021, url
2554 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 30 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, updated 5 April 2021, url
2555 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 30 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, updated 5 April 2021, url
2556 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 30 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, updated 5 April 2021, url
2557 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (27 January to 2 February 2020), 3 February 2020, url; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (28 April – 4 May 2020), 7 May 2020, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly
Humanitarian Update (24 – 30 August 2020), 2 September 2020, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

2.19 Kunar
2.19.1 General description of the province

Map 19: Afghanistan – Kunar province, source: UNOCHA2558

Kunar is located in eastern Afghanistan 2559 and is divided into the following districts: Asadabad,
Barkunar (also Asmar), Chapadara, Chawkay (also Sawkay), Dangam, Dara-e Pech (also Manogi),
Ghaziabad, Khashkunar, Marawara, Narang (also Narang Wa Badil), Nari, Nurgal, Sarkani, Shigal,
Watapur and Sheltan.2560 AAN defined the latter as a ‘temporary district’, meaning that it isconsidered to belong to Kunar province, but its status as such has not been approved by the Afghanparliament yet.2561 The provincial capital is Asadabad.2562
According to estimates for 2019-2020 by NSIA, the province has a population of 490 690.2563
Kunar is composed mainly of Pashtuns, followed by Pashai and Nuristani.2564

2558 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Kunar Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url
2559 US Naval Postgraduate School, Kunar Provincial Overview, n.d., url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Kunar Province – District

Atlas, April 2014, url
2560 Afghanistan, IEC, Afghanistan 2019 Presidential Elections – Final results by Polling Stations: Province Kunar, 2020, url;
Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan 2020-2021, June 2020, url, p. 24; UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Kunar
Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url
2561 Ruttig, T., The Afghanistan Election Conundrum (12): Good news and bad news about district numbers, AAN, 16 August
2018, url
2562 US Naval Postgraduate School, Kunar Provincial Overview, n.d., url ; Afghanistan, Office of the President, Provincial
Profile Kunar, n. d., url
2563 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, 18 November 2019, url, p. 22564 US Naval Postgraduate School, Kunar Provincial Overview, n.d., url; Afghanistan, Office of the President, Provincial
Profile Kunar, n. d., url

238Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

There is no functioning airstrip in Kunar.2565 The national highway ‘NH01’ starts from Jalalabad,passes through the districts of Nurgal, Chawkay, Narang, Asadabad, Shigal and leads to Asmar.2566
From Asmar, the highway leads to Nuristan province through Ghaziabad and Nari districts. Blocked in2017 by insurgents, it was reopened by ANDSF in August 2018 after a series of operations.2567
According to an Afghan solider interviewed by French newspaper Libération, the government also
retook control of the road leading to Chapadara district through Dara-e Pech, formerly known as a‘death trap’, in early 2019.2568 In September 2019, it was reported that after five years of closure, theNawapas Highway, which is located in Sarkani district and crosses into Pakistan at the unofficial
Nawapas border point, had been cleared from the Taliban presence2569 However, in September 2019,
UNOCHA reported that militant groups were blocking unspecified highways in Kunar.2570 The Swedish
Committee for Afghanistan (SCA) published information on its website in November 2020 claiming
the construction of 35 kilometers road in 22 villages of Shigal district.2571

2.19.2 Conflict background and actors in Kunar
In February 2020, a security analyst interviewed by Sweden’s Lifos described Kunar as ‘strongly
controlled/influenced’ by the Taliban.2572 As of May 2020, the UN Security Council listed Mawalawi
Hamdullah Uruzgani, originally affiliated to the Peshawar Shura network, as the Taliban shadow
governor of Kunar. He was appointed after the ‘reshuffle’ of the Taliban government structure during
the 2019-2020 winter, ahead of the 2020 fighting season.2573 By December 2019, according to theprovincial vice-governor, about 1 000 militants, most of them former members of the Taliban, hadreportedly enrolled in a NDS-sponsored ‘Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration’ program in
Kunar.2574 According to LWJ assessment mapping Taliban control in Afghanistan in a frequently
updated map and based on open-source information, consulted in April and May 2021, Chapadara
district is assessed as ‘under the Taliban control’ and most of the other districts as ‘contested’2575.
A survey of Pajhwok Afghan News conducted from November 2020 until February 2021 designated71.63 % of the Kunar province under the government control, 25.25 % under the Taliban control and3.13 % controlled by neither side. According to the same survey, 357 690 of people lived in areas
under the government control, 126 097 under the Taliban control and 15 606 in areas controlled byneither side.2576
As of May 2020, Kunar was one of the 12 provinces where Al Qaeda was said to be ‘covertly active’.
The UN Security Council mentioned in the same report that the group intended to form a joint unitof 2 000 fighters with the Haqqani Network, headed by Shir Khan Manga in the operational zone
2565 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Humanitarian Needs Overview 2020 (December 2019), 17 December 2019, url, p. 112566 Italy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Evaluation Report - Afghanistan: Rehabilitation of Maidan Shar – Bamyan Road, 2014,

url, p. 8; UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Kunar Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url
2567 Salaam Times, Afghan forces reopen key Kunar highway blocked by Taliban, 9 August 2018, url
2568 Libération, Afghanistan: mon voisin, ce taliban devenu fréquentable [Afghanistan : my neighbour, this Taliban guy who
has become reputable], 3 February 2020, url
2569 Pajhwok Afghan News, Kunar’s Nawapas road reopens after 5-year closure, 7 September 2019, url ; Sabawoon, A. M.,
The Gates of Friendship: How Afghans cross the Afghan-Pakistani border, AAN, 28 January 2020, url
2570 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Weekly Humanitarian Update (23 – 29 September 2019), 2 October 2019, url
2571 Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, SCA inaugurates pipe scheme and road construction projects in Shigal district ofKunar province, 25 November 2020, url
2572 Sweden, Lifos/Migrationsverket, Säkerhetsläget i Afghanistan (version 2.0.), 7 April 2020, url, p. 412573 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, pp. 8-9, 27
2574 Le Figaro, Afghanistan: un programme gouvernemental pour réintégrer des talibans repentis [Afghanistan : agovernment program to reinstate repentant Taliban], 26 December 2019, url
2575 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url. However the source does not systematically specify when andwhich information of the aforementioned map was updated.
2576 Pajhwok, Govt, Taliban make exaggerated claims of territory they control, 12 February 2021, url

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composed of Kunar and Nuristan.2577 UNAMA added that Al Qaeda’s main tasks consist in ‘training,
including weapons and explosives, and mentoring’.2578 Besides, in March 2020, Kunar officials
expressed concern about the recruitment by Al Qaeda of former Taliban fighters hostile to thenegotiations between the movement and the USA.2579 Long War Journal also mentioned thepresence in Kunar and Nuristan provinces of a commander affiliated to both the Taliban and Al
Qaeda, Qari Zia Rahman.2580According to Shamshad TV report, quoted by LWJ in April 2021, Jaish-eMohammad, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Jamiat-i Ahrar, Al Qaeda and ISKP are, as well as the Taliban, active in
the Kunar province. Moreover, LWJ adds that analyses of the Al Qaeda own newsletters, show that
this group and its allies were involved in attacks between July 2020 and April 2021 in many provinces
including Kunar.2581
As of July 2020, the Afghan branch of the Islamic State, ISKP, was said to be headed by Sheikh
Matiullah Kamahwal, former leader of the Kunar chapter of the ISKP.2582 During the first half of 2019,
ISKP appeared to gain territory in the province2583, which had already been described as one of its
strongholds in Afghanistan in February 2019.2584 However, from the fall of 2019, military operations
simultaneously led by ANDSF, coalition forces and the Taliban pressured ISKP into leaving the areas
under its control in southern Nangarhar and in Kunar.2585 Although the group endured further losses
in Kunar in early 20202586, the UN Secretary-General stated that the province had ‘effectively become
the group’s new Afghan core areas’.2587 Between January and May 2020, sources reported thepresence of ISKP fighters or bases in western parts of the province: in remote areas of Chawkay
district, where the dense forests provide quality hideouts2588, in Narang, Nurgal and Chapadara2589, as
well as in Watapur and Dara-e Pech districts.2590 Estimates of the total number of ISKP fighters inKunar oscillated between 400 (half of them in Chapadara), as reported by the Diplomat in August
2019,2591 1 200, according to the provincial governor in January 20202592, and 2 100, as stated by the
UN Secretary-General in February 2020.2593 Local ISKP ranks were bolstered by the arrival of about2577 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, pp. 12-13
2578 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, 22 February 2020, url , pp. 85-86
2579 Tolonews, Al-Qaeda Recruiting Disaffected Taliban: Kunar Officials, 12 March 2020, url
2580 LWJ, Female Pakistani Taliban suicide bomber hits hospital, 21 July 2019, url
2581 LWJ, Analysis: Al Qaeda continues to operate throughout Afghanistan, 8 April 2021, url
2582 UN Security Council, Twenty-sixth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant
to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2020/717, 23 July
2020, 23 July 2020, url , p. 152583 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Islamic State In Afghanistan Growing Bigger, More Dangerous, 22 May 2019, url
2584 UN Security Council, Eighth report of the Secretary-General on the threat posed by ISIL (Da’esh) to international peaceand security and the range of United Nations efforts in support of Member States in countering the threat, 1 February
2019, url, p. 72585 USDOD, Enhancing Security & Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, url, p. 28
2586 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, pp. 32587 UN Security Council, Tenth report of the Secretary-General on the threat posed by ISIL (Da’esh) to international peaceand security and the range of United Nations efforts in support of Member States in countering the threat, S/2020/95, 4February 2020, url, p. 72588 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, p. 182589 Tolonews, More Than 1,000 Daesh Fighters Active In Kunar: Governor, 8 January 2020, url
2590 Ali, O., Hit from Many Sides 1: Unpicking the recent victory against the ISKP in Nangarhar, AAN, 1 March 2020, url
2591 Diplomat (The), The Peculiar Presence of the Islamic State in Kunar, 14 May 2019, url
2592 Tolonews, More Than 1,000 Daesh Fighters Active In Kunar: Governor, 8 January 2020, url
2593 UN Security Council, Tenth report of the Secretary-General on the threat posed by ISIL (Da’esh) to international peaceand security and the range of United Nations efforts in support of Member States in countering the threat, S/2020/95,, 4
February 2020, url , p. 7

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350 fighters – including foreign nationals – pushed out of neighbouring Nangarhar by ANDSF and
Taliban operations.2594
In an article published by the magazine The Diplomat, Afghanistan-based journalist Franz J. Marty
noted that, according to ‘anecdotal evidence’, ‘some alleged Islamic State fighters in Kunar have
simply adopted a vague, locally-colored version of the Islamic State’, sometimes for opportunistic
reasons or ideological compatibility, since many Kunar residents are Salafists.2595 In this regard, inJanuary 2020, Foreign Policy reported that in both Nangarhar and Kunar provinces, some Salafist
madrasas, funded by Gulf states-based NGOs, were supporting ISKP activities.2596 In March 2021,
Afghanistan Analyst Netswork’sObaid Ali and Khalid Gharanai confirmed there is ‘no open ISKP
presence’ in the province even if some activities like targeted killings were attributed to ISKP in
Sarkani, Dara-e-Pech and Nurgal districts. The group’s leaders, including Afghan and foreign ones
who fled Nangarhar to Kunar, were killed, arrested and fewer disappeared.2597
According to the Indian Newspaper Hindustan Times in June 2019, approximately 500 Lashkar-e
Tayyiba (LeT) fighters were active in Kunar and Nangarhar.2598 As of May 2020, LeT fighters were
‘dispersed within Taliban forces’.2599 Another active group is Jaish-e Mohammed (JeM). As LeT, it issaid to help terrorist fighters to enter Afghanistan and to carry out targeted assassinations, notably
against government officials.2600 Up to 2018 at least, Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ran a militarybase, called Ghazi Camp, in Kunar.2601 It reportedly numbered 500 fighters in the province as of May
2020.2602 Finally, as of July 2020, the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) was supposedly
present in Afghanistan, mainly in three provinces, among which Kunar.2603
In April 2020, RFE/RL’s Gandhara reported that the Taliban and other AGEs controlled ‘large swathesof rural territories’ in Kunar province.2604
Moreover, various districts of Kunar were targeted many times during the reporting period byPakistani forces intending to establish checkpoints inside Afghan territory and backing AGEs in
Kunar.2605

2594 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, p. 172595 Diplomat (The), The Peculiar Presence of the Islamic State in Kunar, 14 May 2019, url
2596 FP, In Afghanistan, Religious Schools Are a Breeding Ground for Islamic State Influence, 24 January 2020, url
2597 Ali, O., Hit from sides (2): The demise of ISKP in Kunar, AAN, 3 March 2021, url
2598 Hindustan Times, LeT plays major role in providing recruits, funding to Taliban: UN report, 24 June 2019, url ; Atlantic
Council, A divided Taliban could unleash a new proxy war in Afghanistan, 29 June 2020, url
2599 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para. 78
2600 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para. 78
2601 LWJ, US hits Pakistani Taliban training camp in eastern Afghanistan, 8 March 2018, url
2602 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, p. 202603 UN Security Council, Twenty-sixth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant
to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2020/717, 23 July
2020, 23 July 2020, url , p. 162604 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Precious Stones Illegally Mined In Afghan Province, 24 April 2020, url
2605 Tolonews, 8 Civilians Killed in Pakistani Mortar Attack on Kunar: Officials, 16 July 2020, url ; Al Jazeera, Afghanistancondemns cross-border rocket firing by Pakistan, 16 July 2020, url; Afghanistan Times, Pakistani rockets kill a child in Kunar,
19 October 2020, url; Khaama Press, Pak-Army shellings on Kunar draw Karzai’s ire, 3 February 2021, url

241Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, opium poppy cultivation in Kunar province
decreased by 39 %.2606
In terms of presence of government security forces, Kunar province is under the responsibility of the
201st ANA Corps, which falls under the Train, Advise, and Assist Command – East (TAAC-E), led by US
and Polish forces.2607 According to AAN, Kunar is often listed as one of the provinces where the ALP is
working well. Indeed, whereas it was one of the most violent provinces, the ALP and other ANDSF
corps were able to stabilise the situation after the withdrawal of international forces.2608 In October
2020, the Governor’s Office encouraged construction companies to recruit former ALP officers toprotect road construction in the province.2609

2.19.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 170 civilian casualties (28 killed and 142 injured) in Kunar in groundengagements (leading cause), non-suicide IEDs and UXO/landmines. This represents a decrease of
34% compared to 2019.2610 According to SIGAR, Resolute Support (RS) recorded more than 25
civilian casualties in Kunar province during the first,2611 and less than 25 civilians during the second
quarter of 2020.2612 No RS information on civilian casualties per province was available for thesecond half of 2020 in SIGAR quarterly reports.2613
From 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, ACLED collected data on 171 violent events in Kunar
province from open sources: 113 coded as ‘battles’, 52 as ‘explosions/remote violence’ and 6 as‘violence against civilians’.2614

2606 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 92607 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, url , p. 13
2608 Clark, K. et al., Ghosts of the Past: Lessons from Local Force Mobilisation in Afghanistan and Prospects for the Future,

AAN and GPPI, July 2020, url, pp. 46, 93
2609 Salaam Times, Disbanded Local Police to get priority in job market after years of fighting, 22 October 2020, url
2610 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url , p. 110
2611 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 April 2020, url , p. 69
2612 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 July 2020, url , p. 72
2613 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 October 2020, url ; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 January 2021, url
2614 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Bamyan province, update 25 March
2021, url

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Figure 38: Bamyan province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data2615

Figure 39: Kunar province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on
ACLED data2616

The category “battles” concerned mainly armed clashes between Afghan security forces and the
Taliban, while the category “explosions/remote violence” concerned mainly remote
explosive/landmine/IED, followed by shelling/artillery/missile attacks. On 22 June 2020, at least 8
civilians were killed and 4 wounded by a suicide attack led by UAG in Chawkay district.2617
In March 2020, the Taliban claimed to have cleared the whole province of ISKP, although US militarysources stated that ANDSF and coalition forces had also contributed to ISKP defeat.2618 According to
French newspaper Le Figaro, Afghan official sources denied that ANDSF and the Taliban had led joint
military operations against ISKP. However, the ANDSF are thought to have toned down their attacks

2615 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Bamyan province,

update 25 March 2021, url
2616 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Kunar province, update
25 March 2021, url ; 13 incidents (10 battles and 3 remote violence) in the province for which ACLED has no information
about the location, were not included in this graph (geoprecision code 3 – see introduction)
2617 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Kunar province, update
25 March 2021, url
2618 VOA, US Admits Taliban Offensive Is Whittling IS's Grip on Afghanistan, 20 March 2020, url

243Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situationon the Taliban, allowing both of them to focus on the fighting against their common enemy.2619 In
early 2020, several raids were conducted against ISKP in Chawkay and Nurgal districts.2620
In March and April 2020, the Taliban abducted and held captive seven health workers overall, in
Chapadara and Marawara districts, reportedly accusing them of failing to provide adequate services
to the local population.2621 Early in 2021, they killed five police officers in Chapa Dara district.2622
In March 2020, the security forces reportedly arrested – then released – a journalist for having
questioned the management of funds allocated to the COVID-19 response.2623
During the reporting period, military personnel and civilians including women and children were
killed and wounded in various districts of Kunar in repeated firefights between Afghan and Pakistaniforces disputing the common border. Houses and livestock were damaged. Afghan security forces
accuse Pakistani army to try to establish check posts inside Kunar territory.2624
In February 2021, three civilians were killed and two others injured in three separate blasts in Kunar
on a same day.2625

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020 – 28 February 2021, reporting 19 622 persons
displaced from Kunar, of which 15 162 were displaced within the province. Among them 13 680
were displaced during the first quarter of 2020. During the reporting period, 4 282 persons weredisplaced from Kunar province to Nangarhar province, and 178 to Nuristan province 2626
The heavy displacement waves in the first quarter of 2020 were linked to the Taliban offensive inKunar on the eve of the agreement between the group and the US2627, as well as to ANDSF
operations against ISKP in Chawkay and Nurgal.2628

2619 Le Figaro, Afghanistan: à Taranak, l'alliance secrète des talibans et de l'armée contre l'État islamique [In Taranak, theTaliban and the army's secret alliance against the Islamic State], 31 January 2020, url
2620 Khaama Press, 19 ISIS militants killed in Afghan Special Forces raid, airstrikes in Kapisa and Kunar, 21 February 2020,
url; Khaama Press, Airstrikes, Special Forces raid kill 6 ISIS militants in East of Afghanistan, 18 February 2020, url ; Khaama
Press, U.S. airstrike kills 7 ISIS militants in Kunar province of Afghanistan, 5 March 2020, url
2621 UNAMA, Afghanistan Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict – Special Report: Attacks on Healthcare during the
COVID-19 Pandemic, 20 June 2020, url , p. 92622 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Five Police Officers Killed, 12 Wounded In Afghanistan Attacks, Officials Say, 13 February 2021, url
2623 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of
the Secretary General, A/74/897–S/2020/549, 17 June 2020, url , p. 92624 Tolonews, 8 Civilians Killed in Pakistani Mortar Attack on Kunar: Officials, 16 July 2020, url ; Al Jazeera, Afghanistancondemns cross-border rocket firing by Pakistan, 16 July 2020, url; Afghanistan Times, Pakistani rockets kill a child in Kunar,
19 October 2020, url; Khaama Press, Pak-Army shellings on Kunar draw Karzai’s ire, 3 February 2021, url
2625 Reuters, U.N. convoy in Afghanistan attacked by gunmen, five Afghan security force members killed, 11 February 2021,
url
2626 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 30 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, updated 4 April 2021, url
2627 IDMC, Internal displacement 2020: Mid-year update, 29 September 2020, url, p.32
2628 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (2 March - 8 March 2020), 11 March 2020, url

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2.20 Kunduz
2.20.1 General description of the province

Map 20: Afghanistan – Kunduz province, source: UNOCHA2629

Kunduz province is located in the north-eastern part of Afghanistan and has borders with Takhar
province to the east, Baghlan province to the south, Balkh province to the west and an international
border with Tajikistan to the north.2630 Kunduz province is divided into the following administrative
units: Aliabad, Chardarah, Dasht-e Archi, Emamsaheb, Khanabad, Kunduz and Qala-i Zal.2631 Gulbad,
Gultepa and Aqtash are more recently established districts, and are described as ‘temporary’ by
NSIA. The provincial capital is Kunduz city.2632
According to estimates for 2019-2020 by NSIA, the province has a population of 1 113 676, of which
356 536 live in the provincial capital, Kunduz.2633 The main ethnic group in the province are
Pashtuns. Other ethnic groups present include Tajiks, Uzbeks, Hazaras, Turkmen and Pashai2634 as
well as Qazaks, Aymaqs, Arabs, Gujars, Baluchs and Nuristani.2635
Kunduz province has always been a strategic crossing-point. Being close to Tajikistan, it hosted the
Tajikistan Islamic opposition during the Tajik civil war in the 1990s and it provided access to the main
smuggling routes to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Moreover, located near a main road to Kabul, it
2629 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Kunduz Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url
2630 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Kunduz Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url
2631 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, November 2019, url, p. 29
2632 Afghanistan, Office of the President, Provincial Profile Kunduz, 1 February 2017, url; Afghanistan, NSIA, EstimatedPopulation of Afghanistan 2019-2020, November 2019, url, p. 25; Ali, O., The 2018 Election Observed (3) in Kunduz: A Very
Violent E-Day, AAN, 7 November 2018, url; Afghanistan, IEC, Afghanistan 2019 Presidential Elections – Final results by
Polling Stations: Province Kunduz, 2020, url
2633 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, 18 November 2019, url, p. 25
2634 US Naval Postgraduate School, Kunduz Provincial Overview, n.d., url
2635 Afghanistan, Office of the President, Provincial Profile Kunduz, 1 February 2017, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

connects the rest of Afghanistan with its northern region.2636 A section of Asian Highway AH7 from
Kabul connects the national capital with Kunduz province and the border crossing to Tajikistan at theport of Sher Khan (also Sher Khan Bandar).2637 The Kunduz-Takhar Highway passes through the
district of Khanabad and connects the province with Takhar and Badakhshan.2638
The inauguration of a new terminal with a capacity of 1 300 passengers at Kunduz airport wasannounced in February 2017.2639 On 29 September 2019, ‘local officials’ of Kunduz announced thatdomestic flights to and from Kabul had resumed from Kunduz airport.2640 However, there was no
information available on scheduled flights as of February 2021.2641

2.20.2 Conflict background and actors in Kunduz
The security situation of Kunduz province has purportedly been deteriorating over recent years.2642
Kunduz was the last Taliban stronghold before the Taliban’s fall in 2001, when it was freed by US led
security forces.2643 According to Human Rights Watch, the Taliban ‘re-emerged as a significant force
in Kunduz province around 2008’ and were more lenient in enforcing social restrictions, however,that changed as their control over Kunduz grew, and they began gradually implementing ‘successive
waves of restrictions on local communities in proportion to their level of control and thecommunity’s capacity to resist’, punishing acts that they believed were prohibited by sharia law. 2644
Kunduz city temporary fell to the Taliban in September 20152645, and they almost recaptured it in
October 2016 by encircling the city and cutting off the main supply and reinforcement routes.2646
After these attempts by the Taliban to capture Kunduz City, the Afghan security forces tried to regain
control over the districts of Dasht-e Archi, Qala-i Zal, Emamsaheb and parts of Khanabad, which
served as strategic strongholds for the Taliban offensive. The operations took long and control overthe districts changed hands a few times, purportedly contributing to instability in the province.2647 In
2017, renewed attempts by the Taliban to get closer to the provincial capital through attacking
nearby Dasht-e Archi took place, but these were repelled by Afghan security forces.2648 According toan assessment published by the German NGO Johanniter International Assistance, in November
2019 some 80 % of Kunduz province, in particular the rural areas, was under Taliban control, whilemost district administrative centres were under control of the security forces.2649 In January 2020, an
Afghanistan analyst contacted by the Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) stated that
Kunduz and Baghlan were believed, at that time, to be the most Taliban-controlled or influenced
province in the north-eastern region.2650 In August 2020, the Taliban launched a new offensive on
2636 DW, Kunduz violence could destabilize neighbors, 30 September 2015, url
2637 UNESCAP, Asian Highway Route Map, 2018, url; RFE/RL/Gandhara, Tajikistan/Afghanistan: Road Bridge Opens With

Aim Of Strengthening Trade, 26 August 2007, url
2638 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Kunduz Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url; Ali, O., The Taleban Assault on Kunduz city:
Déjà vu, but why?, AAN, 12 October 2016, url
2639 Pajhwok Afghan News, Kunduz airport gets new terminal worth $1.4m, 22 February 2017, url
2640 Xinhua, Domestic flights resumed to Afghanistan's northern Kunduz province, 29 September 2020, url; Tolonews,
Kabul-Kunduz Flights Resumed After 10 Years, 29 September 2020, url
2641 Flightradar24, UND/OAUZ Kunduz Afghanistan – Routes, n.d., url; KamAir, Route Map, n.d., url
2642 Sweden, Lifos/Migrationsverket, Säkerhetsläget i Afghanistan, 2020, 7 April 2020, url, p. 47; Ali, O., The 2018 Election
Observed (3) in Kunduz: A Very Violent E-Day, AAN, 7 November 2018, url; Al Jazeera, Taliban launch deadly attacks as theyattend Afghan peace talks, 5 February 2019, url
2643 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghanistan‘s New Northern Flash Points, n.d., url
2644 HRW, “You Have No Right to Complain:” Education, Social Restrictions, and Justice in Taliban-Held Afghanistan, 30 June
2020, url, pp. 45, 46
2645 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghanistan‘s New Northern Flash Points, n.d., url
2646 Ali, O., The Taleban Assault on Kunduz city: Déjà vu, but why?, AAN, 12 October 2016, url
2647 Ali, O., The Taleban Assault on Kunduz city: Déjà vu, but why?, AAN, 12 October 2016, url
2648 Ali, O., New Taleban Attacks in Kunduz: Less coordination, still well placed to threaten the city, AAN, 9 July 2017, url;
Tolonews, Dozens of Afghan Forces Killed In North, 10 September 2018, url
2649 JUH and JACK, Health and Integrated Protection Needs in Kunduz Province, November 2019, url, pp. 14-15; 202650 Sweden, Lifos/Migrationsverket, Säkerhetsläget i Afghanistan, 2020, 7 April 2020, url, p. 48

246

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation‘strategic’ Kunduz city, in what was described as ‘the worst offensive’ by the Taliban in Kunduz since2015. 2651 While Afghan security forces eventually defended the city, pushing back the Taliban, ‘thearea remained under pressure’.2652
An October 2020 AAN report stated that the Taliban were, at the time, ‘infiltrating’ the outskirts ofKunduz city, and were in control of ‘district centres of Chahar Dara, Dasht-e Archi and Qala-ye Zal’,
as well as putting pressure on Khanabad, Aliabad and Imam Saheb districts. Moreover, the Taliban
reportedly had a significant level of control in the province’s three new sub-districts of Gulbad,
Gultepa and Aqtash. 2653 According to the same source, one of the factors that lead to the Taliban’s
increase in control of the province was the defensive stance adopted by the Afghan government
following the 29 February 2020 Doha agreement, which was not mirrored by the Taliban, who ‘went
back on the offensive immediately’ after the agreement was concluded. 2654
More recently, a January 2021 AAN report detailed the working of the ‘shadow’ institutions of the
Taliban in Dasht-e Archi district. According to the source, ‘the Taleban governance system in Kunduz
mirrors that of the government and is fully functioning in Dasht-e Archi district, which also serves asa major Taleban organisational hub’. Moreover, the Taliban are ‘involved in district appointments’,operate ‘primary, secondary and high courts’, while ‘a Taliban “bureaucracy” is functioning, withactive components including military, judicial and finance committees’.2655 In addition, ‘the Taleban
collect “taxes” on most economic activities in Dasht-e Archi, including on agriculture, livestock,construction and other development projects and from shopkeepers, and business owners’.2656
As of February and May 2021, an assessment by the Long War Journal presented in a frequently
updated map and based on open-source information, indicated Dasht-e Archi, Khanabad and Qala-i
Zal districts as ‘Taliban-controlled’ and the remaining districts in Kunduz province as ‘contested’.2657
At the same time, a survey by Pajhwok Afghan News conducted from November 2020 until February
20212658 designated 20.5 % of territory of Kunduz under government control, 74.5 % under Taliban
control, and 5 % controlled by neither side. According to the same survey, 233 019 of Kunduz’s
inhabitants lived in areas under government control, 846 824 of the province’s population lived inareas under Taliban control and 56 834 of Kunduz’s residents lived in areas controlled by neitherside.2659
According to an April 2018 report by the Jamestown Foundation, ISKP (Islamic State of Iraq and theLevant – Khorasan Province) set up bases in the northern provinces of Afghanistan, including in
Kunduz.2660 A June 2019 New York Times article noted that ISKP cells had recently appeared in
Kunduz province.2661 The Afghan Ministry of Interior claimed to have arrested an ISKP leader in
Emamsaheb district in July 2019, accusing him of recruiting in Kunduz.2662 The presence of active

2651 Reuters, Fight and talk: Facing negotiations, Taliban almost took key Afghan city, 14 September 2020, url
2652 Reuters, Fight and talk: Facing negotiations, Taliban almost took key Afghan city, 14 September 2020, url
2653 Quilty, A., Taleban Opportunism and ANSF Frustration: How the Afghan conflict has changed since the Dohaagreement, AAN, 12 October 2020, url
2654 Quilty, A., Taleban Opportunism and ANSF Frustration: How the Afghan conflict has changed since the Dohaagreement, AAN, 12 October 2020, url
2655 AAN, Living with the Taleban (3): Local experiences in Dasht-e Archi district, Kunduz province, 12 January 2021, url
2656 AAN, Living with the Taleban (3): Local experiences in Dasht-e Archi district, Kunduz province, 12 January 2021, url
2657 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url. The source, however, does not specify when and which
information of the aforementioned map was updated.
2658 For this survey Pajhwok Afghan News interviewed (through telephone interviews or by distributing questionnaires) a
total of 1 266 respondents, randomly selected across the country; Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated
Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url
2659 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url
2660 Jamestown Foundation (The), Islamic State a Deadly Force in Kabul, 6 April 2018, url
2661 New York Times (The), U.S. Special Forces Battle Against ISIS Turns to Containment, and Concern, 14 June 2019, url
2662 Khaama Press, Afghan Special Forces arrest top ISIS leader in Kunduz province, 7 July 2019, url

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ISKP cells in Kunduz was also mentioned on Twitter in August and October 20192663, while an attack
on a checkpoint on the border between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in November 2019 was attributed
to ISKP by Tajik officials2664, although not claimed by the movement itself. The attackers were said tohave entered Tajikistan from Kunduz province, through Qala-I Zal district, which is said to be almost
under complete Taliban control. According to the Qala-I Zal district governor an ISKP commander had
been recruiting fighters in the district.2665 A May 2020 report by RFE/RL (Gandhara) highlighted that,while the ISKP presence in Afghanistan had been weakened, arrests at that time of ISKP members ‘inmajor urban areas’ were an indication of the existence of ISKP ‘sleeper cells’ in the country.2666
During the reference period, no violent events were attributed to ISKP by ACLED in Kunduz
province.2667
In May 2020, the UN highlighted reports that ‘Al-Qaida and the Taliban held meetings over thecourse of 2019 and in early 2020 to discuss cooperation related to operational planning, training andthe provision by the Taliban of safe havens for Al-Qaida members inside Afghanistan’. The same
source claimed that Al-Qaida was ‘covertly active’ in 12 Afghan provinces, including in Kunduz.2668
More recently, in January 2021, the UN again confirmed the presence of ‘Al-Qaida and its affiliates’in several provinces, including Kunduz.2669
In the past, Kunduz province has hosted foreign fighters from Central Asia, such as members of theIslamic Jihad Union (IJU) and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), which were purportedly
active along the ‘porous’ Afghan-Tajik border.2670 Besides Uzbek and Tajik militants, fighters comingfrom Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Chechnya were also reported to have been active in the province.2671
Moreover, an insurgent group called Jabha-ye Qariha (‘the front of those who have memorised the
Quran by heart’, the qaris), which is known as the military wing of Jundullah, is purportedly active in
Dasht-e Archi district. Although Jundullah is an independent group, it has fought alongside the
Taliban even if the two insurgent groups have different beliefs.2672
In January 2020, the UN reported the presence of some 400 ‘foreign terrorist fighters from China,
Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan’ in the north-eastern provinces of Afghanistan, including in Kunduz.
The UN stated at that time that operations by the Afghan security forces had caused the foreign
fighters to ‘break into small groups’ and retreat to other provinces. 2673 In its May and July 20202663 Dr. Drexluddin Khan Spiveyzai Kayani (Drexy Baba) (@RisboLensky), [Twitter], posted on: 19 October 2019, url;

Dr. Drexluddin Khan Spiveyzai Kayani (Drexy Baba) (@RisboLensky), posted on: 6 August 2019, url
2664 Asia Plus, Tajik security forces launch operation to hunt alleged terrorists who turn out to be … ordinary hunters, 11November 2019, url
2665 New York Times (The), ISIS Fighters Attack Outpost in Tajikistan, 6 November 2019, url; RFE/RL/Gandhara, Reported
Attack In Tajikistan Could Have Broad Implications For Central Asia, 6 November 2019, url
2666 RFE/RL/Gandhara, The Taliban, The Government, And Islamic State: Who Controls What In Afghanistan?, 31 May 2020,
url
2667 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Kunduz province,
update 25 March 2021, url
2668 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para. 33
2669 UN Security Council, Twenty-seventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted
pursuant to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2021/68, 3
February 2021, url, para. 64
2670 DW, Kunduz violence could destabilize neighbors, 30 September 2015, url
2671 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghanistan‘s New Northern Flash Points, n.d., url
2672 Ali, O., One Land, Two Rules (3): Delivering public services in insurgency-affected Dasht-e Archi district in Kunduz
province, AAN, 26 February 2019, url
2673 UN Security Council, Twenty-fifth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant
to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2020/53, 20 January
2020, url, para. 57

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reports, the UN also confirmed the presence of IMU and ETIM in Kunduz.2674 In January 2021, thesame source stated that the IJG (IJU) had ‘approximately 100 fighters active in the Afghan northern
provinces of Kunduz and Faryab under Taliban shelter and control’.2675
According to the 2020 UNODC opium survey, Kunduz province remained poppy-free as in theprevious year.2676 Kunduz province has been mentioned as a transit point for drug smuggling,
particularly heroin, into Tajikistan. 2677
In terms of the presence of government security forces, a July 2019 SIGAR report stated that Kunduz
province was at that time under the responsibility of the 217th ANA corps. ANA’s 20th Division,
previously under the ANA 209th Corps, was reassigned in April 2019 to become a new corps, the217th Corps.2678 The 217th Corps has its headquarters in Kunduz.2679 ANA’s battalion headquarters arelocated in the south of Kunduz city, in the vicinity of Kunduz airport, with ‘smaller ALP and ANA
satellite outposts’ nearby. 2680 With regards to former members of the Afghan Local Police (ALP) in
Kunduz province, a 2021 AAN report stated that, after the disbandment of the ALP, these werelargely ‘recruited only into the ANP, with no transfers to the ANA-TF’, while some were dismissed.
The effect of disbanding the ALP in Kunduz was disputed, as some sources quoted in the reportclaimed that the Taliban had taken over vacant checkpoints left by the ALP, while other sources
stated that the ‘ALP-turned-ANP’ still ‘operated where they had previously’. 2681
As of February 2021, Kunduz province was still included in the area of responsibility of the Train
Advise Assist Command – North (TAAC – North), which is part of NATO's Resolute Support
Mission within Afghanistan.2682

2.20.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 444 civilian casualties (194 killed, 250 injured) in Kunduz province, a
11 % decrease compared to 2019, when 492 civilian casualties (141 killed and 351 injured) wererecorded. In 2020, the leading causes of casualties were ground engagements, followed by airstrikes
and non-suicide IEDs; meanwhile in 2019, the leading causes of casualties were groundengagements, followed by non-suicide IEDs and airstrikes. 2683

2674 UN Security Council, Twenty-sixth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant

to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2020/717, 23 July
2020, 23 July 2020, url, para. 67; UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring
Team submitted pursuant to resolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities
constituting a threat to the peace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, paras. 85, 88
2675 Twenty-seventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant to resolution
2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2021/68, 3 February 2021, url,para. 662676 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey, 3 May 2021, url, p. 9; UNODC, Afghanistan opium survey
2019, 17 February 2021, url, p. 122677 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para. 49
2678 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 July 2019, url, p. 78
2679 USDOD, Lead Inspector General for Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, Report to the United States Congress, April 1, 2019‒
June 30, 2019, 16 August 2019, url, p. 52680 Quilty, A, Taleban Opportunism and ANSF Frustration: How the Afghan conflict has changed since the Doha agreement,
AAN, 12 October 2020, url
2681 AAN, Disbanding the ALP – An Update: Major transition of security forces achieved during wartime, but at a cost, 15
April 2021, url
2682 NATO, Resolute Support: Train Advise Assist Command – North, accessed 22 March 2021, url
2683 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 11, 110;
UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, February 2020, url, pp. 5, 103249

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Between 1 January 2020 and 28 February 2021, ACLED collected data on 472 violent events in
Kunduz province, of which 346 were coded as battles, 111 were coded as explosions/remoteviolence, 14 were coded as violence against civilians and one incident was a riot against a radio
station.2684

Figure 40: Kunduz province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data2685

Figure 41: Kunduz province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on
ACLED data2686

Of the battles, 327 events involved armed clashes, while the remaining concerned change in control
over territory. The majority of those armed clashes were attacks by the Taliban on Afghan security
forces, including police or military personnel, and members of pro-government militias or so-calledarbakis (the term arbaki is often used locally and by the Taliban in reference to members of the2684 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website on a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Kunduz province, update 25 March
2021, url
2685 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Kunduz province,
update 25 March 2021, url
2686 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Kunduz province,
update 25 March 2021, url; 29 incidents (21 battles, 7 remote violence and 1 violence against civilians) in the province forwhich ACLED has no information about the location, were not included in this graph (geoprecision code 3 – seeintroduction)

250

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Afghan Local Police or other pro-government militias),2687 as well as on NATO troops.2688 On 16
January 2020, the Taliban attacked a police checkpoint, killing 11 police officers, while on 29 January
2020 another 13 Afghan security officers were killed in a second attack.2689 Meanwhile, between 20
and 26 January 2020, fighting had reportedly blocked road movements from Kunduz to Baghlan
province.2690 Between 10 and 16 February 2020, ‘roads connecting Kunduz to Pul-e-Khumri andKunduz to Taloqan’ were unsafe due to ongoing fighting. 2691 On 19 May 2020, the Taliban launched anight attack on ‘at least 17 security posts’ around Kunduz city.2692 During 29 June – 5 July 2020,
fighting was reported in the Khanabad area, and ‘severely restricted the humanitarian traffic
between the provincial capital cities of Kunduz and Taloqan’.2693
In August 2020, the Taliban launched a new offensive on ‘strategic’ Kunduz city, firstly gaining
control on rural areas around the city, then attacking it between 20-26 August 2020, after ‘seizing
several checkpoints and two bases on arterial roads into the city’. 2694 At the same time, it wasreported that on 24 August 2020, Afghan security forces launched an ‘air and ground operation’against the Taliban, and ‘the highway between the northern Kunduz and Khanabad districts’ wasblocked.2695 Elsewhere, between 16-27 August 2020, conflict was also reported in ‘several villages ofKhanabad district (along the Kunduz-Khanabad highway) and in Emamsaheb district (in the vicinityof the highway connecting Kunduz to the Sherkhan border’, and more than 64 000 people weredisplaced.2696 On 28 September 2020, the Taliban ‘launched a massive offensive on security
checkpoints’ in Aliabad district.2697
In October 2020, an AAN report highlighted the increase in the ‘presence of Taleban fighters andcheckpoints on Kunduz’s major roads’, in what was described as ‘arguably the greatest change’ forthe province’s residents since the February 2020 Doha agreement. A source quoted in the reportclaimed that the Taliban controlled the Kabul-Baghlan-Kunduz highway. Moreover, travellers using‘the highways to Khanabad and Aliabad have found it virtually impossible to avoid encountering
Taleban fighters carrying weapons in the open or stopping motorists at checkpoints’, particularly atnight. 2698 In November 2020, International Crisis Groups reported that the Taliban had ‘ended selfimposed restrictions on attacking district centres’, and had attacked Kunduz city, while in December
2020, attacks on district centres in Kunduz continued.2699 On 6 January 2021, ‘ongoing armed
clashes and roadblocks’ were reported in Khanabad2700, while on 7 January 2021, the Taliban
attacked a military checkpoint outside Kunduz city, killing at least 12 security forces.2701 On 15
January 2021, several Afghan security forces as well as a civilian were killed in a Taliban attack on

2687 AAN, Enemy Number One: How the Taleban deal with the ALP and uprising groups, 19 July 2018, url; HRW, “Just Don’t

Call It a Militia” Impunity, Militias, and the “Afghan Local Police”, 4 September 2011, url, p. 13
2688 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Kunduz province,
update 25 March 2021, url
2689 International Crisis Group, Crisis Watch Afghanistan, accessed 1 March 2021, url
2690 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (20 January – 26 January 2020), 26 January 2020, url, p. 1
2691 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (10 February – 16 February 2020), 16 February 2020, url, p. 1
2692 International Crisis Group, Crisis Watch Afghanistan, accessed 1 March 2021, url
2693 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (29 June – 5 July 2020), 8 July 2020, url, p. 1
2694 Reuters, Fight and talk: Facing negotiations, Taliban almost took key Afghan city, 14 September 2020, url
2695 Daily Sabah, Wave of attacks across Afghanistan leaves at least 17 dead, 25 August 2020, url
2696 UNOCHA, Asia and the Pacific, Weekly Regional Humanitarian Snapshot 18 - 24 August 2020, 25 August 2020, url;
UNOCHA, Flash Update No. 1 25 August 2020: Conflict displacement in Kunduz, Afghanistan, 25 August 2020, url; UNOCHA,
Flash Update No. 2 27 August 2020: Conflict displacement in Kunduz, Afghanistan, 27 August 2020, url; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (17 – 23 August 2020), 26 August 2020, url, p. 1
2697 Xinhua, Taliban attack on Afghan district repulsed, 12 killed, 28 September 2020, url
2698 AAN, Taleban Opportunism and ANSF Frustration: How the Afghan conflict has changed since the Doha agreement, 12
October 2020, url
2699 International Crisis Group, Crisis Watch Afghanistan, accessed 1 March 2021, url
2700 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (4 – 10 January 2021), 13 January 2021, url, p. 2
2701 ABC News, Officials: Attacks around Afghanistan kill at least 23, 7 January 2021, url

251Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation‘Orta-Boz security outpost in Emamsaheb district’.2702 On 19 January 2021, attacks on security
checkpoints in Dasht-e Archi district were reported.2703 During the week 8–14 February 2021,‘intense’ fighting was reported, and the main highway connecting Imam Sahib to Aliabad was closed.
2704

With regards of change in control over territory or facilities, some of the incidents include: on 8
January 2020, the Afghan security forces completed the ‘first phase of Operation Pamir 110’,clearing ‘more than 50 villages’ from ‘insecure areas of Chardarah, Emamsaheb, Dasht-i-Archi,
Khanabad, Qala-e-Zal, Gultepa’ and Kunduz districts from Taliban fighters.2705 On 23 August 2020, a
military base in the ‘Qarghan Tapa area of Emamsaheb’ district was taken over by the Taliban.2706 On
13 November 2020, took over ‘Bala Hisar military base in Imam Sahib district’ for several hours,
before the Afghan security forces regained control of the base.2707
On 17 November 2020, Afghan security forces had regained control of Dasht-e-Archi district2708,
after the Taliban had launched an attack on the district centre two days before.2709
There were 111 incidents of explosions/remote violence recorded by ACLED during the reference
period in Kunduz. Most of them were attributed to either the Afghanistan security forces (some48 %), or to the Taliban (around 41 %), while the remaining 11 % were attributed to NATO forces or
to unidentified armed groups.2710
Airstrikes were almost exclusively used by the Afghan security forces or by NATO forces against the
Taliban2711, sometimes to aid ground troops during ongoing fighting. Several attacks resulted incivilian casualties. Between 27 January and 2 February 2020, airstrikes in ‘Wazirkhan village of
Dasht-e-Archi district’ resulted in 5 civilian deaths.2712 Between 3 February and 9 February 2020,
airstrikes ‘impacted a school and a clinic in the Baghi Shirkat area of Kunduz province’.2713 On 19
September 2020, repeated airstrikes in Khanabad district by the Afghan Air Force led to 15 civilian
deaths and wounded 5 others. 2714 On 16 November 2020, air strikes were launched to aid theAfghan security forces during fighting against the Taliban in Dasht-e Archi district.2715
Attacks by shelling and IEDs were used by the Taliban, by the Afghan security forces, as well as byunidentified armed groups. Between 10 and 16 February 2020, ‘mortar shelling’, as well as two
civilians fatalities were reported, while on 11 February 2020 in a separate incident, five students
were killed by an IED explosion in Kunduz.2716 On 23 April 2020, ‘a child was reportedly killed and fiveother civilians were wounded’ when an IED exploded in Chardarah district. 2717 On 19 May 2020, ‘apolice officer and a civilian were reportedly killed, and 18 other civilians were wounded’ by an IED
2702 KUNA, Taliban attacks kill 12 Security men in N. Afghanistan, 15 January 2021, url
2703 Military news, Afghan Officials: Taliban Attacks, Violence Kills Dozens, 19 January 2021, url
2704 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (8 – 14 February 2021), 14 February 2021, url, p. 22705 Salaam Times, Afghan forces clear Taliban from over 50 villages in Kunduz, 16 January 2020, url
2706 Tolonews, Taliban Attack Security Forces Base in Kunduz, 24 August 2020, url
2707 ANI, 14 killed as Afghan forces retake military base in Kunduz, 13 November 2020, url
2708 Ariana News, Dasht-e-Archi district in Kunduz cleared of Taliban, 17 November 2020, url;
2709 Tolonews, Clashes Reported in Dasht-e-Archi District, Reinforcements Sent, 16 November 2020, url
2710 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Kunduz province,

update 25 March 2021, url
2711 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Kunduz province,
update 25 March 2021, url
2712 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (27 January – 2 February 2020), 2 February 2020, url, p. 1
2713 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (3 February – 9 February 2020), 9 February 2020, url, p. 1
2714 International Crisis Group, Crisis Watch Afghanistan, accessed 1 March 2021, url; UNAMA, Afghanistan Third Quarter
Report on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict: 2020, 27 October 2020, url, p. 13; UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly
Humanitarian Update (14 – 20 September 2020), 23 September 2020, url, p.1
2715 Ariana News, Dasht-e-Archi district in Kunduz cleared of Taliban, 17 November 2020, url; Tolonews, Clashes Reported
in Dasht-e-Archi District, Reinforcements Sent, 16 November 2020, url
2716 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (10 February – 16 February 2020), 16 February 2020, url
2717 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (20 April – 26 April 2020), 29 April 2020, url, p. 1

252

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

detonation ‘in the Kohna Faroshi area of Kunduz city’.2718 On 9 November 2020, ‘a mortar round hit ahouse’ killing five civilians and wounding four others in Emamsaheb district’.2719 On 26 January 2021,
the deputy head of the Kunduz provincial council was killed by an IED explosion in Kunduz city.2720
Of the 14 incidents of violence against civilians recorded by ACLED during the reference period in
Kunduz province, 6 were attributed to the Taliban, 5 to the Afghanistan security forces, 2 tounidentified armed groups, and 1 to NATO forces.2721 Between 6 April and 12 April 2020, ‘four
civilians were killed and five people were abducted’ at a Taliban checkpoint in Kunduz province.2722
During August 2020, conflict and related civilian fatalities were reported in Kunduz province,
including 17 civilian deaths between 13 and 23 August 2020.2723 Between 31 August and 6
September 2020, ongoing fighting was reported in Emamsaheb district, and as of 6 September 2020,11 civilians had died and 32 others had been wounded in the province.2724 On 24 September 2020,‘the Taliban militants fired a mortar shell that struck a house in Khan Abad district’, killing threecivilians and wounding another six.2725
Between 9 and 12 October 2020, several civilians fatalities due to active fighting were reported
across Kunduz province2726, while on 14 December 2020, one civilian was killed ‘in the Kalaw Gaw
area of Kunduz city’.2727
Between 11 and 17 January 2021, ‘several civilians’ were ‘abducted along the Kunduz and Aliabad
roads and at illegal checkpoints in the Chenzai area along the road connecting Taloqan to Khanabad
districts’.2728 On 19 January 2021, two civilians were reportedly killed and three others wounded in
the Bagh-e-Shirkat area of Kunduz city after a Taliban attack.2729 Between 1 and 7 February 2021,
four civilians were killed during fighting in Emamsaheb district.2730 During the week 8 – 14 February
2021, ‘intense’ fighting was reported, as well as ‘targeted killings, abductions and illegal
checkpoints’, while one civilian was killed, and seven children were wounded in Aliabad district.2731

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020-28 February 2021, reporting 73 211 persons
displaced from Kunduz province, of which 72 583 (some 99 %) were displaced within the province,
while 628 persons were displaced to Faryab, Hirat, Kabul, Nangarhar, and Parwan provinces. During
the same period, some 119 persons arrived to Kunduz province from Faryab. 2732

2718 Garda World, Afghanistan: Security forces repel Taliban attack in Kunduz city May 19, 20 May 2020, url
2719 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (9 – 15 November 2020), 18 November 2020, url, p. 2
2720 Tolonews, Local Council Deputy Killed from Blast Injuries in Kunduz, 26 January 2021, url
2721 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Kunduz province,

update 25 March 2021, url
2722 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (6 April – 12 April 2020), 12 April 2020, url, p. 12723 UNOCHA, ASIA AND THE PACIFIC, Weekly Regional Humanitarian Snapshot 18 - 24 August 2020, 25 August 2020, url;
UNOCHA, Flash Update No. 1 25 August 2020: Conflict displacement in Kunduz, Afghanistan, 25 August 2020, url; UNOCHA,
Flash Update No. 2 27 August 2020: Conflict displacement in Kunduz, Afghanistan, 27 August 2020, url; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (17 – 23 August 2020), 26 August 2020, url, p. 1
2724 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (31 August – 6 September 2020), 6 September 2020, url, p. 12725 Xinhua, 6 civilians killed, 12 injured as fighting intensifies in Afghanistan, 24 September 2020, url
2726 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (12 – 18 October 2020), 22 October 2020, url, p. 2
2727 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (14 – 20 December 2020), 23 December 2020, url, p. 22728 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (11 – 17 January 2021), 19 January 2021, url, p. 22729 Xinhua, 16 security forces members, 2 civilians killed in clashes in Afghanistan's Kunduz, 19 January 2021, url
2730 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (1 – 7 February 2021), 10 February 2021, url, p. 2
2731 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (8 – 14 February 2021), 14 February 2021, url, p. 22732 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, updated 22 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 22 March 2021, url

253Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

By district inside Kunduz province, displacement during the reference period occurred from:
Khanabad (39 %); Aliabad (27.8 %); Emamsaheb (17.4 %); Kunduz (15.4 %), Chardarah (0.2 %) and
Dasht-e-Archi (0.11 %).2733
Some of the indicative displacement events include: between 30 December 2019 and 5 January 2020
approximately 7 224 people ‘were displaced due to the clashes from Pule-Alchin, Sharabi, Buze’.2734
Between 13 and19 January 2020, around 10 304 people were displaced to Kunduz city andKhanabad district due to clashes in Aqtash’, while others ‘were displaced from insecure areas in
Tangi Bashir and Hazrat Sultan’.2735
During 3 – 9 August 2020, conflict took place ‘in Kohna Qala village and Band-e-Barq area in Aqtash,
Khanabad district, displacing some 2 800 people’.2736 Ongoing fighting during that month resulted insome 64 050 people being displaced by 27 August 2020, who were sheltering in several ‘remotevillages’ of Khanabad, in Emamsaheb, in Aqtash, and in Kunduz city.2737 Soon after, between 31
August and 6 September 2020, some 11 060 people from Alchin, Talawka and Mullah-Sardar villages
were displaced to Kunduz city.2738 Between 30 November and 6 December 2020, fighting in Kunduz
displaced around 19 047 people.2739 In 2021, fighting between 1 and 7 February led to some 4 879
people being displaced across the province.2740

2733 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, updated 22 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan -Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 22 March 2021, url
2734 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (30 December 2019 – 5 January 2020), 5 January 2020, url, p. 12735 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (13 January - 19 January 2020), 22 January 2020, url, p. 12736 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (3 – 9 August 2020), 12 August 2020, url, p.1
2737 UNOCHA, ASIA AND THE PACIFIC, Weekly Regional Humanitarian Snapshot 18 - 24 August 2020, 25 August 2020, url;
UNOCHA, Flash Update No. 1 25 August 2020: Conflict displacement in Kunduz, Afghanistan, 25 August 2020, url; UNOCHA,
Flash Update No. 2 27 August 2020: Conflict displacement in Kunduz, Afghanistan, 27 August 2020, url; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (17 – 23 August 2020), 26 August 2020, url, p. 1
2738 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (31 August – 6 September 2020), 6 September 2020, url, p. 1
2739 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (30 November – 6 December 2020), 10 December 2020, url, p. 2
2740 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (1 – 7 February 2021), 10 February 2021, url, p. 2

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

2.21 Laghman
2.21.1 General description of the province

Map 21: Afghanistan – Laghman province, source: UNOCHA2741

Laghman is located in eastern Afghanistan 2742 and is divided into the following districts: Alingar,
Alishang, Dawlatshah, Mehtarlam, Qarghayi2743, and Bad Pash (also Bad Pakh); the latter became a
district of its own in 2011. The provincial capital of Laghman is Mehtarlam.2744

2741 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Laghman Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url;
2742 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Laghman Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url; Afghanistan, Office of the President,

Provincial Profile Laghman, 1 February 2017, url
2743 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Laghman Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url
2744 Afghanistan, IEC, Afghanistan 2019 Presidential Elections – Final results by Polling Stations: Province Laghman, 2020,
url; Foschini, F., The Enteqal Seven (2): Around Mehtarlam, an ‚insurgency corridor‘ in the making, AAN, 10 May 2011, url;
Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan 2020-2021, June 2020, url, p. 16

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

According to estimates for 2019-2020 by NSIA, the province has a population of 484 952.2745
Laghman is composed of a majority of Pashtuns, followed by Tajik and Pashai tribes.2746
The Kabul-Jalalabad Highway passes through Qarghayi district2747, where a secondary road branches
off to connect to Nurgeram in Nuristan via the provincial capital Mehtarlam.2748 As of November
2020, this highway construction work, launched in 2010, was only 40% completed, and witnessedtraffic jams due to high number of vehicles.2749 Bad Pash district has been a strategic crossing-point
for Afghan and foreign insurgents coming from the border area and moving deeper into
Afghanistan.2750
During the reporting period, in December 2020, the MRRD launched the construction of a 14
kilometers road in Aligar district, planned to be complete within six months.2751 In January 2021, the
MRRD launched a 38.8 kilometers road in the centre of the province. The Ministry did not publish
further details about the districts crossed by this road planned to be finished within one year.2752

2.21.2 Conflict background and actors in Laghman
In December 2019, ANSF killed 20 Taliban militants, including the shadow governor of Taliban for
Laghman province, Zainulabidin.2753
In March 2020, ISKP shadow governor for Laghman province and 30 fighters of the groupsurrendered to ANSF.2754 During the same period, several media sources cited Noorullah Shirzada,
from Agence France Press (AFP), showing in a photo the presence of Taliban fighters in Alingar
district.2755 In May 2020, Etilaatroz indicated that Taliban fighters had a widespread presence andcarried out their activities in Mehtarlam district2756 and in a number of other districts of Laghman
province including Alishang district.2757 During this same period, the Taliban shadow governor for
Laghman province was Mawlawi Abdul Hadi Pashayeewal (also Pashaiwal)2758, and the head of the
Taliban military commission for the mentioned province was Mawlawi Qais. Talibans based inAlingar district were reportedly recruiting new fighters via mosques, Quranic and school, andamongst friends and relatives.2759 On 10 May 2020, ANSF killed Omar Khater, the Taliban intelligence2745 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, 18 November 2019, url, p. 22746 BMC, ‘The midwife helped me ... otherwise I could have died’: women’s experience of professional midwifery services

in rural Afghanistan - a qualitative study in the provinces Kunar and Laghman, 6 March 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News,
Background profile of Laghman province, n.d., url; US Naval Postgraduate School, Laghman Provincial Overview, n.d., url
2747 INSI, Country profile for Afghanistan, Alerts, 7 February 2020, url
2748 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Laghman Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url
2749 Pajhwok Afghan News, In 10 years, only 40pc work done on Kabul-Jalalabad road, 4 November 2020, url
2750 Foschini, F., Classics of Conflict (2): Reviewing some of Afghanistan‘s most notorious hotspots, AAN, 9 July 2015, url;
Foschini, F., The Enteqal Seven (2): Around Mehtarlam, an ‘insurgency corridor‘ in the making, AAN, 10 May 2011, url
2751 Afghanistan, MRRD, Implementation of 14 km road construction project begun in Laghman province, 29 December
2020, url; Bakhtar News Agency, Roads Construction Work Began in Laghman, 30 December 2020, url
2752 Afghanistan, MRRD, Construction of 38,8 Km road within one year in Laghman province, 26 January 2021, url
2753 Pajhwok Afghan News, 20 Taliban including shadow governor killed in Laghman airstrike, 27 December 2019, url
2754 Pajhwok Afghan News, Senior figure among 30 IS rebels surrender in Laghman, 19 March 2020, url
2755 Salaam Times, Taliban, Al-Qaeda maintain “close ties” despite peace deal promises, 2 July 2020, url; New York Times(The), Taliban ramp up attacks on Afghans after Trump says “no violence”, 6 March 2020, url; France24, Afghan
Government set to release 1 500 prisoners, 11 March 2020, url
2756 Etilaatroz,‫[ سه غیرنظامی در انفجاری در لغمان کشته شدند‬informal translation: ‘three civilians killed in an explosionin Laghman, 2 May 2020], url‫ طالبان بر ادامهی «افغانکشی» پافشاری دارند‬:‫ سرباز ارتش در لغمان؛ ارگ‬۲۱ ‫[ کشتهشدن‬informaltranslation: ‘killing of 21 army soldiers in Laghman; Presidential palace: Taliban insist on continuing ‘killing Afghans’, 22
May 2020’], url
2758 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, p. 272759 New York Times (The), How the Taliban outlasted a superpower: tenacity and carnage, 26 May 2020, url
2757 Etilaatroz,

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chief for Laghman province.2760 In January 2021, the Taliban commander for Laghman Abdul Samad
Mullah Toor was killed at a mosque, and in February 2021, the Taliban shadow governor for
Laghman, Abdul Hadi Pashaiwal was shot dead by unidentified gunmen near his residence, both inPeshawar in Pakistan. The Taliban suspected Islamic State’s involvement in the murders.2761
A survey of Pajhwok Afghan News conducted from November 2020 until February 2021 designated42.50 % of the Laghman province under the government control, 54.17 % under the Taliban control
and 3.33 % controlled by neither side. According to the same survey, 209 732 of people lived in areas
under government control, 267 306 under Taliban control and 16 450 in areas controlled by neitherside.2762
According to LWJ assessment mapping Taliban control in Afghanistan in a frequently updated map
and based on open-source information, consulted in April 2021, Alingar, Alishang and Daulatshahi
are assessed as ‘contested’ and the other districts as ‘under GoA control or undetermined’. Morerecently, as of 26 May 2021, Daulatshah shifted to ‘Taliban control’ and Mehtarlam and Qarghayi as‘contested’.2763 Earlier on 20 May 2021, Tolonews reported that ANDSF retreated from the centre ofDawlatshah district and fell in the hands of Taliban after six months besiege by the latter group.2764
According to New York Times (The), following negotiations (between the Taliban and ANDSF),
Dawlatshah district centre surrendered (by ANDSF to Taliban) without resistance on 19 May 2021
and the following day (on 20 May) five outposts surrendered to the Taliban in Alishang district.2765
According to Khaama Press reporting in October 2018, Laghman, which was described as one of the‘relatively calm’ provinces of Afghanistan, has seen a rise in activities by Taliban and ISKP militants insome remote districts of the province.2766
As of February 2019, the UN Secretary-General described Laghman as one of the ISKP ‘strongholds’
in Afghanistan.2767
According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, opium poppy cultivation in Laghman province
decreased by 20 %.2768
In terms of the presence of government security forces, as of July 2020, Laghman province is under
the responsibility of the 201st ANA Corps, which falls under Train, Advise, and Assist Command - East
(TAAC-E), led by US and Polish forces.2769

2.21.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 267 civilian casualties (62 killed and 205 injured) in Laghman inground engagements (leading cause), non-suicide IEDs and targeted killings. This represents a
2760 Reporterly, Security forces kill senior Taliban spy in Laghman, 10 May 2020, url; Sputnik, Afghan Forces kill senior

Taliban spy in Laghman province, 10 May 2020, url
2761 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban governor for Laghman gunned down in Peshawar, 28 February 2021, url; Pajhwok
Afghan News, Taliban commander shot dead in Peshawar, 26 January 2021, url; Bakhtar News Agency, Taliban Shadow
Governor for Laghman Killed in Peshawar, 1 March 2021, url
2762 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban make exaggerated claims of territory they control, 12 February 2021, url
2763 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url. However, the source does not systematically specify when andwhich information of the aforementioned map was updated.
2764 Tolonews, Laghman: ANDSF retreat from besieged center of Dawlat Shah, 20 May 2021, url
2765 New York Times (The), A wave of Afghan surrenders to Taliban picks up peek, 27 May 2021, url
2766 Khaama Press, Four key Taliban group leaders ambushed in Laghman province, 1 October 2018, url
2767 UN Security Council, Eighth report of the Secretary-General on the threat posed by ISIL (Da’esh) to international peaceand security and the range of United Nations efforts in support of Member States in countering the threat, 1 February
2019, url, p. 72768 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 92769 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, 1 July 2020, url, pp. 13, 59

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decrease of 5% compared to 2019.2770 According to SIGAR, Resolute Support (RS) recorded between
51 and 75 civilian casualties in the province during the first,2771 and between 76 and 100 the second
quarter of 2020.2772 No RS information on civilian casualties per province was available for thesecond half of 2020 in SIGAR quarterly reports.2773
From 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, ACLED collected data on 185 violent events in Laghman
province from open sources: 118 coded as ‘battles’, 56 coded as ‘explosions/remote violence’ and11 coded as ‘violence against civilians’.2774

Figure 42: Laghman province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data2775

Figure 43: Laghman province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, basedon ACLED data2776

2770 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url , p. 110
2771 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 April 2020, url, p. 69
2772 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 July 2020, url, p. 72
2773 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 October 2020, url; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 January 2021, url
2774 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Laghman province, update 25 March
2021, url
2775 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Laghman province,
update 25 March 2021, url
2776 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Laghman province,
update 25 March 2021, url; 7 battles in the province for which ACLED has no information about the location, were notincluded in this graph (geoprecision code 3 – see introduction)

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The category ‘battles’ concerned mainly armed clashes between Afghan Security Forces and the
Taliban while the category ‘explosions/remote violence’ concerned remote explosive/landmine/IED
as well as shelling/artillery/missile attacks and air/drone strikes.2777
During the entire month of March clashes between ANSF and AGEs in Laghman province werereported.2778
In May 2020, clashes between ANSF and the Taliban took place in Alishang district.2779 On
7 July 2020, Khaama Press cited 201st Corps stating that the Afghan security forces killed 16 Taliban
fighters and wounded 6 others in Sarkund Baba area of Laghman province, situated on the highway
between Kabul and Jalalabad.2780
On 2 May 2020, three civilians were killed in Mehtarlam after a bomb set in a motorcycle went off in
front of the prison2781; on 23 May 2020, four children below the age of six were killed after a mortarshell hit a residential house in Gerdi Saleb area of Alishang district.2782
In September 2020, an important number of people fled Alishang district following heavy fighting
between AGEs and ANSF. The security forces established checkpoints on main roads as the security
situation was reported tense.2783
On 5 October 2020, the Governor of Laghman province, Rahmatullah Yarmal, was targeted by asuicide attack on the convoy vehicles. The official survived. 4 bodyguards and 4 civilians were killed,
while 2 other bodyguards and 28 other civilians were injured. No group claimed the attack.2784

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020 – 28 February 2021, reporting 8 135 persons
displaced from Laghman, of which 8 086 were displaced within the province. During the same
period, 28 persons were displaced to Nangarhar province, 14 to Panjsher province and 7 in Ghor
province. 2785
During the first week of March 2020, around 2 296 people were displaced due to continued fighting
in Alishang, Alingar and Mehterlam districts.2786 During the period of 15 – 21 June 2020, at least
1 000 nomad families (7 000 people) were blocked in Laghman province due to the COVID-19
restrictions.2787
IOM reported displacement of 150 families for the period 16 September 2020 - 6 October 2020 from
Alishang district to Mehterlam city due to clashes between AGEs and ANSF.2788 According to2777 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Laghman province,

update 25 March 2021, url
2778 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Weekly Humanitarian Update, 16 March – 22 March 2020, url, p. 1; UNOCHA, Afghanistan
Weekly Humanitarian Update, 23 March – 29 March 2020, url, p. 1
2779 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: May 2020, 28 May 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, 6 soldiers, asmany Taliban killed in Laghman firefight, 11 May 2020, url
2780 Khaama Press, 22 Taliban militants killed, wounded on Kabul-Jalalabad highway, 7 July 2020, url
2781 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: May 2020, 28 May 2020, url; Khaama Press, Explosion close to a
prison leaves 3 dead in Laghman province of Afghanistan, 2 May 2020, url
2782 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: May 2020, 28 May 2020, url
2783 UNOCHA, Afghanistan : Weekly Humanitarian Update (21 – 27 September 2020), 30 September 2020, url, pp.1-2 ; IOM,
Humanitarian Assistance Programme – Biweekly Report : 16 September 2020-06 October 2020, 11 October 2020, url, p. 32784 Khaama Press, Laghman Governor Survived an Attempted Suicide Attack, 5 October 2020, url; RFI, Afghanistan: ungouverneur visé par une attaque kamikaze, 6 October 2020, url
2785 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 30 March 2020, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, updated 4 April 2021, url
2786 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Weekly Humanitarian Update, 9 March – 15 March 2020, url, p. 1
2787 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Weekly Humanitarian Update, 15 – 21 June 2020, url, p. 22788 IOM, Humanitarian Assistance Programme – Biweekly Report : 16 September 2020-06 October 2020, 11 October 2020,
url, p. 3

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UNOCHA, 1 050 people were displaced on 24 September 2020, due to clashes between AGEs and
ANSF in Alishang.2789

2.22 Logar province
2.22.1 General description of the province

Map 22: Afghanistan - Logar province, source: UNOCHA2790

Logar province is located in the central region of Afghanistan, about 65 kilometres south of Kabul,2791
and is divided into the following districts: Azra, Baraki Barak, Charkh, Kharwar, Khoshi, Mohammad
Agha and Pul-e Alam. The provincial capital of Logar is Pul-e Alam.2792 Azra district, in the easternpart of the province has an international border of a few kilometres with Pakistan’s province ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa.2793
According to estimates for 2019-20 by NSIA, Logar province has a population of 426 821.2794 Most of
the province’s population lives in the fertile plains of the Logar Valley.2795
The main ethnic groups in Logar are Pashtun, Tajik and Hazara, with an overall Pashtun majority inthe province.2796 Kharwar and Azra districts are entirely Pashtun-inhabited. Charkh district has a Tajik
majority. In the remaining districts, Tajiks constitute between 20 and 40 % of the population.2797
Hazaras reportedly reside in Khoshi and Pul-e Alam districts. Kuchi nomads can be found in Kharwar
2789 UNOCHA, Afghanistan : Weekly Humanitarian update (21 – 27 September 2020), 30 September 2020, url, pp.1-2
2790 UNOCHA, Afghanistan. Provincial Reference Map, 25 May 2015, url, p. 212791 Pajhwok Afghan News, Elections 2019: Logar Province Background Profile, n.d., url
2792 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Logar Province - District Atlas, April 2014, url; Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of

Afghanistan 2019-2020, November 2019, url, p. 92793 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Logar Province - District Atlas, April 2014, url; Tolonews, Insecurity Hardens Access to Logar’s
Azra District, 30 June 2019, url
2794 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, 18 November 2019, url, pp. 2, 92795 Ruttig, T. and Sabawoon, A.M., A Threat at Kabul’s Southern Gate: a Security Overview of Logar Province, AAN, 18 July
2020, url
2796 US Naval Postgraduate School, Logar Provincial Overview, n.d., url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Elections 2019: Logar
Province Background Profile, n.d., url; Ruttig, T. and Sabawoon, A.M., A Threat at Kabul’s Southern Gate: a Security
Overview of Logar Province, AAN, 18 July 2020, url
2797 Ruttig, T. and Sabawoon, A.M., A Threat at Kabul’s Southern Gate: a Security Overview of Logar Province, AAN, 18 July
2020, url

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and Pul-e Alam districts. The majority of the population of Logar province is Sunni Muslim, but there
are also some Shias.2798
Logar province is rich in chromite ore, with deposits extracted illegally and smuggled to Pakistan.2799
The province also houses the country’s largest copper deposit, the mine of Mes Aynak in
Mohammad Agha district.2800 Logar’s natural resources have caused local rivalries over revenues
coming from mineral deposits.2801 Due to shrinking resources, population growth and sedentarisation
processes, conflicts have been reported between nomads and settlers, for example in the districts of
Azra2802 and Baraki Barak.2803
Logar connects Kabul to Afghanistan’s south-eastern region, Greater (Loya) Paktya, through the
Kabul-Gardez Highway that runs east from the main national Ring Road and over the Tera Pass,traversing the districts of Mohammad Agha and Pul-e Alam.2804 A small airport is reportedly locatednear Pul-e Alam City, however, no information has been found on whether this is a functioning
airport for civil aviation.2805 In February 2021, the Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority (ACAA)
reported on the Afghan government’s plan to construct a large new international airport in Logar, inthe desert of Mohammad Agha district near the Mes Aynak copper mine. The project is estimated to
be operational within three years (the entire work on the project is estimated to take 15 years),
serving domestic and international flights. According to ACAA’s chairman, the new airport will be
used as an alternative to Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul City. Logar’s provincial governor
has asked the Taliban’s cooperation for the security of the new airport.2806

2.22.2 Conflict background and actors in Logar
Logar province has served as a strategic crossing-point for Taliban fighters, not only due to its
proximity to Kabul,2807 but also because it provided easy access to AGEs’ fronts in the nearby
provinces of Nangarhar, Paktya, Paktika, Khost, Wardak and Ghazni, as well as in Pakistan.2808
Kharwar, a mountainous district in the south of the province, was among the first ones in the central
region where Taliban groups started to reorganise in 2005.2809 According to AAN analyst Obaid Ali,
the security situation in Logar province started to deteriorate in 2011. The districts of Azra, Baraki

2798 US Naval Postgraduate School, Logar Provincial Overview, n.d., url
2799 Pajhwok Afghan News, Logar Province: Illegal Extraction of Logar Chromites Goes On, 6 October 2015, url; VOA,

Report: Militant Groups in Afghanistan Get Rich off Mineral Smuggling, 1 February 2017, url
2800 Tolonews, Logar Security ‘Improves’ after More Forces Deployed, 4 May 2019, url; RFE/RL/Gandhara, Even If It
Achieves Peace, Can Afghanistan Ever Be Financially Independent?, 1 December 2020, url; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to theUnited States Congress, 30 January 2021, url, p. 121
2801 Global Security Review, Are Afghanistan’s Mineral Deposits an Answer to the Country‘s Economic Woes?, 9 June 2019,url
2802 Giustozzi, A., Nomad-Settler Conflict in Afghanistan Today, AREU, October 2019, url, p. 27
2803 Giustozzi, A., Nomad Sedentarisation Processes in Afghanistan and Their Impact on Conflict, AREU, September 2019,url, p. 102804 Ali, O., The Empty Streets of Mohammad Agha: Logar‘s Struggle Against the Taleban, AAN, 15 December 2014, url;
Ruttig, T. and Sabawoon, A.M., A Threat at Kabul’s Southern Gate: a Security Overview of Logar Province, AAN, 18 July
2020, url
2805 Falling Rain, Directory of Airports in Afghanistan, n.d., url; MSF, Afghanistan: Country Kit, 12 January 2016, url;
Afghanistan, ACAA, All Airports, 24 September 2017, url
2806 Tolonews, Govt Plans to Build Intl Airport in Logar: Aviation Officials, 11 February 2021, url
2807 Al Jazeera, Taliban Attack in Afghanistan‘s Logar Kills Eight Security Forces, 20 January 2019, url; Ruttig, T., Sabawoon,
A.M., A Threat at Kabul’s Southern Gate: a Security Overview of Logar Province, AAN, 18 July 2020, url
2808 Dorronsoro, G., The Taliban‘s Winning Strategy in Afghanistan, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2009, url,
pp. 22, 28; Ali, O., The Empty Streets of Mohammad Agha: Logar‘s Struggle Against the Taleban, AAN, 15 December 2014,url
2809 Elias, M.O.T., The Resurgence of the Taliban in Kabul: Logar and Wardak, in: Giustozzi, A. (ed.), Decoding the New
Taliban: Insights from the Afghan Field, 2009, pp. 45-46, 52

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Barak, Charkh, Kharwar and Mohammad Agha were then indicated as the areas worst hit by the
Taliban.2810
Logar is described as among the volatile and insecure provinces of the country,2811 ‘where the
Taliban have influence and control’,2812 regularly attacking government forces in both the provincial
capital and the districts.2813 In May 2020, the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team
reported to the UN Security Council on a reorganisation of the Taliban shadow governance andmilitary structure in several provinces, with key new appointments made, including in Logar
province.2814
According to AAN analysts Ruttig and Sabawoon, Logar province together with neighbouringprovinces such as Wardak, western Nangarhar and Surobi district of Kabul province are ‘part of abelt that could cut off the capital from southern and eastern Afghanistan’, if the security situation
would escalate. Various causes for the continued insecurity throughout Logar are cited by local
sources, such as the Taliban’s resilient local structures in the province and a widespread regional
sympathy for the Taliban, incompetent high government officials and a lack of proper coordination
among security forces, government forces’ harassment that pushes local people into the insurgency,
as well as the hashish and chromite smuggling and the fight over its control. Security analysts
describe Logar province as an example of ‘statically disputed territory’, without much change interritory and population control, but with intensive fighting indicating that increasing efforts areneeded from the actors in the conflict to hold their terrain.2815
Out of the six rural districts and the one surrounding Logar’s capital Pul-e Alam, the government
officially claims to control the provincial capital, Khoshi and Mohammad Agha. However, in an AAN
dispatch from mid-July 2020, security analysts and local sources described a different picture.
According to those sources, the Taliban were present in several villages just a few kilometres fromthe provincial capital, several areas in Mohammad Agha district are under Taliban control, heavy
Taliban activity was reported in Baraki Barak, Charkh and Kharwar districts with the government only
holding the district centres or small areas around them, Khoshi district was reportedly contested andthe situation in Azra district is reported as volatile with the district centre besieged by the Taliban forthe past 15 years.2816 Azra is described as ‘a strategic district’, from where the Taliban could threaten
Kabul and other neighbouring provinces.2817
An LWJ assessment mapping Taliban control in Afghanistan in a frequently updated map and basedon open-source information, consulted on 12 March 2021, indicated Kharwar, Charkh and Azra
districts as ‘Taliban-controlled’ and Pul-e Alam, Mohammad Agha and Baraki Barak districts as‘contested’. Kharwar and Charkh districts were designated as ‘contested’ and Azra district as‘government-influenced’. Khoshi district was categorised as ‘government-controlled’ or‘undetermined’ in this assessment. More recently, as of 26 May 2021, Baraki Barak district shifted to‘Taliban control’.2818 A survey Pajhwok Afghan News conducted from November 2020 until February
2810 Ali, O., The Empty Streets of Mohammad Agha: Logar‘s Struggle Against the Taleban, AAN, 15 December 2014, url
2811 Mashal, M., [Twitter], posted on: 1 July 2020, url; Ruttig, T. and Sabawoon, A.M., A Threat at Kabul’s Southern Gate: aSecurity Overview of Logar Province, AAN, 18 July 2020, url; Tolonews, Logar Residents Call for Security Days after Ghani
Visit, 18 July 2020, url
2812 An Afghan analyst Lifos spoke to in January 2020. Sweden, Lifos/Migrationsverket, Säkerhetsläget i Afghanistan(Version 2.0), 7 April 2020, url, p. 52
2813 Ruttig, T. and Sabawoon, A.M., A Threat at Kabul’s Southern Gate: a Security Overview of Logar, AAN, 18 July 2020, url
2814 UN SECURITY COUNCIL, Eleventh Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant
to Resolution 2501 (2019) Concerning the Taliban and Other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat tothe Peace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, 27 May 2020, url, pp. 8-92815 Ruttig, T. and Sabawoon, A.M., A Threat at Kabul’s Southern Gate: a Security Overview of Logar, AAN, 18 July 2020, url
2816 Ruttig, T. and Sabawoon, A.M., A Threat at Kabul’s Southern Gate: a Security Overview of Logar, AAN, 18 July 2020, url
2817 Pajhwok Afghan News, Logar’s Azra District on the Verge of Collapse, 25 June 2019, url
2818 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url. LWJ, however, does not specify when and which information of
the aforementioned map was updated.

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20212819 designated 47.38 % of Logar’s territory under government control, 52.38 % under Taliban
control and 0.24 % controlled by neither side. According to the same survey, 205 811 of Logar’s
inhabitants live in areas under government control, 227 529 of the province’s population live in areas
under Taliban control and 1 034 of Logar’s residents live in areas controlled by neither side.2820
According to media sources in 2020, Charkh district is indicated as the largest area under Taliban
influence in Logar,2821 with the militant group reportedly recruiting locally to build trust within thecommunity.2822 According to a Charkh resident, cited by the Washington Post in December 2020, theTaliban allowed the opening of a girls’ high school in the district and permitted the travel togovernment-held territory for students to attend university.2823 Pajhwok Afghan News reported onincreased Taliban attacks in Charkh in September 2020.2824 In the same month as well as inDecember 2020, foreign fighters (Pakistani and Chechen nationals) were reportedly seen among the
Taliban ranks in Charkh.2825 In November 2020, a Taliban leader named Qari Ismail was killed by theAfghan security forces in the district.2826 In January 2021, Afghan Special Forces rescued several
military and civilian prisoners from a Taliban prison in Charkh.2827 In March 2021, the Taliban
reportedly claimed they took control of Charkh district. The Afghan government rejected the claim,
indicating Charkh district as ‘fully under the control of government forces’.2828 In September 2020,
the Afghan Air Force bombed a Taliban camp, reportedly used as control and command centre for
the Taliban’s shadow intelligence chief for Logar province, called Shafiullah, in Baraki Barak
district.2829 In February 2021, the Taliban’s shadow district governor for Baraki Barak, with the same
name Shafiullah, was killed while in the process of placing an IED.2830 In March 2021, the Taliban
launched a COVID-19 awareness campaign in Baraki Barak district.2831 In August and October 2020,
LWJ reported on heavily armed Taliban fighters and a large militant convoy openly parading throughLogar (a town in either Charkh or Baraki Barak district is indicated as location),2832 with Taliban flags
prominently displayed.2833 In February 2021, a key Taliban commander, named Mesbullah andreportedly planning the assassination of the deputy and advisor of Logar’s provincial governor, wasarrested by NDS forces in Pul-e Alam City.2834 In the same month, several Taliban militants werearrested by the General Command of Police Special Units (GCPSU) in Mohammad Agha district.2835
The Taliban reportedly also have a presence along nearly the whole stretch of the Kabul-Gardez

2819 Through telephonic interviews or by distributing questionnaires, Pajhwok Afghan News interviewed a total of 1 266

respondents for this survey, randomly selected across the country. Pajhwok acknowledges the complexity of this task andthe possible inaccuracy of the provided information.
2820 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url
2821 Tolonews, Afghan Forces Launch Operation in Taliban-Held District in Logar, 22 April 2020, url
2822 Washington Post (The), How Life under Taliban Rule in Afghanistan Has Changed - and How It Hasn’t, 29 December
2020, url
2823 Washington Post (The), How Life under Taliban Rule in Afghanistan Has Changed - and How It Hasn’t, 29 December
2020, url
2824 Pajhwok Afghan News, 10 Taliban Killed in Logar Clash, 6 September 2020, url
2825 Pajhwok Afghan News, 10 Taliban Killed in Logar Clash, 6 September 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Chechen
Fighters Killed in Logar Firefight: MoD, 21 December 2020, url
2826 Bakhtar News Agency, Taliban Leader Killed in Logar Attack, 21 November 2020, url
2827 Khaama Press, Special Forces, Free 22 Prisoners in a ‘Rescue Operation’, 26 January 2021, url
2828 Tolonews, Defense Ministry: Charkh District under Govt Forces Control, 22 March 2021, url
2829 Xinhua, Clashes, Airstrike Kill 12 Militants in E. Afghanistan, 27 September 2020, url
2830 Reporterly, [Twitter], posted on: 16 February 2021, url
2831 Reporterly, Taliban Launch Awareness Campaign on Coronavirus, 30 March 2020, url
2832 LWJ, Taliban Parades Forces in Logar Province, 7 October 2020, url
2833 LWJ, Taliban Parades Fighters as 400 More Prisoners are Freed, 12 August 2020, url; LWJ, Taliban Parades Forces in
Logar Province, 7 October 2020, url
2834 Reporterly, NDS Arrests Member of Taliban’s Terror Cell in Logar, 17 February 2021, url
2835 Reporterly, [Twitter], posted on: 18 February 2021, url; Reporterly, [Twitter], posted on: 21 February 2021, url

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highway, especially in the Waghjan gorge of Muhammad Agha district and in the areas of Kolengar
and Porak of Pul-e Alam district.2836
According to the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team’s reporting to the UN Security
Council in June/July 2019, ISKP has tried to expand its influence in the provinces of Logar and Paktya
in the past, however without success.2837 Former Logar Taliban commander Abdul Hasib wasreported to have taken over ISKP leadership for Afghanistan after leader Hafiz Saeed Khan was killedin July 2016. Abdul Hasib was killed in a joint Afghan and US operation in April 2017.2838 No security
incidents specifically attributed to ISKP have been recorded in Logar between 1 January 2020 and 28
February 2021 by ACLED.2839
In May 2020, information reported to the UN Security Council ‘suggested that discussions were heldamong senior Haqqani Network figures to form a new joint unit of 2 000 armed fighters incooperation with and funded by Al Qaeda’. This newly established unit would be split into two
operational zones with the forces in the Loya Paktya area (including Khost, Logar, Paktika and Paktya
provinces) under Hafiz Azizuddin Haqqani’s command.2840 Further specific information on these two
operational zones could not be found. However, a February 2021 report submitted to the UN
Security Council stated that ‘the overall number of members of Al Qaeda and its affiliates in
Afghanistan is currently estimated at between 200 and 500, spread across 11 Afghan provinces’,
including Logar.2841
According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, Logar province remained a poppy-free province.2842
In terms of the presence of government security forces, Logar was reported to be under the
responsibility of the 203rd ANA Corps. According to USDOD reporting from April 2021, Task ForceSoutheast from NATO’s Resolute Support Mission within Afghanistan, previously including Logar
province, is no longer active.2843 NDS unit 01 is reported to operate in the central region, including in
Logar province. This paramilitary CIA-backed militia has been allegedly accused of human rights
abuses, such as involvement in extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances and attacks on
medical facilities.2844 After a visit to Logar to evaluate the security situation in July 2020, President
Ghani ordered the devising of a clear plan to boost security in the province. According to Logar’s
provincial governor, more security personnel would be stationed in urban areas of the province.2845
In January 2021, the last 300 US forces reportedly left FOB Shank in Logar province and handed it

2836 Ruttig, T. and Sabawoon, A.M., A Threat at Kabul’s Southern Gate: a Security Overview of Logar, AAN, 18 July 2020, url
2837 UN SECURITY COUNCIL, Tenth Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant to

Resolution 2255 (2015) Concerning the Taliban and other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat to thePeace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, 13 June 2019, url, p. 14; UN SECURITY COUNCIL, Ninth Report of the SecretaryGeneral on the Threat Posed by ISIL (Da’esh) to International Peace and Security and the Range of United Nations Efforts in
Support of Member States in Countering the Threat, 31 July 2019, url, p. 72838 USDOS, Country Reports on Terrorism 2018, October 2019, url, p. 294
2839 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Logar province, update
25 March 2021, url
2840 UN SECURITY COUNCIL, Eleventh Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant
to Resolution 2501 (2019) Concerning the Taliban and Other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat tothe Peace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, 27 May 2020, url, p. 132841 UN SECURITY COUNCIL, Twenty-Seventh Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted
Pursuant to Resolution 2368 (2017) Concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and Associated Individuals and Entities, 3 February
2021, url, p. 15; Ruttig, T., A Deal in the Mist: How Much of the US-Taleban Doha Agreement Has Been Implemented?,
AAN, 25 February 2021, url
2842 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 92843 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2020, 23 April 2021, url, p. 52844 HRW, “They’ve Shot Many Like This” Abusive Night Raids by CIA-Backed Afghan Strike Forces, 31 October 2019, url;
Clark, K., CIA-Backed Afghan Paramilitaries Accused of Grave Abuses: New Human Rights Watch Report, AAN, 31 October
2019, url
2845 Pajhwok Afghan News, Ghani Stresses Coordination among Security Forces, 1 July 2020, url

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over to the Afghan security forces. FOB Shank (with adjacent military airfield)2846 in Baraki Barak
district used to be one of the largest US bases in Afghanistan, hosting around 18 000 American
troops between 2006 and 2014.2847

2.22.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 171 civilian casualties (47 deaths and 124 injured) in Logar province.
This represented a decrease of 22 % compared to 2019. Leading causes of casualties were suicide
attacks, followed by ground engagements and targeted killings.2848 According to UNAMA, Logar is
one of 16 provinces that experienced an increase in civilian casualties from ground engagements in2020 compared to 2019.2849 Resolute Support (RS) recorded between 26 and 50 civilian casualties in
Logar province in the first quarter of 20202850 and between 101 and 125 civilian casualties in thesecond quarter of 2020.2851 RS data on civilian casualties per province for the second half of 2020
were no longer available in the SIGAR quarterly reports.2852
According to AAN analysts Ruttig and Sabawoon, Logar province had an ‘up-and-down in theintensity of fighting’ in the first half of 2020. After a drop in violence over the winter of 2019-2020
followed by the week of reduced violence in February 2020, the Taliban reportedly intensified their
attacks on government security posts throughout all districts as well as in the outskirts of theprovincial capital since March 2020. Local residents reported to AAN on ‘a stronger scale’ of violence
than in any year since the insurgency started in Logar province. This trend was confirmed to AAN byseveral Kabul-based security analysts, indicating that the number of security incidents in March 2020
was three and a half times higher in the province than in March 2019. In April and May 2020, large
ANDSF operations and airstrikes were reported in several districts. In May 2020, the Taliban
reportedly increased their attacks. Although Logar experienced ‘a moderate decline’ in fighting in
June 2020, Mohammad Agha was recorded among the 25 districts with the highest number ofincidents countrywide. Like in many parts of the country, a wave of targeted assassinations occurredin Logar in 2020.2853
In the period from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, ACLED collected data from reports in open
sources on 288 incidents related to insurgents in Logar province, of which 180 were coded as‘battles’, 90 as ‘explosions/remote violence’ and 18 as ‘violence against civilians’.2854

2846 Falling Rain, Directory of Airports in Afghanistan, n.d., url; MSF, Afghanistan: Country Kit, 12 January 2016, url
2847 Tolonews, US Leaves Logar's 'FOB Shank,' Once Home to 18K Troops, 4 January 2021, url
2848 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 110
2849 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 72
2850 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 April 2020, url, p. 69
2851 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 July 2020, url, p. 72
2852 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 October 2020, url; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 January 2021, url
2853 Ruttig, T. and Sabawoon, A.M., A Threat at Kabul’s Southern Gate: a Security Overview of Logar, AAN, 18 July 2020, url
2854 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Logar province, update 25 March
2021, url

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Figure 44: Logar province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data2855

Figure 45: Logar province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on
ACLED data2856

ACLED recorded around 63 % of the violent incidents in Logar as ‘battles’, nearly all of which werecoded as ‘armed clashes’. The majority of the armed clashes in Logar were attacks by the Taliban on
Afghan security forces, including military, police and NDS personnel as well as members of progovernment militias or so-called arbakis2857.2858 Examples of such incidents included: assaults on
security checkpoints/outposts in different areas near the provincial capital Pul-e Alam in April
2020,2859 in September 2020,2860 in November 20202861 and in February 2021:2862 in different areas

2855 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Logar province, update

25 March 2021, url
2856 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Logar province, update
25 March 2021, url; 6 incidents (5 battles and 1 remote violence) in the province for which ACLED has no information about
the location, were not included in this graph (geoprecision code 3 - see introduction)
2857 For more information on arbaki: see section 1.2.1 Pro-government forces.
2858 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Logar province, update
25 March 2021, url
2859 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: April 2020, 2 April 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
2860 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url;
Pajhwok Afghan News, Logar: 13 Uprising Members Killed in Taliban Raid, 12 September 2020, url
2861 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 5 November 2020, updated 26 November 2020,
url; Khaama Press, Taliban Offensive Claims 4 ANP in Logar Province, 10 November 2020, url
2862 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 4 February 2021, updated 25 February 2021, url;
Tolonews, 9 Public Uprising Force Members Killed in Logar Attack, 23 February 2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation(such as near the Mes Aynak copper mine) in Mohammad Agha district in March 2020,2863 in April
20202864 and in July 2020:2865 in Charkh district in April 20202866 and in September 20202867 and in
Baraki Barak district in April 2020;2868 an ambush on a police vehicle in the provincial capital Pul-e
Alam in April 2020;2869 the killing of two NDS officers by unknown gunmen in Pul-e Alam in January
2021.2870 Information on civilian casualties reported during these incidents was not found among thesources consulted.
Operations and attacks by Afghan security forces against AGEs were also registered under armed
clashes by ACLED.2871 These incidents involved for example: the killing and wounding of several
Taliban militants in operations in Mohammad Agha district in May 2020,2872 in Charkh district inJanuary 20202873 and in April 20202874 and in Azra district in April 2020;2875 clearing operations carriedout by the General Command of Police Special Units (GCPSU) in Mohammad Agha district inNovember 20202876 and in Pul-e Alam City in December 2020:2877 killing several Taliban militants andseizing large amounts of ammunition; the arrest of several Taliban militants and a key commander
by NDS and GCPSU forces in the districts of Mohammad Agha2878 and Pul-e Alam2879 in February
2021. Information on civilian casualties reported during these incidents was not found among thesources consulted.
AGEs using roadside bombs or IEDs, often targeting the Afghan security forces, represented about
23 % of all reported security incidents in Logar. The majority of IED incidents were registered in the
districts of Pul-e Alam, followed by Charkh and Baraki Barak.2880 Some of these incidents resulted incasualties among civilians. In August 2020, during the three-day ceasefire for Eid al-Adha, 4 people
were reportedly killed and another 57 wounded in a car bombing targeting a police checkpoint in
Pul-e Alam.2881 In February 2021, 1 civilian was reportedly killed and 20-30 others injured when abomb attached to an electricity pole exploded in Baraki Barak district.2882

2863 Pajhwok Afghan News, 10 Security Forces Killed in Logar, Helmand Attacks, 3 March 2020, url; New York Times (The),

Afghan War Casualty Report: March 2020, 5 March 2020, updated 26 March 2020, url
2864 Reuters, Clashes Across Afghanistan Kill Dozens of Security Force Members, Militants, 22 April 2020, url; Al Jazeera,
Trump, Qatar's Emir Talk Amid Taliban Attacks Across Afghanistan, 23 April 2020, url
2865 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 2020, 9 July 2020, updated 30 July 2020, url; Pajhwok AfghanNews, 6 Govt Forces Killed in Logar Attack, 17 July 2020, url; Khaama Press, Afghan Forces Kill, Wound 14 Taliban Militantsin Logar Province, 27 July 2020, url; Tolonews, 6 Taliban Killed in Logar Clashes: Officials, 27 July 2020, url
2866 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: April 2020, 2 April 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; RFE/RL,
Taliban Kills Nine Afghan Soldiers in Attack on Army Post, 16 April 2020, url
2867 Pajhwok Afghan News, 10 Taliban Killed in Logar Clash, 6 September 2020, url
2868 Tolonews, 7 Afghan Forces Killed in Taliban Attack in Logar: Tribal Elders, 26 April 2020, url; Ariana News, Taliban
Captures Police Outpost - Logar, 26 April 2020, url
2869 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: April 2020, 2 April 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
2870 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2021, 7 January 2021, updated 28 January 2021, url;
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Intelligence Officials Gunned Down in Logar, 18 January 2021, url
2871 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Logar province, update
25 March 2021, url
2872 Khaama Press, 11 Taliban Militants Killed, 4 Wounded in Special Forces Raid in Logar, 10 May 2020, url; Pajhwok
Afghan News, Nearly a Dozen Taliban Killed in Logar Raid, 11 May 2020, url
2873 Khaama Press, Afghan Military Operations Kill 8 Taliban Militants, 17 January 2020, url
2874 Tolonews, Afghan Forces Launch Operation in Taliban-Held District in Logar, 22 April 2020, url
2875 Khaama Press, Afghan Force Kill, Wound 14 Taliban Militants; Detain 2 Others in 3 Provinces, 24 April 2020, url
2876 Khaama Press, Security Officials Seize Ammunition, Nab 4 in Logar Operation, 1 November 2020, url
2877 Khaama Press, 2 Taliban Killed in Logar Operation: MoIA, 6 December 2020, url
2878 Reporterly, [Twitter], posted on: 18 February 2021, url; Reporterly, [Twitter], posted on: 21 February 2021, url
2879 Reporterly, NDS Arrests Member of Taliban’s Terror Cell in Logar, 17 February 2021, url
2880 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Logar province, update
25 March 2021, url
2881 Afghanistan Times, 32 People Killed in Three-Day Ceasefire: Report, 5 August 2020, url
2882 Pajhwok Afghan News, Logar: 1 Killed, 25 Injured in Baraki Barak Explosion, 11 February 2021, url

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During the reference period, ACLED registered one suicide bomb attack in Logar province.2883 On 30
July 2020, a few hours before the national three-day ceasefire was to begin for Eid al-Adha, 8
civilians were killed and around 73 more injured2884 when a suicide bomber targeted a police
checkpoint near the crowded Ghazi roundabout in Pul-e Alam City.2885 The Taliban denied theirinvolvement, but according to intelligence information obtained by the Afghan Minister of Interior
the attack was designed by a local Taliban commander in Logar province.2886
Air/drone strikes represented about 5 % of all reported violent incidents in Logar. Most air/drone
strikes were carried out in Baraki Barak and Pul-e Alam districts, followed by Charkh, Azra and
Kharwar districts. Nearly all these air/drone strikes were carried out by Afghan military forces, one
was attributed to NATO forces.2887 The air/drone strikes mostly inflicted losses among AGEs, such as
in Charkh district2888 and on the outskirts of Pul-e Alam City2889 in April 2020, in Baraki Barak districtin May 2020,2890 September 20202891 and February 20212892 and in Mohammad Agha district inAugust 2020.2893 In September 2020, the Taliban reported on the targeting of a civilian car and amosque by US drones in Kharwar district, killing two and injuring eight civilians.2894 This claim wasdenied by a US military spokesman in Afghanistan.2895 In November 2020 and January 2021, media
sources reported on drone attacks carried out by the Taliban targeting the Afghan security forces inseveral provinces, including Logar. In addition to reconnaissance activities and for propaganda
videos, the militant group has reportedly used small low-cost drones with explosives to target
Afghan security checkpoints in Logar.2896
ACLED coded around 2 % of the violent incidents in Logar as ‘shelling, artillery and missile
attacks’.2897 Some of these incidents resulted in civilian casualties, for example: in February andMarch 2020, when mortar shell leftovers exploded in Charkh2898 and Azra2899 districts, killing two or
three children; and in May 2020, when a Taliban-fired mortar landed on a civilian house in Azra
district, killing one child.2900. In August and September 2020, the Taliban reported on mortar shells

2883 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Logar province, update

25 March 2021, url
2884 Civilian casualty data according to UNAMA.
2885 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 2020, 9 July 2020, updated 30 July 2020, url; Al Jazeera, Car
Bomb Kills at least 17 in Afghanistan ahead of Ceasefire, 30 July 2020, url; BBC News, Afghanistan: At least 17 Killed in Eid
Car Blast, 31 July 2020, url; UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23
February 2021, url, p. 44
2886 New York Times (The), 29 Dead after ISIS Attack on Afghan Prison, 3 August 2020, updated 7 October 2020, url
2887 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Logar province, update
25 March 2021, url
2888 Khaama Press, Video: Precision Airstrikes Kill 10 Taliban Militants, Wound 16 in Logar, 19 April 2020, url
2889 Xinhua, 7 Militants Killed in Predawn Airstrike in E. Afghanistan, 26 April 2020, url
2890 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban Kill 7 Pro-Govt Fighters in Takhar Ambush, 18 May 2020, url
2891 Xinhua, Clashes, Airstrike Kill 12 Militants in E. Afghanistan, 27 September 2020, url
2892 Bakhtar News Agency, Eight Taliban Insurgents Killed an Airstrike, 15 February 2021, url,
2893 Pajhwok Afghan News, 20 Militants Killed in Logar, Paktia Violence, 12 August 2020, url
2894 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Logar province, update
25 March 2021, url
2895 VOA, Afghan Rivals Talk Peace as Battlefield Attacks Continue, 13 September 2020, url
2896 Pajhwok Afghan News, 1 Security Official Killed, 7 Wounded in Logar, 8 November 2020, url; Tolonews, ‘Taliban Uses
Drones in Attacks on Afghan Forces’: Officials, 9 November 2020, url; National (The), Taliban Adopting Drone Warfare to
Bolster Attacks, 4 January 2021, url; RFE/RL/Gandhara, Taliban PsyOps: Afghan Militants Weaponize Commercial Drones,
29 January 2021, url
2897 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Logar province, update
25 March 2021, url
2898 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2020, 6 February 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
2899 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: March 2020, 5 March 2020, updated 26 March 2020, url; Pajhwok
Afghan News, 2 Children Killed, 8 Injured in Logar Mortar Shell Blast, 10 March 2020, url
2900 Afghanistan Times, Child killed in Taliban Mortar Attack in Logar, 9 May 2020, url

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fired by the Afghan military in Azra and Kharwar district, injuring five civilians.2901 In July 2020,
several mortars were fired at Ashraf Ghani and his delegation when the President visited his homeprovince; no casualties were reported.2902
ACLED categorised about 6 % of all reported violent incidents in Logar as ‘violence against
civilians’.2903 These incidents involved for example: the shooting by unidentified gunmen of a civilsociety activist in Pul-e Alam in March 2020;2904 the execution of two sisters by the Taliban in
Mohammad Agha district in June 2020;2905 the kidnapping and killing of a former senator for Logar
province by the Taliban also in June 2020;2906 the shooting of a female provincial council member in
Pul-e Alam in July 2020;2907 a Taliban gun attack on two senior provincial council members inMohammad Agha district in September 2020;2908 a Taliban attack on the residence of Baraki Barak’s
district governor in Muhammad Agha district, killing his bodyguard and one of his brothers in
September 2020;2909 the killing of three civilians, including a former local police commander, by the
Taliban in the provincial capital Pul-e Alam in October 2020;2910 the killing of the district governor of
Zazai Maidan district in Khost province in an ambush by unknown gunmen on the way to Kabul in
October 2020;2911 and the killing of an engineer by unknown gunmen in Mohammad Agha district inFebruary 2021.2912
In July 2020, residents of Logar’s provincial capital Pul-e Alam reportedly voiced concerns over asurge in the level of violence in the province. Cited by Afghan news agency Tolonews, respondents
referred to gunfire heard throughout the night in Pul-e Alam and a peak of insecurity in the villages.
According to a local ANA commander, the Afghan security forces regularly conducted search
operations and will expand their deployment from inside the city of Pul-e Alam to the countryside if
necessary. Additionally, a new separate scout force has reportedly been deployed to mend thefragile security in the province.2913 In the same month, UNOCHA indicated the impact of the volatile
security situation in Logar on government resources and law enforcement in the province,
contributing to rising criminality.2914
Several sources reported on increased threats and insecurity due to ongoing fighting between
ANDSF forces and insurgency groups on the main road connecting Kabul to Logar province,
negatively affecting civilian movements.2915 The Taliban were reportedly involved in disturbing
security on the Kabul-Gardez Highway, regularly blocking the road, installing checkpoints and2901 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Logar province, update

25 March 2021, url
2902 Tolonews, Ghani, Fired at During Logar Visit, Pledges Increased Security, 1 July 2020, url
2903 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Logar province, update
25 March 2021, url
2904 Pajhwok Afghan News, Civilians, Civil Society Activists gunned Down in Pul-i-Alam, 29 March 2020, url
2905 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban Execute 2 Young Sisters in Logar, 7 June 2020, url
2906 Ariana News, Taliban Kill Former Afghan Senator in Logar: Local Officials, 9 June 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News,
Taliban Gun Down Former Senator in Logar, 9 June 2020, url
2907 Tolonews, Logar Provincial Council Member Shot, Wounded, 6 July 2020, url; RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghan Female
Politician Wounded in Attack, 6 July 2020, url
2908 Pajhwok Afghan News, Logar PC chief, Secretary Survive Gun Attack, 10 September 2020, url
2909 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url;
Khaama Press, Taliban Ambushes District Governor’s Residence, 15 September 2020, url
2910 Pajhwok Afghan News, Ex-ALP Leader among 3 Killed in Logar, 3 October 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War
Casualty Report: October 2020, 8 October 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
2911 Tolonews, District Governor in Khost Killed in Ambush, 20 October 2020, url
2912 Pajhwok Afghan News, Engineer Gunned Down in Logar, 28 February 2021, url
2913 Tolonews, Logar Residents Call for Security Days after Ghani Visit, 18 July 2020, url
2914 UNOCHA, Afghanistan - Weekly Humanitarian Update (6 - 12 July 2020), 15 July 2020, url, p. 22915 Tolonews, Fierce, Widespread Fighting Surges to Control Afghan Highways, 7 July 2020, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Weekly Humanitarian Update (22 - 28 February 2021), 2 March 2021, url, p. 2

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searching vehicles and passengers whom they suspect are government or NGO employees.2916 This
has left some government outposts along the road in precarious positions and increased the risk ofviolence along stretches of the highway.2917
In its January 2020 Monthly Humanitarian Update, UNOCHA listed Logar as third in the top threeprovinces with the highest number of schools closed or damaged by conflict.2918 In a Human Rights
Watch (HRW) report published in June 2020, Taliban officials declared that although they were open
to education for girls and women at all levels, they have to take into account local norms whenestablishing rules and guidelines on community level and ‘would not impose it on communities who
did not accept it’. The officials indicated Logar as a province where people are more ‘open-minded’
about girls’ education.2919 In March 2021, Taliban militants reportedly threatened and barred 7 500
religious students from attending classes in a madrasa in Logar province.2920
At the end of January 2020, Afghanistan’s Attorney General’s Office (AOG) opened an investigation
into the alleged sexual abuse of hundreds of boys from several schools in rural areas of Logar
province, reported by an Afghan civil society organisation in November 2019.2921 According to an
administrator of one of the schools cited by the New York Times, ‘three boys who had reported
rapes were later killed by the Taliban, who condemn the sexual abuse as anti-Islamic’.2922 In its 2020
annual report, UNAMA mentioned its continued support for the AOG committee tasked with anindependent and impartial investigation. Several of the 21 suspects identified by the committee
have reportedly been arrested and sentenced. According to UNAMA, none of the perpetrators arelinked to any of the parties in the Afghan conflict.2923
Concerning attacks related to health care provision in 2020, the WHO registered six health carepatients as severely affected (three patients injured and three patients released after being
detained) in Pul-e Alam district of Logar province.2924 In June 2020, a rocket fired by the Taliban
damaged the provincial hospital in Pul-e Alam district.2925

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020 - 28 February 2021, reporting 2 317 persons
displaced from Logar province, of which the majority (1 827) were displaced within the province
itself (all finding refuge in Pul-e Alam district). The remaining 490 IDPs from Logar sought shelter inneighbouring provinces Kabul (315) (Kabul district), Khost (84) (Khost (Matun) district), Paktya (77)
(Gardez district) and Nangarhar (14) (Khogyani district). The majority of IDPs in Logar province weredisplaced from Baraki Barak district (1 036) with peaks in the first half of January and February 2020
and in the beginning of June and August 2020; and from Mohammad Agha district (686) with peaks
in January, February, June and August 2020. Smaller numbers of IDPs were displaced from Charkh
district (217) in February and July 2020, Kharwar district (154) in January 2020, Pul-e Alam district(140) in June and August 2020, Khoshi district (70) in February 2020 and Azra district (14) in October

2916 Ruttig, T. and Sabawoon, A.M., A Threat at Kabul’s Southern Gate: a Security Overview of Logar, AAN, 18 July 2020, url;

New York Times (The), On Afghan Highways, Even the Police Fear the Taliban’s Toll Collectors, 1 November 2020, updated
12 November 2020, url
2917 New York Times (The), On Afghan Highways, Even the Police Fear the Taliban’s Toll Collectors, 1 November 2020,
updated 12 November 2020, url
2918 UNOCHA, Afghanistan - Monthly Humanitarian Update (January 2020, 11 February 2020, url, p. 1
2919 HRW, “You Have No Right to Complain”: Education, Social Restrictions, and Justice in Taliban-Held Afghanistan, 30 June
2020, url, p. 18
2920 Reporterly, [Twitter], posted on: 4 March 2021, url
2921 Guardian (The), Investigation Begins into Alleged Abuse of More Than 500 Boys in Afghanistan, 29 January 2020, url
2922 New York Times (The), 3 Afghan Schools, 165 Accounts of Students Being Raped, 25 November 2019, url
2923 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, pp. 32-33
2924 WHO, Afghanistan – Attacks on Health Care (January 01 - December 31, 2020, 11 January 2021, url
2925 UNAMA, Afghanistan Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict Midyear Report 2020: 1 January - 30 June 2020, 27 July
2020, url, p. 19

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2020. No conflict-induced internal displacement to Logar province from other provinces wasreported by UNOCHA during the same period.2926
During the last two weeks of March 2020, UNOCHA reported on the displacement of approximately
350 families due to conflict in Logar province.2927 In January 2021, UNOCHA reported on 4 942
people displaced by conflict in Logar province (assessments are ongoing in order to verify thisinformation).2928
According to IOM data from January to June 2020, one in three persons in Logar province are either
an IDP or returnee and over 85 % of IDPs in Logar have not returned home. IOM additionallyindicates Logar as one out of eight provinces were 49 % of Afghan returnees reside.2929 In an
Emergency Response Mechanism (ERM) report published in September 2020, host community
members in Logar province expressed their concern on overstretched services resulting from theinflux of displaced households and leading to the risk of exclusion of IDP households from basic
services.2930 In UNOCHA’s Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) and Humanitarian Response Plan
(HRP) for 2021, Logar is mentioned as a province where over one third of displaced households
reported at least three locations (roads, markets and health facilities) where women/girls feelunsafe.2931 More than a third of the assessed displaced households expressed concerns about
explosive hazards in Logar, among other provinces (such as Wardak, Paktika, Farah, Ghazni andKunduz).2932

2926 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 23 February 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict

Displacement 2021, updated 8 March 2021, url
2927 UNOCHA, Afghanistan - Weekly Humanitarian Update (30 March - 5 April 2020), 5 April 2020, url, p. 22928 UNOCHA, Afghanistan - Weekly Humanitarian Update (11-17 January 2021), 19 January 2021, url, p. 22929 IOM, DTM Afghanistan, Baseline Mobility Assessment: Summary Results Round 10 Jan-June 2020, 1 October 2020, url,
pp. 1, 72930 ERM, Protection Analysis Report: May - July 2020, 9 September 2020, url, pp. 8, 12
2931 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Needs Overview – Afghanistan 2021, 19 December 2020, url, p. 137; UNOCHA, Humanitarian
Response Plan – Afghanistan 2018 - 2021, 9 January 2021, url, p. 105
2932 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Needs Overview – Afghanistan 2021, 19 December 2020, url, p. 137

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2.23 Nangarhar
2.23.1 General description of the province

Map 23: Afghanistan – Nangarhar province, source: UNOCHA2933

Nangarhar is located in eastern Afghanistan, along the Afghan-Pakistani border, and is divided into
the following districts: Achin, Batikot, Behsud, Chaparhar, Dara-i Nur, Deh Bala (also known as Haska
Mena), Durbaba, Goshta, Hesarak, Jalalabad, Kama, Khogyani, Kot, Kuzkunar (also known as
Khiwa2934), Lalpur, Muhmand Dara, Nazyan, Pachieragam (sometimes spelled ‘Pachir Wa Agam’2935),
Rodat, Sherzad, Shinwar (also known as Ghanikhel) and Surkhrod.2936 The NSIA also mentions a
district named Spinghar but defines it as ‘temporary’.2937 The provincial capital of Nangarhar is
Jalalabad.2938
According to estimates for 2019-2020 by NSIA, the province has a population of 1 668 481. The rural
population accounts for about 85 % of the total.2939
The main ethnic groups in the province are Pashtuns, followed by Pashai, Arabs and Tajiks.2940 As forthe local Sikh and Hindu community, it used to be primarily present in and nearby Jalalabad.

2933 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Provincial Reference Map – Nangarhar Province, 25 May 2015, url, p. 222934 UNHCR, District Profile: Khas Kunar, Kunar, 10 August 2002, url, p. 1
2935 Ali, O., Hit from Many Sides 1: Unpicking the recent victory against the ISKP in Nangarhar, 1 March 2020, url
2936 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan 2020-2021, June 2020, url, pp. 14-15; Afghanistan, IEC,

Afghanistan 2019 Presidential Elections – Final results by Polling Stations: Province Nangarhar, 2020, url; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan: Nangarhar Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url; US NavalPostgraduate School, Nangarhar Provincial
Overview, n.d., url; Kazemi, S. R. and Sorush, R., One Land, Two Rules (4): Delivering public services in embattled Achin
district in Nangrahar province, AAN, 25 March 2019, url
2937 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan 2020-2021, June 2020, url, p. 15
2938 Afghanistan, Office of the President, Provincial Profile Nangarhar, n. d., url
2939 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, 18 November 2019, url, p. 10
2940 US Naval Postgraduate School, Nangarhar Provincial Overview, n.d., url

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Confronted with the government’s indifference, many of its members have been increasingly leaving
Nangarhar following the July 2018 ISKP suicide attack carried out against the community in
Jalalabad.2941 As of July 2020, 45 Sikh families were reported to still be living in the province.2942
According to 2019 and 2020 estimates, there were also between 80 000 and 100 000 nomad families
in Nangarhar.2943
The Regional Highway 05 (RH05) starts from Kabul2944 and passes through the districts of Surkhrod,
Jalalabad, Behsud, Rodat, Batikot, Shinwar, Muhmand Dara, before reaching the Afghan-Pakistaniborder at Torkham.2945 The construction of the second Kabul-Jalalabad highway (reserved to longtransit vehicles) started in 2010 but, as of November 2020, was still delayed due to security concerns
in Hesarak, Khogyani and Sherzad.2946 In December 2020, construction work was launched on a 10
kilometre-long road in Rodat district.2947 This same month, Afghan newspaper Etilaatroz reported
that the Sulemankhel Road, in Pachieragam district, had reopened after years of being closed.2948
Nangarhar, which borders the tribal areas of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province2949, has served
as an unofficial crossing-point for local and foreign militants.2950 In 2020, London School of Economics
expert David Mansfield listed Garo, Dawtakhel, Ghwaraky, Kama Dakah, Sasobai and Tabai as
unofficial crossings, some of them being hubs for all types of illicit trafficking.2951
Construction work on a civilian airport in Jalalabad started in 2017. It is located in the eastern part ofthe current military airbase, at the junction of Jalalabad and Behsud districts, along the mainhighway. The airbase was used by foreign troops until it was handed back to Afghan forces following
the 2020 US/Taliban Doha Agreement. As of January 2021, the project was supposed to ‘becompleted in a few years’. Although Bakhtar Afghan Airways operated its first Kabul-Jalalabad testflight in January 2021, no date has been announced for the opening of the new airport tocommercial traffic.2952 In January 2021, additional forces were deployed to protect the airport.2953

2.23.2 Conflict background and actors in Nangarhar
According to a 2014 study by Ashley Jackson, provincial governor Gul Agha Sherzai, enjoyed wide
support in the first years following his appointment. He redirected massive amounts of foreign aid

2941 Foschini, F., The Other Fold of the Turban: Afghanistan‘s Hindus and Sikhs, AAN, 23 September 2013, url; AustralianInstitute of International Affairs, A Precarious State: the Sikh Community in Afghanistan, 11 July 2018, url ; Norway,
Landinfo, Afghanistan: Afghanske sikher og hinduer, 29 January 2020, url, pp. 13-14
2942 New York Times (The), India Offers Escape to Afghan Hindus and Sikhs Facing Attacks, 19 July 2020, url
2943 Giustozzi, A., Nomad-settler conflict in Afghanistan today, AREU, 13 November 2019, url, p. 14 ; Pajhwok Afghan News,
Our pastures grabbed, livestock under threat: Nangarhar nomads, 17 December 2020, url
2944 Italy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Evaluation Report - Afghanistan: Rehabilitation of Maidan Shar – Bamyan Road, 2014,
url, p. 72945 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Nangarhar Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url, pp. 2, 182946 Pajhwok Afghan News, In 10 years, only 40pc work done on Kabul-Jalalabad road, 4 November 2020, url
2947 Pajhwok Afghan News, 50-bed hospital completes in Nangarhar’s Rodat district, 30 December 2020, url
2948 Etilaatroz, ‫[ له کلونو بندېدو وروسته د ننګرهار پچېاګام ک د سلېمانخېلو الر پرانیستل شوه‬informal translation, After years of closure,‫ر‬
the Sulemankhel Road in Pachiragam, Nangarhar, was reopened], 3 December 2020, url
2949 Osman, B., Descent into chaos: Why did Nangarhar turn into an IS hub?, AAN, 27 September 2016, url
2950 Osman, B., Descent into chaos: Why did Nangarhar turn into an IS hub?, AAN, 27 September 2016, url; New Arab (The),In Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, violence is committed by all sides, 25 January 2018, url
2951 Mansfield, D., Business as Usual: The Uninterrupted Illicit Supply Chain across the Borders of Afghanistan, Medium, 5
May 2020, url; Mansfield, D., Mules, Pick-ups and Container Traffic: Cross-Border Production and Trade and the Shaping of
the Political Economy of Nangarhar, AREU, 6 July 2020, url, p. 162952 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Nangarhar Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url, p. 5 ; Pajhwok Afghan News, Initial work on
Nangarhar civil airport to begin soon, 2 January 2017, url ; Pajhwok Afghan News, Test flights begin from Kabul to
Nangarhar, 7 January 2021, url
2953 Pajhwok Afghan News, Local army graduates to guard Jalalabad airport, 3 districts, 17 January 2021, url

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money towards officials or local power brokers, creating a ‘rentier political marketplace’.2954
According to analyst David Mansfield, successful counter narcotics and counterinsurgency
campaigns, as well as economic growth, contributed to make Nangarhar a ‘model province’ until
2011.2955 Meanwhile, however, the divide between Jalalabad elites and rural communities of thesouthern part of the province was deepening. The political alliances that had ensured a form ofstability earlier also started to crumble.2956 Jackson further wrote that the Taliban took advantage ofthese political rifts, citing Khogyani and Sherzad as the first districts to rally the insurgency, due topolitical neglect and under-representation.2957 The situation worsened at a faster pace after 2013,
with the withdrawal of international combat forces. From 2014 on, Mansfield noted a ‘dramatic
uptick in levels of violence’, afflicting notably the rural population. By 2016, Nangarhar was ‘incomplete disarray’.2958 Several districts of Nangarhar experienced ‘continuous displacements’ in
2015-2016, as a result of inter-AGE clashes and military operations.2959 In 2017, Nangarhar was theprovince with the highest numbers of conflict-induced IDPs2960, in addition to having over 500 000
Afghans returning from Pakistan in the second half of 2016.2961
Prior to the political fragmentation of the local government, AAN’s Borhan Osman noted that, from2007 on, the insurgency experienced a similar process of fragmentation in the southern and southeastern districts of Nangarhar. The Taliban shadow governors struggled to control their fighters, whoengaged in criminal activities, and were unable to fully take advantage of the political and militaryvacuum in the province. Between 2011 and 2014, Nangarhar had the highest number of violent
crimes in the country.2962
In a 2017 academic article investigating the sources of the Taliban’s legitimacy after 2001, London
School of Economics’ Florian Weigand, also co-director of the Centre for the Study of Armed
Groups2963, highlighted the complexity of the insurgency in Nangarhar province.2964 It is indeed
composed of a ‘number of armed ‘opposition’ groups with different interests and alliances,
sometimes linked to strongmen or to the government, sometimes claiming to be “Taliban” andsometimes only being labelled as “Taliban” by others’.2965
Regarding the Taliban, in May 2020, the UN Security Council listed Mullah Mohammad Essa,
originally affiliated to the Peshawar Shura network, as the shadow governor of Nangarhar. He was2954 Jackson, A., Politics and Governance in Afghanistan: the Case of Nangarhar Province, Secure Livelihoods ResearchConsortium, June 2014, url, pp. 6-7, 152955 Mansfied, D., The Devil is in the Details: Nangarhar’s continued decline into insurgency, violence and widespread drug
production, AREU, 29 February 2016, url, p 22956 Mansfied, D., The Devil is in the Details: Nangarhar’s continued decline into insurgency, violence and widespread drug
production, AREU, 29 February 2016, url, pp. 1, 2, 3, 4, 62957 Jackson, A., Politics and Governance in Afghanistan: the Case of Nangarhar Province, Secure Livelihoods ResearchConsortium, June 2014, url, p. 26
2958 Mansfied, D., The Devil is in the Details: Nangarhar’s continued decline into insurgency, violence and widespread drug
production, AREU, 29 February 2016, url, pp. 1, 2, 3, 4, 62959 UNHCR, Major situations of conflict-induced displacement in the first months of 2016 –Summary note for Afghanistan
Protection Cluster, 24 February 2016, url, p. 22960 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Weekly Field Report; Week of 1 to 7 January 2018, 7 January 2018, url, p. 1
2961 UNOCHA, 2017 Afghanistan Humanitarian Needs Overview, 9 January 2017, url, p. 112962 Osman, B., Descent into chaos: Why did Nangarhar turn into an IS hub?, AAN, 27 September 2016, url
2963 ODI, Centre for the Study of Armed Groups: Florian Weigand, n. d., url
2964 Weigand, F., Afghanistan’s Taliban – Legitimate Jihadists or Coercive Extremists?, Journal of Intervention andStatebuilding, 2017, url, p. 369
2965 Weigand, F., Afghanistan’s Taliban – Legitimate Jihadists or Coercive Extremists?, Journal of Intervention andStatebuilding, 2017, url, p. 369

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appointed after the ‘reshuffle’ of the Taliban government structure ahead of the 2020 fighting
season.2966 However, he was reportedly replaced by Mawlawi Neda Mohammad in early 2021.2967
According to an Afghanistan analyst interviewed in January 2020 by Sweden’s Migration Agency, theTaliban were able to consolidate their presence in areas that they cleared from ISKP and thus were
the strongest armed group in Nangarhar.2968 In March 2020, AAN’s expert Obaid Ali assessed the
Taliban’s strength as ‘weak’ in Nangarhar in relation to their capacity to drive out the ISKP, which
they eventually did, expanding their control in remote mountainous areas where ISKP had bases.2969
Nevertheless, the group appeared to take advantage of the withdrawal of US troops from several
outposts. It was reported to resume or increase its activities in districts such as Surkhrod2970,
Achin2971, Haska Mena2972, or Hesarak.2973
This pattern led some civilians and members of the security forces to join the Taliban – not only inrural areas, but also in Nangarhar universities.2974 In July 2020, Taliban members interviewed by the
Diplomat admitted the presence of foreigners fighting along them in Nangarhar, despite not being
actual members of the group, such as Punjabis and Uyghurs in Sherzad district. A Taliban
spokesperson denied these claims.2975
The Taliban reportedly set up a system of taxation of smuggling goods across eight of Nangarhar’ssouthern districts, Hesarak and Sherzad districts being the local centre of their narcotics activity.2976
The UN Security Council indeed suggested that behind the Taliban’s determination to dislodge ISKP
from Nangarhar was their will to retake control of local smuggling routes and poppy-cultivatingareas.2977 The Taliban were also said to give money to some tribal leaders every month, in
unspecified districts, to ensure their support.2978
ISKP has been active in Nangarhar since 2015, when it formally announced its foundation. Originallycomposed of Pakistani militants who had settled in the south-eastern districts of the province after
the Pakistani army had ousted them from the tribal areas, ISKP was later joined by Taliban
defectors.2979 ISKP benefitted from the weakening of the provincial authorities, infighting between
the local Taliban, and the erosion of tribal social structures in Nangarhar (particularly in the

2966 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, pp. 8-9, 27
2967 Tolonews, Taliban Reshuffles Key Posts as New Fighting Season Nears, 6 March 2021, url
2968 Sweden, Lifos/Swedish Migration Agency, Säkerhetsläget i Afghanistan (version 2.0.), 7 April 2020, url, p. 41
2969 Ali, O., Hit from Many Sides 1: Unpicking the recent victory against the ISKP in Nangarhar, 1 March 2020, url
2970 FP, Resurgent Taliban Bode Ill for Afghan Peace, 7 July 2020, url
2971 AFP, Afghanistan: à Achin, le retour de la peur après le retrait des troupes américaines [informal translation: In Achin,fear returns after US troops withdrawal], in Yahoo ! Actualités, 14 October 2020, url; Tolonews, Concerns Remain Months
after US Leaves Base in Nangarhar, 15 January 2021, url
2972 AFP, Afghanistan: à Achin, le retour de la peur après le retrait des troupes américaines [informal translation: In Achin,fear returns after US troops withdrawal], in Yahoo ! Actualités, 14 October 2020, url
2973 Pajhwok Afghan News, Situation worsens in Hesarak, residents flee homes, 12 November 2020, url
2974 FP, Resurgent Taliban Bode Ill for Afghan Peace, 7 July 2020, url; FP, Feeling Abandoned by Kabul, Many Rural Afghans
Flock to Join the Taliban, 24 September 2020, url
2975 Diplomat (The), The Taliban Say They Have No Foreign Fighters. Is That True?, 10 August 2020, url
2976 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, p. 152977 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, pp. 16-17
2978 1TV, Some tribal elders in Nangarhar are regularly paid by Taliban, 23 August 2020, url
2979 Osman, B., The Islamic State in ‘Khorasan’: How it began and where it stands now in Nangarhar, AAN, 27 July 2016, url

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traditional area of the Shinwari tribe). Local communities were indeed left vulnerable to pressure
from local and foreign insurgents.2980
AAN’s Borhan Osman stated that in terms of territorial control, ISKP was at its most powerful in thesummer of 2015, after overrunning the Taliban in 8 of Nangarhar’s 22 districts (Achin, Kot, Nazyan,
Bati Kot, Deh Bala/Haska Mena, Khogyani, Sherzad, Pachir wa Agam and Chaparhar) – although it
never captured their respective centres. Shortly after, faced with Taliban counterattacks and US
airstrikes, ISKP’s presence started to dwindle and, by the spring of 2017, was restricted to Achin and
Deh Bala districts, with its command base located in Achin’s Mamand Valley.2981 ISKP resorted to
extreme violence to stay in control of remote areas of Nangarhar, transforming villages into training
and logistical centres.2982 From the fall of 2019, military operations simultaneously led by ANDSF,
coalition forces and the Taliban, pressured the group into leaving the areas under its control insouthern Nangarhar and in Kunar.2983 By November 2019, ISKP had been ‘nearly eradicated from its
main Afghan base in Nangarhar’.2984 In this regard, Obaid Ali stressed the importance of ISKP’s
unpopularity in Nangarhar in its defeat, since it could not rely on locals’ support.2985
In early and mid-2020, sources reported on the presence of ISKP in Achin, Deh Bala, Khogyani andPachieragam districts, notably due to the withdrawal of US troops from several outposts.2986
According to multiple sources cited by a report published by the project ExTrac2987 in November
2020, ISKP was then ‘severely restricted in its in-person outreach’, even in Nangarhar, where it only
maintained contact with the families of its operatives.2988 In February 2021, the UN Security Council
highlighted the ‘degraded combat capability’ of ISKP, although it was trying to regain some influence.
According to UN estimates, ISKP mustered between 1 000 and 2 200 fighters in Afghanistan and wasstill present in Achin district. ISKP was also considered a threat in ‘urban areas in the east ofAfghanistan’, among others.2989 The New York Times added that its urban cells worked independently
from one another, making their dismantlement harder.2990 In March 2021, Afghan researcher Abdul
Sayed reported on the spread of ISKP attacks in several districts of Nangarhar where it was once thedominant force.2991 Despite the arrest and/or killing of numerous alleged ISKP fighters and leaders2980 Osman, B., Descent into chaos: Why did Nangarhar turn into an IS hub?, AAN, 27 September 2016, url; Kazemi, S. R.

and Sorush, R., One Land, Two Rules (4): Delivering public services in embattled Achin district in Nangrahar province, AAN,
25 March 2019, url ; Osman, B., Bourgeois Jihad: Why Young, Middle-Class Afghans Join the Islamic State, USIP, 1 June
2020, url, p. 222981 Osman, B., The Battle for Mamand: ISKP under strain, but not yet defeated, AAN, 23 May 2017, url
2982 Washington Post (The), Afghanistan claims the Islamic State was ‘obliterated.’ But fighters who got away could stage aresurgence, 9 February 2020, url
2983 USDOD, Enhancing Security & Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, url, p. 282984 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, pp. 3-4 ; Diplomat (The), Islamic State’s
Lingering Legacy in Afghanistan, 5 February 2020, url
2985 Ali, O., Hit from Many Sides 1: Unpicking the recent victory against the ISKP in Nangarhar, AAN, 1 March 2020, url
2986 Ali, O., Hit from Many Sides 1: Unpicking the recent victory against the ISKP in Nangarhar, AAN, 1 March 2020, url;
AAN, Voices from the Districts, the Violence Mapped (1): What has happened since the reduction in violence ended?, 21
March 2020, url; AFP, Afghanistan: à Achin, le retour de la peur après le retrait des troupes américaines [informaltranslation, In Achin, fear returns after US troops withdrawal], in Yahoo ! Actualités, 14 October 2020, url
2987 ExTrac studies several ‘violent extremist organisations’ through tools such as social networks and messaging
applications tracking or expert analysis. See: ExTrac, n.d., url
2988 ExTrac, Mapping The Extremist Narrative Landscape In Afghanistan, November 2020, url, p. 31
2989 UN Security Council, Twenty-seventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted
pursuant to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2021/68, 3
February 2021, url, pp. 14-15
2990 New York Times (The), Foes in Afghan War See a Common Threat of Islamic State’s Return, 22 March 2021, url
2991 Sayed, A., [Twitter], posted on: 3 March 2021, url

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throughout the reporting period, for instance in Chaparhar2992, Kama2993 and Surkhrod2994, these
efforts were deemed as unlikely to remove ISKP and prevent it from conducting deadly attacks.2995
In March 2021, the New York Times reported on ‘poor and sometimes educated radicalized’ urban
residents joining ISKP, notably in Jalalabad.2996 In this regard, Jalalabad’s Nangarhar University wasamong the three universities which provided ISKP with the most recruits.2997 The group was also said
to recruit students of Gulf states-backed Salafist madrasas in Nangarhar and Kunar.2998
As of July 2020, ISKP was described by Stars & Stripes as ‘financially hobbled’, due to the loss ofrevenues generated by the control of smuggling routes.2999 In a January 2021 report, the US Treasury
stated that in Nangarhar, ISKP heavily relied on informal mechanisms, such as hawalas, to transfer
money.3000
As listed by AAN in a 2016 report, other Afghan militant groups operating in some of Nangarhar’s
districts were then: the Tora Bora Jihadi Front, which was integrated into the mainstream Taliban
movement in October 2015; Hezb-e Islami; several Salafi groups; Fedaiy Karwan, a semi-autonomous
group within the Taliban movement; and the Siahpushan (meaning ‘black-clad and masked’), whose
alliance was not clear.3001 In 2019, a group of the Haqqani Network’s 40 fighters was also reportedly
involved in the planning of suicide attacks and assassinations in Nangarhar.3002
In February 2021, the UN Security Council listed Nangarhar among the 11 provinces where Al Qaeda,
with forces estimated between 200 and 500, was present.3003 UNAMA added that its main tasks
consist in ‘training, including weapons and explosives, and mentoring’.3004 The Diplomat observedthat in April 2020, Al Qaeda claimed to have supported the Taliban in their fight against ISKP in
Nangarhar between August and October 2019.3005
As of May 2020, Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Jaish-e Mohammad (JeM) and Lashkar-e Tayyiba(LeT) were listed among the foreign groups mostly present in eastern Afghanistan, notably in
Nangarhar, under the leadership of the Afghan Taliban.3006 TTP’s forces were then estimated at 180
fighters situated in Lalpur district, while JeM and LeT respectively numbered 200 and 800 fighters,‘colocated with Taliban forces’ in Muhmand Dara, Durbaba and Sherzad districts. These groups
reportedly ‘act as advisers, trainers and specialists in IEDs’, while ‘carrying out targeted

2992 Pajhwok Afghan News, Daesh shadow governor for Nangarhar killed, 4 December 2020, url ; TKG, Four IS/Daesh

Fighters Arrested in E. Afghanistan, 31 January 2021, url
2993 Pajhwok Afghan News, Key Daesh member arrested in Nangarhar, 12 January 2021, url
2994 Kabul Now, NDS operatives arrest ISKP’s press officer and fighters, 3 October 2020, url
2995 VOA, IS Khorasan Able to Stage Attacks Despite Depleted Leadership, Experts Say, 19 August 2020, url
2996 New York Times (The), Foes in Afghan War See a Common Threat of Islamic State’s Return, 22 March 2021, url
2997 Osman, B., Bourgeois Jihad: Why Young, Middle-Class Afghans Join the Islamic State, USIP, 1 June 2020, url, p. 112998 FP, In Afghanistan, Religious Schools Are a Breeding Ground for Islamic State Influence, 24 January 2020, url
2999 Stars and Stripes, A bloodied ISIS still a threat in Afghanistan as it looks to recruit disgruntled Taliban, 31 July 2020, url
3000 US Department of Treasury, Operation Inherent Resolve - Summary of Work Performed by the Department of theTreasury Related to Terrorist Financing, ISIS, and Anti-Money Laundering for First Quarter Fiscal Year 2021, 4 January 2021,
url, p. 43001 Osman, B., Descent into chaos: Why did Nangarhar turn into an IS hub?, AAN, 27 September 2016, url
3002 Khaama Press, Prominent Haqqani Network commander arrested in Jalalabad city, 7 March 2019, url
3003 UN Security Council, Twenty-seventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted
pursuant to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2021/68, 3
February 2021, url, p. 153004 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, 22 February 2020, url, pp. 85-86
3005 Diplomat (The), The Taliban and al-Qaeda: Enduring Partnership or Liability?, 16 June 2020, url
3006 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, p. 20

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situationassassinations against government officials and others’.3007 In 2020, former TTP fighters who had
defected to ISKP ‘returned to their old TTP networks, in Kunar, or Nangrahar or in Pakistan’.3008 In
August 2020, as they decided to join forces again with TTP, which they had splintered from3009,
Jamaat ul-Ahrar (JuA) and Hezb-ul Ahrar (HuA) were reported to maintain a strong presence in Kunar
and Nangarhar provinces.3010 However, in a March 2021 report, the Diplomat magazine stated that
the TTP had relocated from Kunar and Nangarhar provinces to Paktika’s Bermal district.3011 Lashkar-eIslam (LeI) is said to operate in Nazyan district since at least 2008.3012 In January 2021, security
sources announced the death of its leader, Mangal Bagh, in a mine blast in Nazyan.3013
Despite a decrease of the area under poppy cultivation in Nangarhar in 2020 (-27 %)3014, following an‘unprecedented’ decrease in 2019 (-82 %), due to both falling prices and ongoing conflict3015, a May
2020 UN Security Council report mentioned that narcotic networks were still active in Nangarhar andsmuggled drugs into Pakistan ‘with the reported acquiescence of security officials’.3016 Tolonews also
reported on the illegal mining of precious and semi-precious stones in Goshta district.3017
According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, opium poppy cultivation in Nangarhar province
decreased by 27 %.3018
In terms of the presence of government security forces, as of December 2020, Nangarhar province
was under the responsibility of the 201st ANA Corps, which falls under Train, Advise, and Assist
Command - East (TAAC-E), led by US forces.3019 In January 2021, over 400 soldiers were deployed in
Kot, Achin and Durbaba districts to improve local security.3020 In 2017, Nangarhar reportedly
numbered 18 ALP units – more than any other province –, although in 2019, AAN could not verify
that all of them were actually active.3021 In a 2020 report, AAN also noted the presence of 8 newly
established ANA-TF units, along with NDS-backed ‘uprising forces’3022, in 10 districts of Nangarhar(among which Achin, Khogyani, Nazyan, Pachieragam and Sherzad3023), where ‘they appeared to bemuch more visible and active than the ALP.’3024 The ANA-TF’s popularity is also correlated with the3007 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, p. 203008 Ali, O. and Gharanai, K., Hit from Many Sides (2): The demise of ISKP in Kunar, AAN, 3 March 2021, url
3009 Abbas, H., Extremism and Terrorism Trends in Pakistan: Changing Dynamics and New Challenges, CTC Sentinel,
Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, Vol. 14, Issue 2, February 2021, February 2021, url
3010 Diplomat (The), Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan Reunifies with Uncertain Consequences, 18 August 2020, url
3011 Diplomat (The), The Pakistani Taliban is Back, 9 March 2021, url
3012 Diplomat (The), The Taliban Say They Have No Foreign Fighters. Is That True?, 10 August 2020, url
3013 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Pakistani Militant Leader Killed In Afghanistan, 28 January 2021, url
3014 UNODC, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020: Cultivation and Production – Executive Summary, April 2021, url, p. 93015 Bjelica, J., New World Drug Report: Opium production in Afghanistan remained the same in 2019, AAN, 25 June 2020,
url
3016 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, p. 153017 Tolonews, Report Shows Illegal Mining in Nangarhar, 28 March 2020, url
3018 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 93019 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2020, url, p. 53020 Pajhwok Afghan News, Local army graduates to guard Jalalabad airport, 3 districts, 17 January 2021, url
3021 Clark, K. et al., Ghosts of the Past: Lessons from Local Force Mobilisation in Afghanistan and Prospects for the Future,
AAN and GPPI, July 2020, url, pp. 37, 89
3022 For more information, see: Chapter 1.2. Actors in the conflict
3023 Le Monde, A Nangarhar, au sein d’une milice coincée entre l’EI et les talibans [In Nangarhar, inside a militia wedged
between IS and the Taliban], 27 August 2019, url
3024 Clark, K. et al., Ghosts of the Past: Lessons from Local Force Mobilisation in Afghanistan and Prospects for the Future,
AAN and GPPI, July 2020, url, pp. 40, 75

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local resentment towards ISKP.3025 The official disbandment of the ALP in September 2020 prompted
concerns over the risk of its former members joining AGEs, as ‘the safer option for some’.3026
According to a Human Rights Watch report, in 2019, the 02-Unit of NDS Special Forces (‘NDS-02’)
was operating in Nangarhar. It was reported to have killed civilians during counter-terrorism
operations under the supervision of the CIA.3027
US troops started to evacuate their bases in Achin’s Mohmand Valley and in Haska Mena in
November 2019, handing them over to the Afghan forces in July 2020. This left some ANDSF
members worried over the loss of US aerial support.3028 However, as of March 2020, the UScommand announced its intention to keep the Jalalabad military base open, along six others in the
country.3029
A survey Pajhwok Afghan News conducted from November 2020 until February 20213030 estimatedthat 86.31 % of Nangarhar’s territory (1.5 million inhabitants) were under government control,
13.27 % (189 712 inhabitants) under Taliban control, and less than 1 % (6 009 inhabitants) controlled
by neither side.3031
AAN’s Obaid Ali noted that, after their respective operations against ISKP in late 2019, both the
Taliban and the Afghan government had expanded their control in Nangarhar – the former in the‘remote, mountainous parts where ISKP had most of its remaining bases’, the latter in lower-altitude
areas. According to Ali, as of March 2020, the government ‘almost entirely’ controlled 10 out of
Nangarhar’s 22 districts (Achin, Batikot, Behsud, Dara-i Nur, Durbaba, Kama, Kot, Muhmand Dara,
Pachieragam and Shinwar) and ruled about 70-80 % of 8 other districts (Chaparhar, Deh Bala, Goshta,
Kuzkunar, Lalpur, Nazyan, Rodat and Spinghar). The remaining districts were reported to be under
the Taliban or Pakistani AGE’s control, with the Taliban being the dominant force in Hesarak,
Khogyani, Sherzad and Surkhrod, where ANDSF were only present in the district centres and theirsurroundings.3032
According to information collected by LWJ and presented in a map, the Taliban shut down healthclinics in Hesarak, Khogyani, Lalpur, Sherzad and Surkhrod in January 2020, indicating that they
control these districts. LWJ also assessed Achin, Batikot, Chaparhar, Dara-e Nur, Dehbala, Nazyan,
Pachieragam, Rodat and Shinwar as ‘contested’. The remaining districts are presented asundetermined or government controlled. More recently, as of 26 May 2021, Hesarak, Khogyani,
Lalpur, Sherzad and Surkhrod districts remained under the ‘Taliban control’ and Mohmandara andDurbaba and Behsud were added to ‘contested’ 3033
While the 2021 Pajhwok survey also presented Sherzad and Hesarak districts as under Taliban
control3034, they were both allegedly recaptured in February 2021 following ANDSF operations.3035 In
3025 Clark, K. et al., Afghanistan’s Newest Local Defence Force: Were “all the mistakes of the ALP” turned into ANA-TF

safeguards?, AAN, August 2020, url, pp. 30, 35
3026 FP, Resurgent Taliban Bode Ill for Afghan Peace, 7 July 2020, url
3027 HRW, “They’ve Shot Many Like This” Abusive Night Raids by CIA-Backed Afghan Strike Forces, 31 October 2019, url
3028 Tolonews, US Forces Exit 2 Bases in Nangarhar: Local Officials, 22 July 2020, url; AFP, Afghanistan: à Achin, le retour dela peur après le retrait des troupes américaines [informal translation, In Achin, fear returns after US troops withdrawal], inYahoo ! Actualités, 14 October 2020, url ; Tolonews, Concerns Remain Months after US Leaves Base in Nangarhar, 15January 2021, url
3029 New York Times (The), Afghanistan War Enters New Stage as U.S. Military Prepares to Exit, 1 March 2020, url
3030 For this survey Pajhwok Afghan News interviewed (through telephonic interviews or by distributing questionnaires) a
total of 1 266 respondents, randomly selected across the country.
3031 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url
3032 Ali, O., Hit from Many Sides 1: Unpicking the recent victory against the ISKP in Nangarhar, 1 March 2020, url
3033 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n. d., url However the source does not systematically specify when andwhich information of the aforementioned map was updated.
3034 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url
3035 Tolonews, Opium Poppy Farming Ongoing in Nangarhar District, 23 February 2021, url ; Afghanistan Times, Commando
Forces Conquer Taliban’s Largest Command Center in Nangarhar, 2 March 2021, url

279

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

January 2021, Afghan forces claimed that they had cleared off Muhmand Dara district from the
Taliban.3036

2.23.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 576 civilian casualties (190 deaths and 386 injured) in Nangarhar.
Although this represents a decrease of 46 % compared to 2019, the province ranked third in thisregard. In 2020, leading causes of casualties were suicide attacks, followed by non-suicide IEDs andground engagements.3037 As for Resolute Support, it recorded between 101 and 125 civilian
casualties in Nangarhar in the first quarter of 2020. In the second quarter of 2020, RS indicatedNangarhar as the province that experienced the highest number of civilian casualties countrywide,with 259 civilian casualties recorded. This represents a 236 % increase compared to the previous
quarter.3038 Such data for the second half of 2020 were no longer available in the SIGAR quarterly
reports.3039
In the period from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, ACLED collected data on 479 violent eventsin Nangarhar province from open sources: 294 coded as ‘battles’ (61 %), 159 as ‘explosions/remoteviolence’ (33 %) and 26 as ‘violence against civilians’ (6 %).3040

Figure 46: Nangarhar province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violenceagainst civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data3041

3036 Afghanistan, MoD, 11 Taliban Terrorists Were Killed In Achin District Of Nangarhar Province!, 20 January 2021, url
3037 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 110
3038 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 April 2020, url, p. 69; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 July 2020, url, pp. 71-72
3039 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 October 2020, url; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 January 2021, url
3040 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Nangarhar province, update 25
March 2021, url
3041 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Nangarhar province,
update 25 March 2021, url

280

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Figure 47: Nangarhar province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, basedon ACLED data3042

Regarding events coded as ‘battles’ by ACLED, an overwhelming majority of them were ‘armed
clashes’. The Taliban initiated two thirds of them, followed by ANDSF (76), ISKP (10) and unidentified
armed groups (10). In decreasing order, Jalalabad, Khogyani, Sherzad, Batikot, Deh Bala (Haska
Mena), and Hesarak were the most affected districts by this type of violence. The highest numbers
were recorded in the first and last quarters of 2020 as well as in January/February 2021, with a very
sharp drop between April and July 2020. Hesarak, Khogyani and Sherzad accounted for about half of
the increase in clashes recorded during the first months of 2021.3043 Such events included, on 16
September 2020, a series of attacks launched by the Taliban on security checkpoints in Hesarak,
Khogyani and Sherzad districts, killing 20 ANDSF members and enduring 29 deaths in their ranks.3044
Hesarak district witnessed multiple operations in November and December 2020.3045 In January
2021, the Taliban attacked a military base in Sherzad district, killing at least 14 Afghan soldiers.3046
UNAMA noted that in 2020, Nangarhar was one of the provinces where an increase in civilian
casualties from ground engagements was recorded.3047
As for Behsud, Durbaba, Goshta, Kama, Kot, Kuzkunar, Lalpur, Rodat and Shinwar districts, each oneof them recorded five or less armed clashes.3048 During an attack launched upon a government
compound in Shinwar in October 2020, 19 civilians were killed and 51 other injured. Although
UNAMA attributed this event to the Taliban, other sources stated that no group had endorsed it.3049

3042 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Nangarhar province,

update 25 March 2021, url; 9 events (8 battles and 1 remote violence) in the province for which ACLED has no information
about the location, were not included in this graph (geoprecision code 3 – see introduction)
3043 ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Nangarhar province, update 25 March 2021, url
3044 Khaama Press, 20 Afghan Armies Killed In Nangarhar Battles, 17 September 2020, url
3045 Pajhwok Afghan News, 15 insurgents killed in Nangarhar raids, 14 November 2020, url; Khaama Press, Taliban Suffer
Heavy Loss in MoD Operations, 23 December 2020, url
3046 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Taliban Claims Car Bombing That Killed At Least 14 Afghan Troops, 30 January 2021, url
3047 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 72
3048 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Nangarhar province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3049AP, Officials: Suicide attack kills 13 in eastern Afghanistan, 3 October 2020, url ; New York Times (The), Afghan War
Casualty Report: October 2020, 29 October 2020, url; UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict,
Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 46

281

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

ISKP carried out most of its attacks against ANDSF in Jalalabad. The main one took place on 2-3
August 2020, when, following a car bomb explosion at the entrance, gunmen attacked the provincial
prison, killing about 30 people and wounding 50. Hundreds of prisoners were able to escape.3050
In its February 2021 assessment based on several criteria, including conflict severity and spread,
UNOCHA ranked five Nangarhar districts among the 100 ‘hardest to reach’ of the country: Sherzad(n°14), Hesarak (n°16), Khogyani (n°26), Muhmand Dara (n°71) and Pachieragam (n°91).3051 The last
two were not listed in the previous assessment, published in August 2020.3052
In August and September 2020, tensions were reported between Pakistani and Afghan forces, in
Durbaba and Muhmand Dara districts, over the fencing of the border by Pakistan. In Muhmand Dara,after 18 days of fighting, construction work resumed in Afghan territory seized by Pakistani
troops.3053
In terms of incidents coded by ACLED as ‘Explosions/Remote violence’, the most represented subcategory was clearly ‘Remote explosive/Landmine/IED’ (65 %). Jalalabad district recorded thehighest numbers (32), followed by Khogyani (21) and Sherzad (10).3054 For example, in July 2020, an
unclaimed car bomb blast killed four persons and wounded 11 in Jalalabad.3055 In similar incidents, a
total of 8 civilians were killed in Khogyani district in late 2020 and early 2021.3056 Such devices also
killed several children, in Dehbala, Kot and Pachieragam districts, respectively in June, July and
September 2020.3057
The 32 ANDSF/NATO-initiated ‘Air/drone strikes’ documented by ACLED appeared to be equally
spread over the reporting period, 24 of them occurring in Khogyani, Sherzad and Achin districts.
According to ACLED data, the remaining 8 strikes took place in Deh Bala, Hesarak, Mohmand Dara,
Pachieragam and Surkhrod districts, while Nangarhar’s 11 other districts were not affected by thistype of violence.3058 Also of note is the killing of six civilians by a mortar fired by the ANA, in
September 2020 in Sherzad district.3059
ACLED coded four other events as ‘Suicide bomb’ attacks across three districts (Behsud, Kuzkunar
and Sherzad).3060 In Kuzkunar, on 12 May 2020, in a suicide attack carried out by ISKP during thefunerals of a pro-government militia commander, 33 civilians were killed and 133 wounded.3061 In
July 2020, in the same area, an unclaimed suicide car attack against the convoy of a police
commander caused 15 casualties.3062

3050 New York Times (The), 29 Dead After ISIS Attack on Afghan Prison, 3 August 2020, url ; FP, Indians and Central Asians

Are the New Face of the Islamic State, 8 October 2020, url
3051 UNOCHA, Hard-To-Reach Districts, February 2021, url
3052 UNOCHA, Hard To Reach Districts, August 2020, url
3053 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (27 July - 2 August 2020), 7 September 2020, url; Pajhwok
Afghan News, Pakistani forces resume fencing in Momandara district, 22 September 2020, url
3054 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Nangarhar province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3055 Reuters, Taliban suicide bomber kills three as violence rises despite peace push, 8 July 2020, url
3056 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 26 November 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, 4civilians killed in Nangarhar blast, 13 December 2020, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (18 – 24
January 2021), 27 January 2021, url
3057 Khaama Press, 2 children killed, wounded in an explosion in Nangarhar province, 1 June 2020, url ; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (6 – 12 July 2020), 15 July 2020, url ; Tolonews, 3 Civilians Killed, 1 Wounded in
Nangarhar IED Blast, 3 September 2020, url
3058 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Nangarhar province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3059 UNAMA, Afghanistan Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Third Quarter Report: 1 January to 30 September 2020,
13 December 2020, url, p. 133060 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Nangarhar province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3061 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: May 2020, 28 May 2020, url
3062 AP, Suicide bombing, attack in Afghanistan kill 7 policemen, 7 July 2020, url

282

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Finally, Jalalabad accounted for almost half of the violent events against civilians (12). None of theother districts recorded more than 2 of these incidents. ACLED attributed 14 of 26 events tounidentified armed groups, 9 to ANDSF and their NATO allies, and 3 to ISKP.3063 In February 2020, a
NATO airstrike killed 8 civilians in Surkhrod district.3064 Besides, January 2020 and March 2021,
several civilians were reportedly killed by the NDS special forces 02-Unit during raids in Khogyani
district.3065
Pertaining to the specific case of Jalalabad district, a Western senior analyst, interviewed in 2017 by
Belgium’s CEDOCA, stated that the criminality in the provincial capital had been increasing since atleast 2016.3066 In August 2020, International Crisis Group’s analyst Andrew Watkins highlighted thevulnerability of Jalalabad. Indeed, its proximity to the Pakistani border makes attacks on the cityeasier, ‘in terms of logistics and local support’.3067 Over the reporting period, Jalalabad district
accounted for 16 % of violent events recorded by ACLED.3068 In February 2021, Pajhwok reported
that, during the course of the past month, a wave of targeted killings, explosions and armed clashes
had caused more than 100 casualties, most of them civilians. .3069 Despite the adoption of new
security measures3070 and the dismantlement of Taliban3071 and ISKP3072 urban cells, a Nangarhar
provincial council’s member criticised the authorities’ response as ‘symbolic’.3073 UNAMA noted thatin 2020, along with Kabul, Jalalabad bore the largest brunt of ISKP-initiated violence against
civilians.3074 However, journalist Franz J. Marty observed that, apart from the aforementioned attack
on Nangarhar’s provincial prison in August 2020, ‘none of the other [ISKP] attacks had a major
impact’.3075 Cases of children abduction by criminal networks were also reported.3076
Jalalabad was the scene of multiple attacks on journalists and civil activists. In December 2020,
Malalai Maiwand, a well-known journalist and an activist for the rights of Afghan women andchildren, was killed with her driver.3077 According to Reuters, Islamic State took responsibility for the3063 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Nangarhar province,

update 25 March 2021, url
3064 RFE/RL, Eight Afghan Civilians Killed In Air Strike [Source: AFP and Reuters], 15 February 2020, url
3065 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 69 ;Feroz, E., [Twitter], posted on : 11 March 2021, url
3066 Belgium, CEDOCA, COI Focus – Afghanistan - Veiligheidssituatie in Jalalabad, Behsud en Surkhrod [Security Situation in
Jalalabad, Behsud and Surkhrod], 12 March 2020, url, p. 163067 VOA, Islamic State Attack on Afghan Prison Lasts 20 Hours, Kills 29, 3 August 2020, url
3068 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Nangarhar province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3069 Pajhwok Afghan News, Nangarhar: 103 people suffer casualties in a month, 16 February 2021, url‫ی‬3070 Etilaatroz, ‫امنیت پېښو مخنیوي نوي تدابې یادوي‬‫چارواک ي رب المل د‬‫[ ننګرهار رک د داعش او نورو وسله والو ځپل؛‬informal translation: ISIL‫ي‬‫ي‬and other militants crushed in Nangarhar Officials cite new security measures as the reason], 15 February 2021, url‫[ جالل اباد ښار ک مل امنیت د وسله والو طالبانو د ښاري شبک ی‬informal translation: In Jalalabad, the National
3071 Etilaatroz, ‫مش نیویل‬
‫ر‬
‫ر ي‬
Directorate of Security (NDS) arrested the leader of the Taliban's urban network], 8 December 2020, url
3072 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghan troops kill senior Islamic State militant, 2 August 2020, url; Reuters, Afghan Police Seize FourTonnes Of Bomb-Making Chemical, 29 September 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Daesh recruitment head detained in
Jalalabad, 28 December 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, 1 Daesh fighter killed, 2 detained in Jalalabad, 13 February 2021,
url
3073 Pajhwok Afghan News, Nangarhar: 103 people suffer casualties in a month, 16 February 2021, url
3074 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 183075 Swiss Institute for Global Affairs, The Opaque Remnants of the Self-Declared Islamic State in Afghanistan, 30 October
2020, url
3076 Pajhwok Afghan News, Boy rescued, 5 kidnappers detained in Nangarhar, 17 December 2020, url
3077 New York Times (The), Afghan Journalist Is Killed in Latest Attack on Media Figures, 10 December 2020, url;
RFE/RL/Gandhara, Gunmen Kill TV Anchorwoman In Eastern Afghanistan, 10 December 2020, url; VOA, Right to Be
Informed Under Attack in 2020, Media Expert Says, 31 December 2020, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

murder.3078 In January 2021, security forces allegedly prevented the killing of another journalist, alsoin Jalalabad.3079 In October 2020, another activist was shot dead in the city.3080
As for government officials, local public figures and scholars attacked in Jalalabad district, UNAMA
notably mentioned the killing of a Sufi cleric, in December 2020. The religiously motivated murder
was attributed to ISKP.3081 In two distinct events in early 2020, unknown armed men shot two
members of the provincial appeals court and a provincial court judge in Jalalabad. According to
Associated Press (AP), ISKP claimed the second attack.3082 Two other government workers were shotdead in the city in January 2021.3083
Sources reported on the killing of tribal elders in other parts of the province: in Kama district, in
October 20203084, in Behsud district, in December 20203085, and in Khiwa (Kuzkunar) district, inJanuary 2021.3086
While the WHO recorded no killing or injuring of health care workers between 28 January and
23 May 20203087, it was reported on 21 January 2020 that the Taliban had closed all health centres inSherzad, Hesarak, Khogyani, Surkhrod and Lalpur districts. The group argued that it was a retaliatory
measure against the closure of health centres by the authorities in their areas.3088 Fifteen healthcentres were reopened a month later in Khogyani, Surkhrod, Lalpur, Muhmand Dara and Achin
districts, while others remained closed.3089 During the third quarter of 2020, Nangarhar was still oneof the provinces where some health facilities had to be temporarily closed, due to ongoingfighting.3090 In April 2020, the Taliban wounded eight civilians (including a doctor) when a bomb
detonated inside a pharmacy, whose owner had refused paying them money.3091 In July 2020, theTaliban also abducted three employees of a health NGO in Hesarak.3092 Pro-government forces werealso involved in violence against health professionals – for instance, ANDSF members threatened thepersonnel of the Khogyani public hospital in April 2020.3093
Regarding threats to education in Nangarhar, UNAMA mentioned that ISKP had wounded a teacher
in August 2020. The teacher had publicly criticized ISKP, the report added.3094 In February 2021, aprivate school principal was killed in an unclaimed attack in the 6th district of Jalalabad.3095
In October 2020, Pajhwok stated that AGEs had dynamited a bridge in Surkhrod district, isolating
residents from Hesarak, Khogyani, Sherzad and Surkhrod districts.3096 However, in March 2021,

3078 Reuters, Islamic State claims killing of female TV presenter in Afghanistan, 10 December 2020, url‫[ ننګرهار ک یو تن د یو خېیال د ن‬informal translation: A man has been arrested in
3079 Etilaatroz, ‫وژب غوښتلو په تور ونیول شو‬‫ر‬‫ر‬Nangarhar for trying to kill a journalist], 4 January 2021, url
3080 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2020, 29 October 2020, url
3081 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 56
3082 Khaama Press, ANP Special Operations Claim 3 IS-K Militants in Nangarhar, 13 January 2021, url; AP, Crime, conflict,chaos crushing Afghan hopes for tomorrow, 4 February 2021, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report:
February 2021, 25 February 2021, url
3083 Khaama Press, 2 killed, 5 wounded in separate incidents: Nangarhar, 28 January 2021, url
3084 Sarwary, B., [Twitter], posted on: 2 October 2020, url
3085 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 26 November 2020, url
3086 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2021, 28 January 2021, url
3087 World Health Organization, Afghanistan – Attacks on Health Care (January 28, 2020 – May 23, 2020, 23 May 2020, url
3088 Tolonews, Taliban Closes Health Centers In Nangarhar Districts, 21 January 2020, url
3089 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (3 February – 9 February 2020), 12 February 2020, url
3090 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: HAG Quarterly Report (July to September 2020), 25 October 2020, url
3091 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 363092 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 58
3093 UNAMA, Afghanistan Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict – Special Report : Attacks on Healthcare during the
COVID-19 Pandemic, 20 June 2020, url, p. 123094 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 38‫[ ’الل اباد ښار ک ی‬informal translation: Unidentified gunmen kill a3095 Etilaatroz, ‫ناپېنده وسله والو د یو خصوص ښوونځ مدیر وژیل‬
‫ي‬
‫ي‬
‫ر‬
private school principal in Jalalabad], 4 February 2021, url
3096 Pajhwok Afghan News, Bridge linking 4 Nangarhar districts blown up, 18 October 2020, url

284

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

ANDSF announced the full reopening of the 75 kilometres-long road connecting Hesarak and Sherzad
districts to the rest of the province. Both districts were described as ‘not accessible by land’ for thelast ten to twelve years.3097

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020 – 28 February 2021, reporting 44 772 persons
displaced from Nangarhar – the second highest provincial numbers recorded over the period. An
overwhelming majority of these IDPs were displaced within the province. Only 28 people were
headed to Kabul. It is worth noting that 25 000 of Nangarhar’s IDPs were displaced in January 2021,
mostly from Sherzad.3098 This can be linked to clashes between ANDSF and AGEs, notably affecting
civilians in Hesarak, Khogyani, Sherzad and Surkhrod.3099
During the same period, 5 185 persons were displaced to Nangarhar from other provinces, 92 % ofthem hailing from neighbouring Kunar. Other were displaced from Helmand, Paktya, Laghman,
Kapisa and, for a few dozens of people, from Takhar, Logar, Parwan, Kabul and Kunduz.3100
Overall, the main districts of origin of IDPs were Sherzad (28 857) and Muhmand Dara (8 169),
distantly followed by Hesarak (4 175) and Khogyani (3 061). The four of them accounted for 98.8 %of Nangarhar’s IDPs.3101 Massive waves of displacements in Sherzad districts were linked to ongoingfighting in early 2020 (5 600 people)3102, November 2020 (600)3103, and especially in January 2021.3104
Conflict also displaced several other thousands of people in Muhmand Dara and Khogyani in early2020.3105
Surkhrod district was the main destination of IDPs (18 466), while Khogyani (6 653), Behsud (6 032),
Sherzad (4 340), Jalalabad (4 009), and Shinwar (3 528) each hosted over 3 000 IDPs. IDPs fromKunar mainly settled in Nangarhar’s neighbouring districts, such as Behsud and Kuzkunar.3106

3097 Pajhwok Afghan News, After 11 years, road to Hesarak reopens, 26 March 2021, url; Tolonews, Nangarhar: ANDSF

Clears Road to District Cut Off for 12 Years, 25 March 2021, url
3098 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 30 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, updated 5 April 2021, url
3099 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (11 – 17 January 2021), 19 January 2021, url ; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (1 – 7 February 2021), 10 February 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly
Humanitarian Update (22 – 28 February 2021), 2 March 2021, url
3100 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 30 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, updated 5 April 2021, url
3101 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 30 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, updated 5 April 2021, url
3102 UNOCHA, Afghanistan : Weekly Humanitarian Update (3 February – 9 February 2020), 12 February 2020, url
3103 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (16 – 22 November 2020), 25 November 2020, url
3104 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (11 – 17 January 2021), 19 January 2021, url; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (25 – 31 January 2021), 3 February 2021, url
3105 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (6 January – 12 January 2020), 15 January 2020, url; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (3 February – 9 February 2020), 12 February 2020, url
3106 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 30 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, updated 5 April 2021, url

285

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

2.24 Nimroz
2.24.1 General description of the province

Map 24: Afghanistan – Nimroz province, source: UNOCHA3107

3107 UNOCHA, Afghanistan. Provincial reference Map, 25 May 2015, url, p. 23

286

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Nimroz province is located in the south-west of Afghanistan, alongside the border with Iran andPakistan3108 and Nimroz is divided into the following districts: provincial capital Zaranj, Kang, Asle-e
Chakhansur, Char Burjak, Khashrod and Dularam (temporary district).3109
According to estimates for 2029-2020 by NSIA, Nimroz has a population of 180 200 with 63 992 livingin the provincial capital Zaranj. The urban population constitutes about 16,5 % of all inhabitants.3110
The population is composed mainly of Balochs, followed by Pashtuns, Tajiks3111, Brahuis and Uzbeks.
Balochs living in Afghanistan are primarily nomadic.3112
The province is of strategic importance for the border crossing trade and smuggling because of its
proximity to Iran and Pakistan.3113 A national highway, starting from Dularam and intersecting
Highway One, passes through the districts of Khashrod, Asle-e Chakhansur and Zaranj; it leads toZaranj City, at the Afghan-Iranian border.3114 The route through Zaranj-Milak border crossing leads to
Chabahar port in Iran, the nearest port from the Afghan borders.3115 The city of Zaranj hosts anairport, which was served by domestic scheduled passenger flights.3116
The Zaranj–Dularam road and the south-western highways have been used as transit routes for drugs
and human trafficking.3117 Moreover, Taliban militants purportedly set up checkpoints along theZaranj-Dularam Highway and charged taxes on vehicles carrying goods.3118
Nimroz has become the primary route for people leaving the country, and they usually spend a few
days in Zaranj City in very harsh conditions with little food or other basic facilities, waiting for the
possibility to cross the border to Iran, and further to Europe. Afghans were also deported from Iranon a daily basis through the border crossing in Nimroz.3119

2.24.2 Conflict background and actors in Nimroz
According AREU report published in 2020, due to its strategic, border position between Iran andPakistan, Nimroz is an important centre for legal and illegal cross-border trade and smuggling drugs
and people. It makes an abundant source of income both for Taliban, the Afghan authorities anddifferent political groups in both neighbouring countries which compete with each other for control
over this trade.3120 However, according to AREU, Nimroz has been one of the safest provinces of
Afghanistan till now.3121
Nimroz is also a place of cultivation, production and smuggling drugs: heroin but also increasingly
methamphetamine.3122 The drug labs were repeatedly targeted by USFOR-A in 2018 and 2019 inorder to limit Taliban revenues from drug trade but airstrikes caused a lot of civilian victims.3123

3108 Pajhwok Afghan News, Background profile of Nimroz, n.d., url
3109 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan, 1 June 2020, url , p. 44
3110 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, 18 November 2019, url, p. 40
3111 Pajhwok Afghan News, Background profile of Nimroz, n.d., url
3112 US Naval Postgraduate School, Nimroz Provincial Overview, n.d., url
3113 AREU, Cross-border Production and Trade, 13 September 2020, url, IWPR, Drugs Trade Thrives in Afghan Province, 19

February 2018, url;
3114 UNOCHA, Afghanistan. Provincial reference Map, 25 May 2015, url, p. 233115 Kabul Now, What factors lay behind recent violence in Nimruz?, 31 October 2020, url
3116 Sweden, Lifos/Migrationsverket, Inrikesflyg I Afghanistan, 17 February 2021, url, p. 123117 IWPR, Drugs Trade Thrives in Afghan Province, 19 February 2018, url
3118 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban running ‘customs check-point‘ on Nimroz road, 20 January 2018, url
3119 Tolonews, Nimroz Identified As Key Human Trafficking Route, 13 September 2018, url
3120 AREU, Cross-border Production and Trade, 13 September 2020, url, pp 22-23
3121 AREU, Cross-border Production and Trade, 13 September 2020, url, p. 41
3122 AREU, Cross-border Production and Trade, 13 September 2020, url, pp 22-23
3123 AREU, Cross-border Production and Trade, 13 September 2020, url, p. 23

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According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, opium poppy cultivation in Nimroz province
increased by 46 %.3124
There was also a dispute between Iran and Afghanistan over water access as Afghan government
resumed the construction of Kamal Khan dam in Char Burjak, Nimroz province. Some local officials
accused Iran of paying insurgents for carrying out attacks on the dam. 3125 The building site was atarget of multiple attacks in the past. According to official data, quoted by Andalou Agency, during
last two years, it was attacked 35 times and at least 39 guards were killed.3126In terms of government
security forces’ presence, Nimroz province is under the responsibility of the 215th ANA Corps, whichfalls under Task Force Southwest (TF Southwest), led by US forces.3127 However, national security andmilitary presence in the province was reported to be weak, apart from the neighborhood of Char
Burjak Kamal Khan’s dam building site where a high number of different security forces wasprotecting the site.3128
According to Nimroz governor, Sayed Wali Sultan, there are also about 200 fighters of Al Qaida in theprovince who closely cooperate with Taliban, helping it to ‘use advanced tactics and carry out
terrorist attacks’.3129 In December 2020, NDS allegedly arrested three Al Qaida members in Nimroz
province. They were accused of attacks at Kamal Khan Dam and they were going to prepare sometarget killings in Zaranj city.3130
A survey Pajhwok Afghan News conducted from November 2020 until February 2021 designed
73.33% of Nimroz territory and population under government control, 26.67% of territory andpopulation under Taliban control.3131 According to the Long War Journal, as of February and May
2021, most districts in the province were ‘contested’, apart from the district centres and the province
capital, Zaranj which were under governmental control.3132

2.24.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 51 civilian casualties (24 deaths and 27 injured) in Nimroz province.
This represents a decrease of 18 % compared to 2019. Leading causes of casualties were groundengagements, non-suicide IEDs followed by escalation of force.3133
In the period from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, ACLED reported a total of 88 security
incidents in Nimroz province, of which 63 were coded as ‘battles’ and 25 as ‘remote violence’.3134

3124 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 93125 Kabul Now, What factors lay behind recent violence in Nimruz?, 31 October 2020, url; Los Angeles Times, God, gas andheroin. Now, the fight’s over water, 6 February 2020, url; Guardian (The), Dam project promises water – but also conflict –for dusty Afghan border lands, 22 March 2017, url
3126 Andalou Agency, Decades in making, Afghan mega dam opens on Iran border, 24 March 2021, url
3127USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, 1 June 2020, url, p. 13
3128 AREU, Cross-border Production and Trade, 13 September 2020, url, p. 13, 41
3129 Salaam Times, Al-Qaeda and Taliban collaborate in Nimroz in breach of peace agreement 06 August 2020, url
3130 Pajhwok Afghan News, 3 key Al-Qaeda members arrested in Nimroz, 6 December 2020 w: url
3131 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban make exaggerated claims of territory they control, 12 February 2021, url
3132 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url. The source, however, does not specify when and which
information of the aforementioned map was updated.
3133 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 110
3134 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website on a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Nimroz province, update 25 March
2021, url

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Figure 48: Nimroz province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2020, based on ACLED data3135

Figure 49: Nimroz province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2020, based on
ACLED data3136

The situation in the province suddenly worsened in the second part of 2020 when Taliban attacked
many security outposts in Nimroz, killing dozens of soldiers and policemen, including guards
responsible for protection Kamal Khan dam’s building site.3137 According to locals interviewed bynewspaper Kabul Now, there are several reasons possible: ‘construction of Kamal Khan dam, poor
leadership of security institutions, Taliban’s defeat in Helmand, and some other specific factors’ suchas strategic and transit routes passing the province which Taliban wants to control. 3138
There were numerous reports on clashes mainly along the highway in Khashrod and Delaram
districts in the reporting period. The Taliban often attacked military and police checkpoints in the3135 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Nimroz province,

update 25 March 2021, url
3136 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Nimroz province,
update 25 March 2021, url; 4 events (1 battle and 3 remote violence) in the province for which ACLED has no information
about the location, were not included in this graph (geoprecision code 3 – see introduction)
3137 Kabul Now, What factors lay behind recent violence in Nimruz? 31 October 2020, url; Washington Post (The), Taliban
shows it can launch attacks anywhere across Afghanistan, even as peace talks continue, 25 October 2020, url
3138 Kabul Now, What factors lay behind recent violence in Nimruz? 31 October 2020 w: url

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province during 20203139 and tried to storm the district centre of Khashrod in January 2021.3140 In
the reporting period, some checkpoints along the highway in Khashrod and Delaram districts wereabandoned by security forces.3141
The Taliban still planted IEDs along main routes crossing the province. On 4 January 2020 two
civilians died in a mine explosion allegedly planted by the Taliban in Khashrod District. The victims
were travelling from Shahrak district (Ghor province) to Khashrod district when the vehicle triggered
the mine to detonate on contact.3142 On 5 August 2020, at least 6 civilians were killed by a IED
planted on a road in Khashrod district.3143 In December 2020 Taliban reportedly blew up parts of theHerat-Kandahar highway in Dularam district, making it difficult to transport goods and medicines.3144
In January 2021 deadly ANA airstrike took place in Munazari village in Khashrod district whichcaused 18 civilian victims: eight children, seven women and three men. According to the armysources, the airstrike was conducted against a Taliban customs centre situated on a highway.3145

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020 – 28 February 2021, reporting 2 514 persons
displaced to Nimroz province from Farah (1905 persons) and Helmand (609 persons). All of themwere displaced to Zaranj City.3146
Clashes in the provinces of Farah, Helmand, Badghis, Kunduz and also in Nimroz in 2020 caused theincreased influx of IDPs to Zaranj city. In October 2020, out of 300 families, about 60 were foundeligible for humanitarian aid. They were living in the outskirt of Zaranj with access to social services
and medical care but they could not afford medication in case of illness.3147
Zaranj is also an important destination and transit city for returnees from Iran who cross the borderin Milak. In 2020, a record number of 859 092 Afghans returned from Iran through two bordercrossings: Milak in Nimroz and Islam Qala near Herat. IOM provides post-arrival humanitarianassistance to returnees.3148

3139 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Nimroz province,

update 25 March 2021, url
3140Pajhwok News Agency, 3 Taliban killed, 3 security men wounded in Nimroz clash, 21 January 2021, url
3141 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Nimroz province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3142 SATP, Nimroz Timeline, 2020, May 2021 url
3143UNOCHA, Afghanistan Weekly Humanitarian Update (3 – 9 August 2020), url
3144 Salaam Times, Taliban glorify destruction of vital roads in Nimroz and Ghor provinces, 5 January 2021, url
3145 Tolonews, Nimroz Airstrike Kills 18 Civilians: Local Council Head, 10 January 2021, url
3146UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, 30 March 2021, url
3147DACAAR, Conflict IDPs assessment in Zaranj of Nimroz by DACAAR 7 November 2020, url, p. 1
3148IOM, Afghanistan, Return of Documented Afghans, 20-31 December 2020, n.d., url

290Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

2.25 Nuristan
2.25.1 General description of the province

Map 25: Afghanistan – Nuristan province, source: UNOCHA3149

Nuristan is located in eastern Afghanistan, on the Afghan-Pakistani border3150 and is divided into thefollowing districts: Barg-e-Matal, Duab, Kamdesh, Mandol, Nurgeram, Parun, Wama and Waygal. The
provincial capital of Nuristan is Parun.3151 According to local residents interviewed by the magazine
The Diplomat, Waygal district’s actual name is Want.3152
According to estimates for 2019-2020 NSIA, the province has a population of 160 993.3153
Nuristan is composed mainly of Nuristani, with smaller Pashai, Pashtun3154, Gujar and Tajik
communities.3155 Although the Nuristani people are mostly considered as a single ethnic group, theyde facto comprise numerous ethnic and sub-ethnic communities that speak different Indo-European
languages, sometimes subsumed under the Dardic languages branch.3156 An international NGO

3149 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Nuristan Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url
3150 US Naval Postgraduate School, Nuristan Provincial Overview, n.d., url
3151 Afghanistan, IEC, Afghanistan 2019 Presidential Elections – Final results by Polling Stations: Province Nuristan, 2020,

url; Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan 2020-2021, June 2020, url, p. 25; UNOCHA, Afghanistan:
Nuristan Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url; Afghanistan, Office of the President, Provincial Profile Nuristan, n. d., url;Ali, O., et al., The 2018 Elections Observed (5) in Nuristan: Disfranchisement and lack of data, AAN, 17 November 2018, url
3152 Diplomat (The), Waigal, Afghanistan: ‘This War Will Never End Here’, 13 June 2019, url
3153 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, 18 November 2019, url, p. 213154 US Naval Postgraduate School, Nuristan Provincial Overview, n.d., url
3155 Pajhwok Afghan News, Background Profile of Nuristan, n.d., url
3156 Ali, O., et al., The 2018 Elections Observed (5) in Nuristan: Disfranchisement and lack of data, AAN, 17 November 2018,
url

291

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situationinterviewed by Sweden’s Lifos stated that it was difficult for outsiders – both militants and civilians –to settle in Nuristan.3157
Most of the province’s roads are only served by pack animals and, despite construction work inseveral districts during the early 2000s, the roads remain in poor conditions.3158 Some of them arecompletely inaccessible in winter due to floods or snowfalls.3159 Even so, Nuristan is a key supply
route from Pakistan for mujahideen groups. Moreover, it connects Kabul and the Panjsher valley inthe central region through the provinces of Kapisa and Laghman.3160 The rehabilitation of
15 kilometres of the Parun-Kunar road started in May 20193161 and, according to a former executiveof the National Security Council, was still underway in November 2019.3162 In June 2019, the local
authorities began to expand a paved road from Parun to the remote districts of Kamdesh and Barg-e
Matal.3163
There is no functioning airstrip in Nuristan.3164 According to articles published in August 2020,
despite dusty roads and the lack of facilities, the number of tourists was in rise after the government
announced Nuristan province as a national park.3165 The construction of a 108 kilometers road, of
which 61 kilometers has remained unpaved, was underway to connect Asalabad city in Kunar
province to Parun city in Nuristan province, and planned to be completed in three years.3166

2.25.2 Conflict background and actors in Nuristan
In June 2020, AAN’s expert Obaid Ali stated that ISKP was ‘likely present’ in parts of Nuristan
province.3167
As of May 2020, Nuristan was listed by the UN Security Council as one of the twelve provinces were
Al Qaeda was ‘covertly active’. The report mentioned that Al Qaeda intended to form a joint unit of
2 000 fighters with the Haqqani Network, headed by Shir Khan Manga in the operational zone
composed of Kunar and Nuristan.3168 UNAMA added that Al Qaeda’s main tasks consist in ‘training,
including weapons and explosives, and mentoring’, while ‘being engaged in internal Taliban
discussions over the movement’s relationships with other jihadists entities’.3169
In a May 2020 report, the UN Security Council listed Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Jaish-e
Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LeT) as Pakistani armed groups centred in eastern Afghan
provinces, such as Nuristan, ‘where they operate under the umbrella of the Afghan Taliban’.3170

3157 Sweden, Lifos/Migrationsverket, Säkerhetsläget i Afghanistan (version 2.0), 07/04/2020, url, p. 42
3158 Ali, O., et al., The 2018 Elections Observed (5) in Nuristan: Disfranchisement and lack of data, AAN, 17 November 2018,url
3159 LCA, Afghanistan Road Network, 4 July 2018, url
3160 Ali, O., et al., The 2018 Elections Observed (5) in Nuristan: Disfranchisement and lack of data, AAN, 17 November 2018,

url; Foschini, F., New Battles and Old Wants in Nuristan, AAN, 2 June 2012, url
3161 Pajhwok Afghan News, Rehabilitation work on Nuristan-Kunar road kicks off, 20 May 2019, url
3162 Ghorzang, T. [Twitter], posted on: 25 November 2019, url
3163 Pajhwok Afghan News, Road connecting 2 districts with Paroon being built, 24 June 2019, url
3164 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Humanitarian Needs Overview 2020 (December 2019), 17 December 2019, url, p. 113165 Tolonews, Tourists flok to Nuristan, 18 August 2020, url
3166 Salaam, Times, 'Beautiful and green' Nuristan sees spike in tourism amid improved security, 5 August 2020, url
3167 RFE/RL/Gandhara, The Taliban, The Government, And Islamic State: Who Controls What In Afghanistan?, 1 June 2020,
url
3168 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, pp. 12-13
3169 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, 22 February 2020, url, pp. 85-86
3170 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para. 79

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

In an effort to merge parts of the ALP with the ANP and ANDSF, the Nuristan Enviromental Protection
Agency planned to recruit former ALP elements as environmental police officers.3171
According to LWJ assessment mapping Taliban control in Afghanistan in a frequently updated map
and based on open-source information, consulted in April 2021, the districts of Nuristan are assessed
as “contested” or “undetermined”. More recently, as of 26 May 2021, Mandol district shifted to‘Taliban control’.3172.
A survey of Pajhwok Afghan News conducted from November 2020 until February 2021 designated38.13 % of Nuristan’s territory under government control, 59.38 % under Taliban control and 2.50 %controlled by neither side. According to the same survey, 62 454 of Nuristan’s inhabitants lived inareas under government control, 97 265 of the province’s population lived in areas under Taliban
control and 4 095 of Nuristan’s residents lived in areas controlled by neither side.3173
According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, Nuristan province remained a poppy-freeprovince.3174
In terms of presence of government security forces, Nuristan province is under the responsibility of
the 201st ANA Corps, which falls under Train, Advise, and Assist Command - East (TAAC-E), led by US
and Polish forces.3175

2.25.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 3 civilian casualties (1 killed and 2 injured) in Nuristan during groundengagements. This represents a decrease of 86 % compared to 2019.3176 According to SIGAR,
Resolute Support (RS) recorded less than 25 civilian casualties in Nuristan province during thefirst,3177 and the second quarter of 2020.3178 No RS information on civilian casualties per province
was available for the second half of 2020 in SIGAR quarterly reports.3179
From 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, ACLED collected data on 28 violent events in Nuristan
province from open sources: 24 coded as “battles”, 3 as “explosions/remote violence” and 1 as”violence against civilians”.3180

3171 Salaam Times, Disbanded Local Police to get priority in job market after years of fighting, 22 October 2020, url
3172 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url. However, the source does not systematically specify when andwhich information of the aforementioned map was updated.
3173 Pajhwok Afghan news, Govt, Taliban make exaggerated claims of territory they control, 12 February 2021, url
3174 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 93175 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, url, p. 13
3176 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 110
3177 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 April 2020, url, p. 69
3178 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 July 2020, url, p. 72
3179 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 October 2020, url; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 January 2021, url
3180 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Nuristan province, update 25 March
2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Figure 50: Nuristan province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data3181

Figure 51: Nuristan province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on
ACLED data3182

The category ‘battles’ concerned mainly armed clashes between ANSF and Taliban. There was one
attack on civilians led by an UAG around 29 January 2021 in Du Ab district in the category coded‘violence against civilians’ and one activist was killed by unknown gunmen.3183
Afghan journalist Bilal Sarwary noted that, soon after the signature of the US-Taliban agreement inDoha (February 2020), the Taliban had resumed their attacks on Afghan security forces, notably in
Nuristan’s Barg-e Matal district.3184 Afghan security officials also reported increasing Taliban militaryactivity between March and May 2020 in eastern Afghanistan, particularly in Nangarhar, Kunar andNuristan.3185 UNOCHA confirmed that fighting continued in Nuristan and other eastern provinces inearly May 2020, although it did not specifically mention the Taliban.3186

3181 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Nuristan province,

update 25 March 2021, url
3182 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Nuristan province,
update 25 March 2021, url; 4 incidents (3 battles and 1 remote violence) in the province for which ACLED has no
information about the location, were not included in this graph (geoprecision code 3 – see introduction)
3183 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Nuristan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3184 Sarwary, B., [Twitter], posted on: 2 March 2020, url
3185 Tolonews, ANDSF Repels Scores of Taliban Attacks in Past 24 Hours: MoD, 4 May 2020, url; Tolonews, Al Qaeda, Jaishe-Mohammad Align With Taliban in East: Officials, 11 May 2020, url
3186 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (4 May – 10 May 2020), 13 May 2020, url

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A Taliban attack on Waygal’s district centre in April 2020 was repulsed3187. Tolonews reported on
Twitter that ‘hundreds’ of Taliban fighters had been involved in this attack.3188 Also in April 2020, theNational Security Council spokesman, quoted by Pajhwok, claimed that the Taliban had killed 30
civilians across several provinces, including Nuristan, in the previous days.3189
The Taliban were present in Nuristan province from where they succeeded in entering in Panjsher
province on 8 September 2020 for the first time in the past 19 years. The local residents resisted andforced a dozen of Taliban to surrender to the police. Twenty villagers were taken hostage by the
insurgents bur were released later.3190
On 23 February 2021, Taliban attacked a security outpost in Nuristan’s Nurgaram district and killed
one policeman. Four more were wounded. The elders warned that the Taliban will take over thecentre of the district if the local authorities neglect the security issue.3191
According to Government data quoted by Tolonews, 80 civilians were killed and 95 wounded
between 3 and 9 August 2020 after the Eid ceasefire. Most of the incidents happened in 26 provinces
including Nuristan. The Taliban were suspected of involvement but did not claim the responsibility of
the attacks.3192

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020 – 28 February 2021, reporting 162 persons
displaced from Nuristan, of which 123 were displaced within the province. During the same period,
25 persons were displaced to Kunar province and 14 to Panjsher province. 3193
According to IDPs interviewed in September 2019 by RFE/RL’s Gandhara, frequent fighting between
the government forces and insurgents, but also clashes between the Taliban and ISKP, had forced
them to flee. Others stated that, as government supporters, they had no other option but toleave.3194
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 March 2019 – 30 June 2020, reporting 1 696 persons
displaced to Nuristan province. Outside of the aforementioned 292 people displaced within theprovince, 1 404 IDPs came from neighbouring Kunar and primarily settled in Parun and Wama
districts.3195 Most of them fled Kunar’s Chapadara district in March and April 2019, where the
Taliban and ISKP were then reportedly clashing.3196

3187 Afghanistan Times (The) [Twitter], posted on : 8 April 2020, url; Tolonews [Twitter], posted on: 8 April 2020, url;

Sarwary, B., [Twitter], posted on : 8 April 2020, url
3188 Tolonews [Twitter], posted on: 8 April 2020, url
3189 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban kill 30 civilians in a week : NSC, 12 April 2020, url
3190 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Taliban Hits Northeast Afghan Province For First Time In Two Decades, 8 September 2020, url;
Afghanistan Times, Taliban attack Panjsher valley, hold villagers hostage, 8 September 2020, url
3191 Tolonews, Taliban Attacks Afghan Forces Outpost in Nuristan, 24 February 2021, url; Khaama Press, 42 Taliban killed in
Kandahar: MoD, 24 February 2021, url
3192 Tolonews, 80 Civilians Killed in Last Seven Days: Govt Data, 10 August 2020, url
3193 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 30 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, updated 4 April 2021, url
3194 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Insecurity Prompts Thousands To Flee Homes In Eastern Afghan Province, 13 September 2019, url
3195 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2019, updated 3 March 2020, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict
Displacement 2020, updated 12 July 2020, url
3196 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Kunar Conflict – Update (as of 3 April 2019), 4 April 2019, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

2.26 Paktika
2.26.1 General description of the province

Map 26: Afghanistan – Paktika province, source: UNOCHA3197

3197 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Provincial Reference Map – Paktika Province, 25 May 2015, url, p. 25

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

A part of Loya Paktya (i.e. ‘Greater Paktya’), an area also encompassing the provinces of Paktya andKhost3198, Paktika is located in eastern Afghanistan, on the Afghan-Pakistan border. The province isdivided into the following districts: Bermel, Dila (also Khushamand), Gomal, Gyan, Janikhel,
Matakhan, Naka, Omna, Sarobi, Sarrawzah, Sharan, Turwo, Urgun, Wazakhah, Wormamay,
Yahyakhel, Yosufkhel, Zarghunshahr (also Khairkot) and Ziruk.3199 The province also has the following
four non-official districts: Shakeen, Bak Khil, Charbaran and Shakhil Abad.3200 The provincial capital of
Paktika is Sharana.3201
According to estimates for 2019-2020 by the NSIA, the province has a population of 762 108. The
rural population accounts for more than 99 % of the total.3202
The province is mainly composed of Pashtuns, with a Tajik minority in the cities of Sharana and
Urgun.3203 In an August 2020 report focused on the newly established ANA-TF, AAN’s Kate Clark
pointed out the homogeneity of Paktika’s Pashtun tribal structure, the western half of the province
being inhabited by the Suleimankhel.3204 Gandhara also noted that, in 2014, military operations inNorth Waziristan caused 7 000 Pakistani families to seek shelter in Khost and Paktika, primarily in
Urgun and Bermel districts.3205
The National Highway 11 (‘NH11’) connects Ghazni province to Paktika’s Sharan and continues toPaktya’s Zurmat.3206
In July 2020, Pakistan opened the Angur Ada border point, in Bermel district, to Afghan goods. Until
then, it was an unofficial motorable crossing point.3207 However, in September 2020, the bad
condition of the road serving it was hampering trade with Pakistan.3208 Besides, since the full
reopening of Khost’s Ghulam Khan border point, in August 2019, the residents of Paktya, Paktika andKhost are allowed to enter Pakistan with their tazkira, under the condition that they have relatives
living on the other side of the Durand Line.3209
A 2016 map by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) lists three ‘small airports’ in Paktika: two in or close
to Sharana and one in Urgun district. A heliport is also located in the southern part of theprovince.3210 A November 2020 report of the Afghan Civil Aviation Authority mentions an aerodrome,

3198 Ruttig, T., Loya Paktia‘s Insurgency: The Haqqani Network as an Autonomous Entity, in: Giustozzi, A. (ed.), Decoding the

New Taliban. Insights from the Afghan Field, Columbia, Hurst, 2009, url, p. 1
3199 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, November 2019, url, p. 17 ; UNOCHA, Afghanistan:
Paktika Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Background Profile of Paktika, n.d., url; Muzhary, F.,
The 2018 Election Observed (4) in Paktika: Pre-election fraud and relatively peaceful polling, AAN, 13 November 2018, url
3200 Afghanistan, Office of the President, Provincial Profile Paktika, n. d., url
3201 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Paktika Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url
3202 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, 18 November 2019, url, p. 173203 Muzhary, F., The 2018 Election Observed (4) in Paktika: Pre-election fraud and relatively peaceful polling AAN, 13
November 2018, url
3204 Clark, K. et al., Afghanistan’s Newest Local Defence Force: Were “all the mistakes of the ALP” turned into ANA-TF
safeguards?, AAN, August 2020, url, p. 203205 RFE/RL/Gandhara, In Afghanistan, Lockdown Hits Waziristan Refugees Hard, 21 April 2020, url
3206 Italy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Evaluation Report - Afghanistan: Rehabilitation of Maidan Shar – Bamyan Road, 2014,
url, p. 8; Pajhwok Afghan News, 6 months on, Ghazni-Paktika highway remains closed, 13 December 2018, url
3207 Sabawoon, A. M., The Gates of Friendship: How Afghans cross the Afghan-Pakistani border, AAN, 28 January 2020, url ;Tolonews, Pakistan Opens Two Crossings to Afghan Goods, 14 July 2020, url
3208 Pajhwok Afghan News, Calls to turn Angoor Adda road into transit route, 14 September 2020, url
3209 Sabawoon, A. M., The Gates of Friendship: How Afghans cross the Afghan-Pakistani border, AAN, 28 January 2020, url
3210 MSF, Afghanistan: Country Kit, 12 January 2016, url, p. 3

297

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation‘OASA-Sharana’, 4 km southeast from the provincial capital.3211 While, as of August 2020, there wereno scheduled flights to and from Paktika3212, Kam Air’s website lists Sharana as a ‘future route’.3213

2.26.2 Conflict background and actors in Paktika
In a 2009 article published by the Lowy Institute, researcher Tom Gregg, a former head of UNAMA’s
Southeast region, pointed out that the Pashtun tribes of Loya Paktya historically resisted central stateintervention and traded their loyalty against a ‘special administrative status’. Although they havebeen eroding, tribal structures in Loya Paktya remained more ‘coherent’ than in other parts of thecountry. This is reflected, for instance, in a better preservation of Pashtunwali than in other Pashtun
areas and a ‘unique tribal mechanism of policing (arbaki) for defence from external aggression andnatural resource protection’.3214 RFE/RL/Gandhara highlighted that Loya Paktya residents were stillrelying more on traditional conflicts resolution assemblies, rather than on the government justicesystem.3215 In some parts of Paktika, such as Yahyakhel district3216, these solid intra-tribal relations‘hampered the emergence of mujahideen factions and strongmen and the sort of severe intrafactional conflicts that arose in other districts in Paktika and elsewhere in the 1980s and 1990s’.3217
However, according to an AAN analysis from December 2018, the Taliban were controlling orcontesting some districts of Paktika at the time.3218 In 2019, the group was reported to have ‘strong
ties’ with organised criminal groups involved in heroin and hashish trafficking or local businesses
extortion.3219 In April 2020, a Taliban spokesman published pictures of a training camp, named Tariq
bin Ziyad Camp, in Paktika.3220 Besides, in November 2020, during an operation against a Taliban
hideout in Bermel district, Afghan security forces seized a Taliban surveillance drone, which theyreported to be also used ‘to launch small bombs’.3221
In May 2020, the UN Security Council listed Mullah Nasar, originally affiliated to the Peshawar Shura
network, as the Taliban shadow governor in Paktya, while Mawlawi Qasam Farid was listed as thehead of the military commission in Loya Paktya.3222 The former was reportedly replaced byMohammad Essa Akhund in early 2021.3223 In October 2020, Afghan security forces killed Mullah

3211 Afghanistan, ACAA, Aeronautical Information Publication – Aerodrome (AD), Part 3, 5 November 2020, url, p. 483
3212 Afghanistan, Civil Aviation Authority, [informal translation, Paktika Governor, Paktika People's Representative in the

National Assembly and some elders of the province met with the General Director of the Civil Aviation Authority], 16
August 2020, url
3213 Kam Air, Route Map – Domestic Routes, n. d., url
3214 Gregg, T., Caught in the Crossfire: The Pashtun Tribes of Southeast Afghanistan, Lowy Institute, October 2009, url, p. 43215 RFE/RL/Gandhara, In Afghanistan’s Pashtun Heartland, Tribal Rule Supersedes State Law, 15 February 2021, url
3216 Clark, K. and Muzhary, F., How to Set up a ‚Good ALP‘: The experience of Yahyakhel district, Paktika and how it became
more peaceful, AAN, 11 December 2018, url; Muzhary, F., The 2018 Election Observed (4) in Paktika: Pre-election fraud
and relatively peaceful polling, AAN, 13 November 2018, url
3217 Clark, K. et al., Ghosts of the Past: Lessons from Local Force Mobilisation in Afghanistan and Prospects for the Future,
AAN and GPPI, July 2020, url, p. 51
3218 Clark, K. and Muzhary, F., How to Set up a ‘Good ALP‘: The experience of Yahyakhel district, Paktika and how it became
more peaceful, AAN, 11 December 2018, url
3219 UN Security Council, Tenth Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant to
Resolution 2255 (2015) Concerning the Taliban and other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat to thePeace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, S/2019/481, 13 June 2019, url, p. 123220 LWJ, Taliban touts more elite ‘Red Unit’ fighter training on social media, 8 April 2020, url
3221 Afghanistan Times, Afghan troops capture a Taliban weaponized drone in south, 9 November 2020, url; Kabul Now,
NDS operatives seize Taliban’s surveillance drone in Paktika, 9 November 2020, url
3222 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, pp. 25, 27
3223 Tolonews, Taliban Reshuffles Key Posts as New Fighting Season Nears, 6 March 2021, url

298

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Abdul Qarim, thought to be a senior member of the Quetta Shura, during an ambush in Janikhel
district.3224
The Taliban have also been able to send fighters from Pakistan’s Waziristan to several provinces,including Paktika, from their ‘transit hub’ in Zabul.3225
In April 2020, LWJ described Paktika as ‘a bastion of the Haqqani Network’.3226 The group started to
expand in Loya Paktya some years before 20113227, mainly in the Zadran valley between Paktya,
Paktika and Khost, which served as a corridor from Pakistan to Ghazni and Logar.3228 As of June 2019,
1 800 – 2 000 fighters of the Network were reportedly leading the Taliban operations in Loya Paktya,with the help of Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants.3229 The Haqqani Network was thenreported to be holding all the main shadow government positions (provincial governors and district
governors) in the region.3230 As of May 2020, the Haqqani Network was allegedly working with Al
Qaeda on a joint unit of 2 000 fighters, headed by Hafiz Azizuddin Haqqani in Loya Paktya.3231 In
December 2020 and January 2021, NDS arrested eleven alleged members of the Haqqani Network in
Sharana. They were accused of being involved in landmine explosions and of planning targetingkillings and attacks in both Paktya and Paktika provinces.3232
In 2019, Al Qaeda was reportedly trying to strengthen its positions in the Afghanistan-Pakistan
border region, for instance in Paktika’s Bermel district. The movement was reported to be closelycooperating with Lashkar-e Tayyiba and the Haqqani Network, while providing training and religious
instruction to Taliban fighters and their families.3233 However, in a February 2021 report, the UN
Security Council did not list Paktika among the Afghan provinces where Al Qaeda was operating at
the time – although it did mention neighbouring provinces of Paktya, Zabul, Khost and Ghazni.3234 In
March 2021, ANDSF killed a commander of Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) in Gyan
district, along with a Taliban commander. Pajhwok added that they were crossing the province toprovide weapons and military training to militants in Ghazni, Logar and Zabul provinces.3235

3224 Afghanistan Times, Senior Taliban commander killed in south, 15 October 2020, url ; Khaama Press, Top Member of‘Taliban’s Quetta Shura’ Killed in NDSF Ambush, 15 October 2020, url
3225 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, pp. 21-22
3226 LWJ, Taliban touts more elite ‘Red Unit’ fighter training on social media, 8 April 2020, url
3227 Clark, K., 2001 Ten Years on (3): The fall of Loya Paktia and why the US preferred warlords, AAN, 24 November 2011,url
3228 Ruttig, T., Loya Paktia‘s Insurgency: The Haqqani Network as an Autonomous Entity, in: Giustozzi, A. (ed.), Decoding the
New Taliban. Insights from the Afghan Field, Columbia, Hurst, 2009, url, p. 9. See also, UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Paktika
Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url
3229 UN Security Council, Tenth Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant to
Resolution 2255 (2015) Concerning the Taliban and other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat to thePeace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, S/2019/481, 13 June 2019, url, p. 173230 UN Security Council, Tenth Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant to
Resolution 2255 (2015) Concerning the Taliban and other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat to thePeace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, S/2019/481, 13 June 2019, url, pp. 17-18
3231 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, p. 133232 Pajhwok Afghan News, 6 Haqqani Network members detained in Paktika, 31 December 2020, url; Pajhwok AfghanNews, 5 Haqqani network members arrested in Paktika, 11 January 2021, url; Etilaatroz, ‫مسئول ارتبایط «آیاسآی» و چهار عضو‬‫ن‬‫حقاب در پکتیکا بازداشت شدند‬‫[ شبکهی‬Five members of the Haqqani network were arrested in Paktika], 11 January 2021, url
3233 UN Security Council, Tenth Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant to
Resolution 2255 (2015) Concerning the Taliban and other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat to thePeace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, S/2019/481, 13 June 2019, url, p. 93234 UN Security Council, Twenty-seventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted
pursuant to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2021/68, 3
February 2021, url
3235 Pajhwok Afghan News, Al-Qaeda member, Taliban commander killed in Paktika raid: NDS, 30 March 2021, url

299

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In a June 2019 report, the UN Security Council listed other foreign groups active in Loya Paktya,
where they benefitted from the ‘remote terrain’ and the limited capacity of the security forces toreach these areas – notably the TTP3236, which, as of April 2021, still enjoyed a ‘significant presence’in Paktika, according to the Diplomat magazine.3237 The province also appears to shelter a few
logistics and religious leaders of the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, although it is mainly
located in the north-eastern regions.3238
Pakistani forces were reported to make forays into Paktika, notably in Bermel district, where they
conducted shelling in August 2020.3239
According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, Paktika province remained a poppy-freeprovince.3240
In terms of presence of government security forces, as of December 2020, Paktika province wasunder the responsibility of the 203th ANA Corps.3241 At that time, it was not assisted anymore by the
Task Force Southeast (TF Southeast), led by US forces, that was still active in June 2020.3242
In July 2020, it was also announced that at least one of the five US bases closed in accordance with
the Doha agreement was located in Paktika.3243
According to a 2021 UNAMA and OHCHR joint report, in regard with the ANP, Paktika was the fourthworst place of the country in terms of torture and ill-treatment in detention. An ANP commander
was sentenced to 21 years in prison for ‘murder committed with torture’ over a detainee inMatakhan district in March 2020.3244
As for the ALP, it has been commended for expelling the Taliban from Yahyakhel district andmaintaining stability there since 2012. Although there has been reports of ‘abusive commanders andforced recruitments’ in some places of Paktika, the robust tribal structure of Loya Paktya and its
tradition of local defence groups (arbaki) have contributed to ‘more instances of effective, lessabusive forces’.3245 The ALP was officially disbanded on 30 September 2020 and replaced by a new
local force, the ANA Territorial Force (ANA-TF). It prompted concerns over a pattern of defections oflocal officials towards the Taliban.3246 According to a government tracking sheet provided to AAN, as
of December 2019, the ANA-TF was deployed in Gomal, Sarobi, Sharan, Urgun, Yahyakhel, Yosufkheland Zarghunshahr (Khairkot) districts of Paktika. In several of them, local elites were consulted

3236 UN Security Council, Tenth Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant to

Resolution 2255 (2015) Concerning the Taliban and other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat to thePeace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, S/2019/481, 13 June 2019, url, pp. 17-18
3237 Diplomat (The), Spike in Violence Follows Failed Negotiations Between the Pakistani Taliban and Islamabad, 3 April
2021, url
3238 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, pp. 20-21
3239 Pajhwok Afghan News, Barmal residents demand befitting response to Pakistan artillery shelling, 21 August 2020, url ;Sarwary, B., [Twitter], posted on: 11 and 12 August 2020, url ; url
3240 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 93241 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2020, url, p. 53242 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, url, p. 14 ; USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability
in Afghanistan, December 2020, url, p. 53243 Tolonews, Five Bases Closed in Afghanistan: US Official, 14 July 2020, url
3244 UNAMA and OHCHR, Preventing Torture and Upholding the Rights of Detainees in Afghanistan: A Factor for Peace,
February 2021, url, p. 15, 373245 Clark, K. et al., Ghosts of the Past: Lessons from Local Force Mobilisation in Afghanistan and Prospects for the Future,
AAN and GPPI, July 2020, url, pp. 44, 46-47, 52-53
3246 Clark, K., Disbanding the ALP: A dangerous final chapter for a force with a chequered history, AAN, 6 October 2020, url

300

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

during the recruitment process of ANA-TF fighters, to ensure that the force was ‘tribally inclusive’
and, thus, more efficient.3247
According to Human Rights Watch, the Khost Protection Force (KPF) possesses a battalion in Paktika’s
Sharan district.3248 Another pro-government armed group, also operating outside of official security
forces chains of command, emerged in 2019, and is locally referred to as ‘Shaheen Forces’ or as ‘904
Unit’. It is headquartered at Shaheen Camp in Urgun district.3249 While UNAMA explained in its 2020
report that the Shaheen Forces were thought to operate in ‘close coordination’ with the NDS special
forces3250, it only stated in 2021 that they ‘may have a relationship’ with one another, adding it was
not able to obtain more information about their command structure from the Afghan authorities.3251
UNAMA noted that the decrease in civilian casualties across the country in 2020 (- 42%) was drivenby ‘fewer civilian casualties attributed to the Khost Protection Force and the Paktika-based ‘Shaheen
Forces’’. However, UNAMA expressed concern over the proportion of targeted killings and ‘civilian
harm due to threat and intimidation’ perpetrated by these groups.3252 Despite occasional
investigations ordered by the government, the impunity that they enjoy contributes to ‘antiGovernment sentiment and spark protests among the civilian population’.3253
A survey Pajhwok Afghan News conducted from November 2020 until February 20213254 estimatedthat the Taliban and the government each controlled half of Paktika’s population and territory.3255
According to information collected by LWJ and presented in a map, Bermel, Janikhel, Matakhan,
Turwo, Urgun, Wormamay, Yahyakhel, Yosufkhel and Ziruk districts are ‘contested’, while Dila, Gomal,Gyan, Naka, Omna and Wazakhah districts are under Taliban control. Finally, Sarobi, Sarrawzah,
Sharan and Zarghunshahr districts are listed as government-controlled or undetermined. Morerecently, as of 26 May 2021, Sarrawzah district shifted to ‘contested’.3256
Pajhwok further observed that Naka and Gyan district centres were under Taliban control3257, in linewith the public admission of it by the Afghan government in July 2019.3258 While LWJ claimed that
Dila district had been overrun in July 20193259, the UN Secretary-General stated that the takeover had
only been temporary.3260 As for Wazakhah district, Pajhwok reported in March 2020 that for several
years, due to the Taliban’s blockage of the main road, it had been forced to airlift essential
supplies.3261 Afghan media Etilaatroz noted that before the visit of the newly appointed provincial
3247 Clark, K. et al., Afghanistan’s Newest Local Defence Force: Were “all the mistakes of the ALP” turned into ANA-TF

safeguards?, AAN, August 2020, url, pp. 21-22, 29, 35, 37-38, 413248 HRW, “They’ve Shot Many Like This” Abusive Night Raids by CIA-Backed Afghan Strike Forces, 31 October 2019, url
3249 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, 22 February 2020, url, pp. 53, 56,
58, 65, 74, 843250 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, 22 February 2020, url, pp. 53, 56,
58, 65, 74, 84
3251 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, pp. 102
3252 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, pp. 19, 65,
1583253 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, 22 February 2020, url, pp. 53, 56,
58, 65, 74, 84
3254 For this survey Pajhwok Afghan News interviewed (through telephonic interviews or by distributing questionnaires) a
total of 1 266 respondents, randomly selected across the country.
3255 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban make exaggerated claims of territory they control, 12 February 2021, url
3256 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n. d., url However the source does not systematically specify when andwhich information of the aforementioned map was updated.
3257 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban make exaggerated claims of territory they control, 12 February 2021, url
3258 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n. d., url However the source does not systematically specify when andwhich information of the aforementioned map was updated.
3259 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url; LWJ, however, does not specify when and which information of
the aforementioned map was updated.
3260 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of
the Secretary-General, 3 September 2019, url, p. 6
3261 Pajhwok Afghan News, Police officer accused of torture, extortion, 19 March 2020, url

301

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

police chief in February 2021, no Afghan official had come to Wormanay and Turwo districts in thelast three years, apparently ‘due to insecurity on the main roads and some in the surrounding
areas’.3262

2.26.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 119 civilian casualties (39 deaths and 80 injured) in Paktika province.
This represents a decrease of 29 % compared to 2019. Leading causes of casualties were non-suicide
IEDs, ground engagements and targeted killings.3263 Resolute Support recorded between 26 and 75
civilian casualties in Paktika in the first half of 2020, reporting an increase during the second quartercompared to the first.3264 Such data for the second half of 2020 were no longer available in the SIGAR
quarterly reports.3265
In the period from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, ACLED collected data on 131 violent eventsin Paktika province from open sources: 90 coded as ‘battles’ (69 %), 29 as ‘explosions/remoteviolence’ (22 %) and 12 as ‘violence against civilians’ (9 %).3266

Figure 52: Paktika province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data3267

3262 Etilaatroz, ‫ ځ تر اوسه هېڅ چارواک نه و ورغل‬،‫[ د پکتيکا امنيه قوماندان په لومړي ځل هغو ولسواليو ته والړ‬informal translation: For the‫ر‬first time, the Paktika police chief visited districts where no official had yet arrived], 21 February 2021, url
3263 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 110
3264 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 April 2020, url, p. 69 ; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 July 2020, url, p. 72
3265 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 October 2020, url; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 January 2021, url
3266 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website on a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Paktika province, update 25 March
2021, url
3267 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Paktika province,
update 25 March 2021, url

302Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Figure 53: Paktika province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on
ACLED data3268

All of the events coded as ‘battles’ by ACLED were ‘armed clashes’. Of the 90 armed clashes that
ACLED collected information about, 69 were considered to have been initiated by the Taliban, who
only targeted ANDSF.3269 For instance, Taliban attacks were reported in Ziruk district in June 20203270
and in Urgun district in December 2020, when they killed a local police commander.3271 In September
2020, a local politician interviewed by the Washington Post indicated that the Taliban were‘increasing pressure on district centres’ and carrying out more killings and attacks on government
outposts.3272 In particular, on 23 September, the Taliban launched an attack on a military base in
Wazakhwa district. According to local officials, AGEs suffered 100 casualties, including 65 deaths.3273
As for the 18 armed clashes initiated by the Afghan security forces and allied militias against the
Taliban, they mostly occurred in Janikhel, Sarobi, Urgun and Yosufkhel districts.3274
Paktika was one of the 16 provinces where, throughout 2020, UNAMA noted an increase in civilian
casualties due to ground engagements. For instance, in October 2020, a boy was killed by the
Shaheen Forces during a clash with the Taliban in Urgun district.3275 The Taliban’s own news website,
Voice of Jihad, also mentioned the killing of another civilian by Afghan forces in Khairkot(Zarghunshar) district, in November 2020.3276
In its February 2021 assessment based on several criteria, including conflict severity and spread,
UNOCHA listed three Paktika districts among the 100 ‘hardest to reach’ in the country: Matakhan(n°78), Dila (n°95), and Gomal (n°97) districts.3277 None of Paktika districts were listed in the previous
assessment, published in August 2020.3278

3268 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Paktika province,

update 25 March 2021, url; 3 events (2 battles and 1 remote violence) in the province for which ACLED has no information
about the location, were not included in this graph (geoprecision code 3 – see introduction)
3269 ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Paktika province, update 25 March 2021, url
3270 Pajhwok Afghan News, 26 Taliban killed in Ghazni, Paktika violence, 14 June 2020, url
3271 Hasht-e Subh, ‫[ موسس پولیس محل در والیت پکتیکا در جنگ با طالبان کشته شد‬informal translation: The founder of the local
police in Paktika province was killed in a battle with the Taliban], 5 December 2020, url ; New York Times (The), Afghan War
Casualty Report: December 2020, 31 December 2020, url
3272 Washington Post (The), Deadly airstrike in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians, 30 Taliban fighters despite ongoingpeace talks, 20 September 2020, url
3273 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghan Forces Reportedly Kill 65 Taliban Fighters In Fierce Battle, 25 September 2020, url
3274 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Paktika province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3275 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, pp. 65, 72
3276 Voice of Jihad, War Crimes (November 2020), 10 December 2020, url
3277 UNOCHA, Hard-To-Reach Districts, February 2021, url
3278 UNOCHA, Hard To Reach Districts, August 2020, url

303

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

In terms of incidents coded by ACLED as ‘Explosions/Remote violence’ between 1 January 2020 and
28 February 2021, the two most represented sub-categories were ‘Remote explosive/Landmine/IED’(59 %) and ‘Shelling/artillery/missile attack’ (24 %). Omna, Urgun, Wazakhwa, Wormamay,
Yahyakhel and Yosufkhel districts were not affected by this type of violence.3279
Out of 17 ‘Remote explosive/Landmine/IED’ incidents recorded by ACLED, 14 were attributed to the
Taliban, and 3 to unidentified armed groups. Most of them took place between June and October
2020, Bermel (3), Matakhan (3) and Sharan (3) being the most affected districts. Five of these events
caused civilian fatalities.3280 On 28 June 2020, an unclaimed roadside bomb killed a 13-year-old boy
and wounded another civilian in a village of Makhahan.3281 In September 2020, a civilian was killed
and about 20 others, including women and children, were injured when a wedding convoy hit aroadside bomb in Janikhel district. The attack remained unclaimed.3282 In October 2020, anotherroadside bomb allegedly set up by the Taliban killed four children in Sharana.3283
According to ACLED, there were 7 instances of shelling reported: 3 by the Taliban, 3 by ANDSF and 1
by the Pakistani military. The remaining one was carried out by the Pakistani forces3284 which, inAugust 2020, killed several civilians in Bermel district.3285 In addition, the Taliban reported the deathof five civilians in two separate shellings conducted by the international forces, first in Yosufkhel
district in June 2020, then in Khushamand (Dila) district in November 2020.3286
During the reporting period, according to ACLED, the Taliban perpetrated two grenade attacks
across the province.3287 One of them took place in Zarghunshar (Khairkot) district, on 3 May 2020,
when a hand grenade thrown into a mosque wounded 20 worshippers.3288
Finally, three air/drone strikes were recorded by ACLED during the reporting period, in Ziruk and Dila
districts.3289
Attacks on civilians were reported in half of Paktika’s districts, only two recording more than one
event (Sharan and Zarghunshahr, three each). Out of these 12 incidents, 6 have been attributed to
Afghan forces and its allied militias, three to the Taliban and three to unidentified armed groups.3290
Among the five events which caused fatalities, the deadliest one took place in Sharana, in July 2020,
when, under ‘unclear’ circumstances, unidentified gunmen killed six members of a family, including ayoung girl but also one to three police officers, which aroused suspicion about the Taliban’s3279 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Paktika province,

update 25 March 2021, url
3280 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Paktika province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3281 Afghanistan Times, Roadside bomb kills teenager in Paktika, 8 June 2020, url
3282 Pajhwok Afghan News, Bride among 20 wounded in Paktika blast, 20 September 2020, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Weekly Humanitarian Update (14 – 20 September 2020, 23 September 2020, url
3283 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2020, 29 October 2020, url
3284 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Paktika province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3285 Pajhwok Afghan News, Barmal residents demand befitting response to Pakistan artillery shelling, 21 August 2020, url
3286 Voice of Jihad, War Crimes (June 2020, 5 July 2020, url ; Voice of Jihad, War Crimes (November 2020, 10 December
2020, url
3287 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Paktika province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3288 Reuters, Taliban Truck Bombing Kills At Least Five At Afghan Military Center, 4 May 2020, url
3289 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Paktika province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3290 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Paktika province,
update 25 March 2021, url

304

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involvement.3291 Taliban acts of violence against civilians also included the killing of three civilians(including a child) in Zarghunshar district, in May 2020.3292
Regarding violent behaviour of ANDSF and its allies towards civilians, the police chief of Wazakhah
district has been accused of killing and beating people, extorting money from shopkeepers and drug
smuggling.3293 His counterpart in Warmamai district has been reported to commit land grabbing.3294
According to the Taliban’s news website, Voice of Jihad, in November 2020, a pro-government militia
violently looted shops in Yahyakhel district.3295
According to the UN Secretary-General, during the second quarter of 2020, the Taliban kidnapped
and mistreated three human rights defenders in Paktika.3296
Besides, during the third quarter of 2020, several health facilities were temporarily closed in Paktika
due to ongoing clashes, one of them being permanently moved from Khoshamand to Yahyakhel
district.3297
In September 2020, UNOCHA reported on ongoing clashes between ANDSF and AGEs along the mainroad connecting Ghazni to Paktika, affecting civilian movements.3298 According to AAN, since 2017,
the Taliban have prevented local population to use the asphalted portion of this highway, likely in
Ghazni’s Andar district, in order to isolate two military bases located along the road.3299 As of
November 2020, they were still in control of the road.3300 The highway crossing Wazakhah district has
too reportedly been blocked by the Taliban for several years in Goshta area.3301 Lastly, in June 2020, a
government official stated that over an unspecified period, the Taliban had destroyed 51 small andbig bridges across the country, many of them in Paktya, Paktika and Kandahar provinces.3302

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020 – 28 February 2021, reporting 2 387 persons
displaced from Paktika.3303 Except for 175 residents from Urgun and Gyan districts who were headed
to Khost province, 93 % sought refuge within the province.3304 Out of these 2 387 persons, 1 806
were displaced within Bermel district (76 %), in August 20203305, where Pakistani shelling wasreported at the time.3306 IDPs from Dila (105), Naka (77) and Sarobi (28) districts moved to the3291 Afghanistan Times, Gunmen kill six members of a family in Paktika, 8 July 2020, url ; Pajhwok Afghan News, 6 of afamily massacred in Paktika, 8 July 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 2020, 30 July 2020,
url
3292 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: May 2020, 28 May 2020, url
3293 Pajhwok Afghan News, Police officer accused of torture, extortion, 19 March 2020, url
3294 Pajhwok Afghan News, Paktika border police commander accused of atrocities, 7 February 2021, url
3295 Voice of Jihad, Shops looted in Paktika, 27 November 2020, url
3296 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of
the Secretary General, S/2020/549, 17 June 2020, url, p. 93297 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: HAG Quarterly Report (July to September 2020), 26 October 2020, url, p. 73298 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (21 – 27 September 2020), 30 September 2020, url
3299 Afghan, S., Living with the Taleban (1): Local experiences in Andar district, Ghazni province, AAN, 19 October 2020, url
3300 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban destroy parts of Ghazni-Paktika highway, 8 November 2020, url; Khaama Press, Taliban
Destroys 600 Meters of Ghazni Highway, 9 November 2020, url
3301 Pajhwok Afghan News, Police officer accused of torture, extortion, 19 March 2020, url
3302 Afghanistan Times, Peace process risks collapse if Taliban continue hostility, 14 June 2020, url
3303 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 30 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, last update: 5 April 2021, url
3304 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 30 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, last update: 5 April 2021, url
3305 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 30 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, last update: 5 April 2021, url
3306 Pajhwok Afghan News, Bermel residents demand befitting response to Pakistan artillery shelling, 21 August 2020, url;
Sarwary, B., [Twitter], posted on: 11 and 12 August 2020, url

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provincial capital district, Sharan. No displacement has been recorded in Paktika since August2020.3307
Over the reporting period, Paktika’s displacement figures were among the lowest recorded in
Afghanistan.3308 Nevertheless, IOM reported that from January to June 2020, it was one of fiveprovinces that showed ‘a sharp increase in the number of IDPs, most likely due to people fleeing tosafer areas to escape the ongoing armed conflict’.3309

3307 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 30 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, last update: 5 April 2021, url
3308 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 30 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, last update: 5 April 2021, url
3309 IOM, DTM Afghanistan, Baseline Mobility Assessment: Summary Results Round 10 Jan-June 2020, 1 October 2020, url,
p. 5

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2.27 Paktya
2.27.1 General description of the province

Map 27: Afghanistan – Paktya province, source: UNOCHA3310

A part of Loya Paktya (i.e. ‘Greater Paktya’), an area also encompassing the provinces of Khost andPaktika3311, Paktya is located in eastern Afghanistan, on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.3312 Theprovince is divided into the following districts: Ahmadaba, Alikhel (or Jaji), Chamkani, Dand Wa
Patan, Garda Siray, Gardez, Janikhel, Lija Ahmad Khel, Laja Mangel, Mirzaka, Rohany Baba,
Sayedkaram, Shawak, Zadran and Zurmat.3313 As of June 2020, the NISA described Garda Siray, Laja
Mangel, Mirzaka and Rohany Baba as ‘temporary’ districts3314, meaning that they have been createdby previous regimes or, more recently, under Presidents Karzaï and Ghani, and that their status has
not been approved by the Afghan parliament yet.3315 AAN specified that Rohany Baba had beencreated out of Zurmat district.3316 However, in its 2014 provincial atlas, UNOCHA respectively

3310 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Provincial Reference Map – Paktika Province, 25 May 2015, url, p. 26
3311 Ruttig, T., Loya Paktia‘s Insurgency: The Haqqani Network as an Autonomous Entity, in: Giustozzi, A. (ed.), Decoding the

New Taliban. Insights from the Afghan Field, Columbia, Hurst, 2009, url, p. 1
3312 US Naval Postgraduate School, Paktya Provincial Overview, n.d., url
3313 Afghanistan, IEC, Afghanistan 2019 Presidential Elections – Final results by Polling Stations: Province Paktya, 2020, url;
Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan 2020-2021, June 2020, url, p. 223314 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan 2020-2021, June 2020, url, p. 223315 Ruttig, T., The Afghanistan Election Conundrum (12): Good news and bad news about district numbers, AAN, 16 August
2018, url
3316 Khan P. and Ruttig, T., The 2018 Election Observed (1) in Zurmat, Paktia: Real voting only in the district centre, AAN, 29
October 2018, url

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presented Sayedkaram/Mirzaka and Lija Ahmad Khel/Laja Mangel as different names referring to thesame district.3317 The provincial capital of Paktya is Gardez.3318
According to estimates for 2019-2020 by NSIA, the province has a population of 601 230. The rural
population accounts for more than 95 % of the total.3319
The main ethnic groups in the province are Pashtuns, followed by Tajiks.3320 In 2018, AAN noted thata small Shia community of mostly bilingual (Dari as a first language and Pashtu as a second) residents
lived in Khwajah Hassan, in the north-east of the provincial capital. They belong to a group called
Sadat (singular Sayyed), who are reported to have been living in the area without conflict with thelocal Sunni (Tajik and Pashtun) communities of the province since the Soviet invasion.3321 According
to the BBC, there used to be a Sikh and Hindu minority in Paktya, but most of them have fled theprovince, with allegedly only one Sikh family left in the last years.3322
The Kabul-Gardez Highway connects the provincial capital to Kabul City crossing through Logar3323
over the Tera Pass.3324 Another highway, called the G-K or Gardez-Khost Highway, passes through the
districts of Shawak and Zadran as well as through Khost province, and reaches the road leading toGhulam Khan at the Afghan-Pakistani border.3325 Since the full reopening of the Ghulam Khan border
point, in August 2019, the residents of Paktya, Paktika and Khost are allowed to get into Pakistanwith their tazkira, under the condition that they have relatives living on the other side of the DurandLine.3326 In July 2020, Pakistan opened the Dand Wa Patan border point to Afghan goods.3327
In October 2020, the Taliban reportedly allowed the construction of a 10 kilometre-long portion of
the Gardez-Zurmat road.3328 In the past, they have allegedly been hostile towards the project3329,
which encountered multiple delays due to insecurity in the past decade.3330 In August 2020, flash
floods damaged some roads in Paktya.3331
In a 2016 map, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) listed one ‘small airport’ in Paktya, in Gardez3332, alsomentioned in an airport list posted in September 2017 on the Afghan Civil Aviation Authority

3317 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Paktya Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url
3318 Afghanistan, IEC, Afghanistan 2019 Presidential Elections – Final results by Polling Stations: Province Paktya, 2020, url;

Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, November 2019, url, p. 183319 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, 18 November 2019, url, p. 183320 US Naval Postgraduate School, Paktya Provincial Overview, n.d., url; Afghanistan, Office of the President, Provincial
Profile Paktia, n. d., url
3321 Foschini, F., Hitting Gardez: A vicious attack on Paktia‘s Shias, AAN, 18 August 2018, url‫تنها بازمانده اقلیت سیک در پکتیا‬: ‫[نمیخواهم از شهرم بروم‬informal translation: ‘The only survivor of
the Sikh minority in Paktia: I don't want to leave my city’], 6 October 2019, url; New York Times (The), India Offers Escapeto Afghan Hindus and Sikhs Facing Attacks, 19 July 2020, url
3323 Pajhwok Afghan News, Insecurity growing on Kabul-Gardez highway‘, 18 July 2018, url ; Foschini, F., Hitting Gardez: A
vicious attack on Paktia‘s Shias, 18 August 2018, AAN, url
3324 Ruttig, T. and Sabawoon, A. M., A Threat at Kabul’s Southern Gate: A security overview of Logar province, AAN, 18 July
2020, url
3325 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Paktya Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Reconstructed GardezKhost highway inaugurated, 15 December 2015, url; US USAID, Gardez-Khost National Highway (NH08) Overview, 7 May
2019, url
3326 Sabawoon, A. M., The Gates of Friendship: How Afghans cross the Afghan-Pakistani border, AAN, 28 January 2020, url
3327 Tolonews, Pakistan Opens Two Crossings to Afghan Goods, 14 July 2020, url
3328 Pajhwok Afghan News, 10-km road being built in Taliban-controlled area, 17 October 2020, url
3329 Pajhwok Afghan News, 18 months on, Paktians await work on Gardez-Zurmat road, 25 August 2019, url; Ali, O., Sadat,
S. A. and Bleuer, C., One Land, Two Rules (8): Delivering public services in insurgency-affected insurgent-controlled Zurmat
district, AAN, 4 September 2019, url
3330 Tolonews, Construction Work Resumes on Gardez-Zurmat Road, 21 August 2020, url
3331 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Flash Floods Kill At Least 100 In Afghanistan, 26 August 2020, url
3332 MSF, Afghanistan: Country Kit, 12 January 2016, url, p. 33322 BBC News,

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website.3333 However, it does not appear as a destination of the two main Afghan carriers, Kam Air
and Ariana Afghan Airlines.3334

2.27.2 Conflict background and actors in Paktya
Paktya, a conservative province, played a significant role during the Soviet invasion in the 1980s, thecivil war and Taliban rule in the 1990s, as well as during the post-2001 years.3335 The province ishome to many ex-mujahideen commanders who were members of the Harakat-e Enqelab-e Islami-eAfghanistan (The Islamic Revolutionary Movement of Afghanistan), a traditionalist Sunni tanzim, or
mujahideen-party, with a local and rural social base. Many of its fighters joined the Taliban in the
mid-1990s.3336
Although Paktya province has been witnessing an active insurgency since the mid-2000s3337, a 2011
academic article quoted by AAN stated that historically, the majority of local tribes tried to avoid
supporting one of the warring parties but kept contacts with all of them: ‘[…] the tribal system inPaktya obstructs or at least constrains the emergence of warlordism as well as the influence of theState.’3338 The fact that the hostility of ‘even a minor community’ would be counterproductive for the
AGEs ‘discourages acts that would antagonise whole communities’.3339 As of 2021, Loya Paktya’s
residents were still relying more on traditional conflict resolution mechanisms, such as tribal
councils, rather than on the government justice system.3340
In the first stage after 2001, the people from Loya Paktya overthrew the Taliban through tribal
councils and supported the Afghan government. However, this mindset changed after the tribal
elders of the region were excluded from the state-building process.3341
Described by analyst Fabrizio Foschini as ‘the most problematic’ district in Loya Paktya, due to its
relatively big size, tribal complexity and fierce fights between the US troops and the Taliban and Al
Qaeda, in 2002, Zurmat provided AGEs with more opportunities to gain a foothold. Over the 20022012 next decade, the civilian population bore the brunt of military operations, terrorist attacks andnight raids.3342
According to AAN’s researchers, although the region was not their heartland, by 20183343, the Taliban
had been able to make of Paktya one of their strongholds.3344 In Zurmat district, a strategic ‘transit
3333 Afghanistan, ACAA, All Airports, 24 September 2017, url
3334 Ariana Afghan Airlines, Destinations, n. d., url ; Kam Air, Route Map – Domestic Routes, n. d., url
3335 Clark, K., Khost Protection Force Accused of Fresh Killings: Six men shot dead in Zurmat, AAN, 21 January 2019, url;

Ruttig, T., A Bridge for the Taliban? Harakat, a former mujahedin party, leaps back into action, AAN, 14 December 2015,
url; Clark, K., 2001 Ten Years on (3): The fall of Loya Paktia and why the US preferred warlords, AAN, 24 November 2011,url
3336 Ruttig, T., A Bridge for the Taliban? Harakat, a former mujahedin party, leaps back into action, AAN, 14 December
2015, url See also: Clark, K., Khost Protection Force Accused of Fresh Killings: Six men shot dead in Zurmat, AAN, 21 January
2019, url
3337Ruttig, T., Loya Paktia‘s Insurgency: The Haqqani Network as an Autonomous Entity, in: Giustozzi, A. (ed.), Decoding the
New Taliban. Insights from the Afghan Field, Columbia, Hurst, 2009, url, pp. 16-17 ; Foschini, F., Hitting Gardez: A vicious
attack on Paktia‘s Shias, AAN, 18 August 2018, url
3338 Ali, O., Sadat, S. A. and Bleuer, C., One Land, Two Rules (8): Delivering public services in insurgency-affected insurgentcontrolled Zurmat district, AAN, 4 September 2019, url
3339 Foschini, F., Hitting Gardez: A vicious attack on Paktia‘s Shias, AAN, 18 August 2018, url
3340 RFE/RL/Gandhara, In Afghanistan’s Pashtun Heartland, Tribal Rule Supersedes State Law, 15 February 2021, url
3341 Clark, K., 2001 Ten Years on (3): The fall of Loya Paktia and why the US preferred warlords, AAN, 24 November 2011,url
3342 Foschini, F., Classics of Conflict (2): Reviewing some of Afghanistan’s most notorious hotspots, AAN, 9 July 2015, url ;Ali, O., Sadat, S. A. and Bleuer, C., One Land, Two Rules (8): Delivering public services in insurgency-affected insurgentcontrolled Zurmat district, AAN, 4 September 2019, url
3343 Clark, K., 2001 Ten Years on (3): The fall of Loya Paktia and why the US preferred warlords, AAN, 24 November 2011,url
3344 Taz, Nicht nur die Taliban als Problem [informal translation: Not only the Taliban as a problem], 21 October 2018, url

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corridor’ for fighters from Pakistan to Ghazni3345, the Taliban first had to coexist with a local family,
the Mansurs, who joined them and obtained high-ranking positions within the Taliban apparatus in
the 1990s. The Mansurs were nonetheless powerful enough to retain some autonomy, until theirinfluence gradually vanished at the end of the 2000s.3346 AAN’s Fabrizio Foschini stated that theKulalgo area, in Zurmat district, had been a Taliban hub for a long time and was, as of 2015, under
their complete control.3347
As of May 2020, the Taliban shadow governor in Paktya was Abdul Rahman Bilal, originally affiliatedto the Peshawar Shura network. He was appointed after the ‘reshuffle’ of the Taliban government
structure ahead of the 2020 fighting season.3348 However, he was reportedly replaced by Mawlawi
Hamza in early 2021.3349
In Zurmat district, Pakistani and Central Asian fighters have been reported to fight within Taliban
ranks.3350 According to security officials interviewed by RFE/RL in June 2020, some of the local
Taliban freed by the authorities in the frame of the USA/Taliban agreement had resumed fighting
soon after.3351 In late 2020, media reported on the use of small camera drones, turned into
weaponised devices by the Taliban against ANDSF outposts in several districts of Paktya, namely
Mirzaka, Sayedkaram and Zurmat.3352
Moreover, Paktya is one of the provinces where the UN Security Council observed ‘strong ties’
between the Taliban and organised criminal groups involved in heroin and hashish trafficking or local
business extortion.3353 The Taliban have also been reported to collect taxes from truck drivers goingfrom Paktya to Ghazni3354, development projects, telecommunication networks and customs
checkpoints (notably in Mirzaka district).3355
The Haqqani Network started to expand in Loya Paktya some years before 2011.3356 In 2019, AAN
described it as ‘powerful’ in Paktya.3357 As of June 2019, 1 800 – 2 000 fighters of the Network werereportedly leading the Taliban operations in Loya Paktya, supported by Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan(TTP) militants. The network was also reported to hold all the main Taliban shadow government

3345 Ruttig, T., Loya Paktia’s Insurgency: The Haqqani Network as an Autonomous Entity, in: Giustozzi, A. (ed.), Decoding the

New Taliban. Insights from the Afghan Field, Columbia, Hurst, 2009, url, p. 34
3346 Ali, O., Bleuer, C., and Sadat, S. A., One Land, Two Rules (8): Delivering public services in insurgency-affected insurgentcontrolled Zurmat district, 4 September 2019, url
3347 Foschini, F., Classics of Conflict (2): Reviewing some of Afghanistan’s most notorious hotspots, AAN, 9 July 2015, url
3348 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, pp. 8-9, 25, 273349 Tolonews, Taliban Reshuffles Key Posts as New Fighting Season Nears, 6 March 2021, url
3350 Ali, O., Sadat, S. A. and Bleuer, C., One Land, Two Rules (8): Delivering public services in insurgency-affected insurgentcontrolled Zurmat district, AAN, 4 September 2019, url
3351 RFE/RL/Gandhara, For Now, Fewer Former Afghan Prisoners Returning To The Battlefield, 23 June 2020, url
3352 Pajhwok Afghan News, Paktia: Taliban drop bombs from drone cameras , 5 November 2020, url ; Diplomat (The), Fire
From the Sky: The Afghan Taliban’s Drones, 22 December 2020, url
3353 UN Security Council, Tenth Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant to
Resolution 2255 (2015) Concerning the Taliban and other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat to thePeace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, S/2019/481, 13 June 2019, url, p. 123354 Ali, O., Sadat, S. A. and Bleuer, C., One Land, Two Rules (8): Delivering public services in insurgency-affected insurgentcontrolled Zurmat district, AAN, 4 September 2019, url
3355 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban extort millions from uplift projects in Paktia, 20 January 2021, url
3356 Clark, K., 2001 Ten Years on (3): The fall of Loya Paktia and why the US preferred warlords, AAN, 24 November 2011,url
3357 Clark, K., Khost Protection Force Accused of Fresh Killings: Six men shot dead in Zurmat, AAN, 21 January 2019, url

310Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

positions (provincial governors and district governors) in Loya Paktya.3358 As of May 2020, theHaqqani Network was rumoured to plan a joint unit of 2 000 fighters with Al Qaeda.3359
In June 2019, the UN Security Council noted that many foreign terrorist fighters were active in Loya
Paktya, where they benefitted from the ‘remote terrain’ and the limited capacity of the security
forces to reach these areas.3360 Among these foreign AGEs were the TTP, with 3 500 fighters acrossKunar, Paktya and Paktika provinces3361, and Al Qaeda, with forces estimated between 200 and 500 in
11 provinces, including Paktya.3362 According to UNAMA, Al Qaeda’s main tasks consist of ‘training,
including weapons and explosives, and mentoring’.3363 In July 2020, a military and intelligence affairs
analyst added that the group operated in rural areas of Paktya, where its members lived in ‘old basesof the Hezb-e-Islami and Etihad-e-Islami parties in Spina Shaga and in the outskirts of Jaji District’.3364
In October 2020, the Washington Post stated that ‘several local armed groups that are not formallyaligned with the Taliban or any other large militant organization’ were active in Paktya.3365 As for ISKP,
in June 2019, the UN Security Council deemed its attempts to expand in Paktya as ‘unsuccessful’.3366
Additionally, among the numerous tribal conflicts recorded across the province, the dispute between
two major Pashtun tribes, the Mangal and the Kharoti, stands out. For 30 years, both sides havebeen fighting over the ownership of mountainous land in Dand Wa Patan district. As of January 2021,
the conflict had reportedly caused dozens of fatalities over the past decades, including seven in June
2020. Attempts at mediation, whether conducted by the local authorities or the Taliban, have failed.
RFE/RL/Gandhara reported on the hiring of locals to fight on behalf of residents living abroad or
elsewhere in the country.3367
According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, Paktya province remained a poppy-freeprovince.3368
In terms of presence of government security forces, as of December 2020, Paktika province wasunder the responsibility of the 203th ANA Corps.3369 At that time, it was not assisted anymore by the
Task Force Southeast (TF Southeast), led by US forces, that was still active in June 2020.3370 In linewith the US/Taliban Doha agreement, US forces withdrew from the base that they occupied within
3358 UN Security Council, Tenth Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant to

Resolution 2255 (2015) Concerning the Taliban and other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat to thePeace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, S/2019/481, 13 June 2019, url, pp. 17-18
3359 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, p. 133360 UN Security Council, Tenth Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant to
Resolution 2255 (2015) Concerning the Taliban and other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat to thePeace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, S/2019/481, 13 June 2019, url, p. 173361 UN Security Council, Tenth Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant to
Resolution 2255 (2015) Concerning the Taliban and other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat to thePeace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, S/2019/481, 13 June 2019, url, p. 183362 UN Security Council, Twenty-seventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted
pursuant to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2021/68, 3
February 2021, url, p. 153363 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, 22 February 2020, url, pp. 85-86
3364 Salaam Times, 'Unbreakable' links between Taliban, al-Qaeda pose quandary for peace, 16 July 2020, url
3365 Washington Post (The), With U.S. troops gone, Taliban expands influence in one Afghan province, 10 October 2020, url
3366 UN Security Council UN, Twenty-fourth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted
pursuant to resolution2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2019/570,
15 July 2019, url, p. 153367 Pajhwok Afghan News, 7 die in clash over land dispute in Paktia, 30 June 2020, url; RFE/RL/Gandhara, Guns For Hire:
Tribal Mercenaries Turn A Profit In The Afghan Borderlands, 15 January 2021, url
3368 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 93369 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2020, url, p. 53370 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, url, p. 14; USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability
in Afghanistan, December 2020, url, p. 5

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an Afghan compound, southeast of Gardez City, in March 2020. From then on, deprived ofsubstantial intelligence, air support and presence on the ground, the Afghan forces conducted lesspatrols and military operations. The Washington Post added that, due to understaffing, police andarmy units were moved closer to the centre of Gardez City, depleting the checkpoints in the
periphery or leaving them to ‘less well-trained’ allied militiamen.3371
In December 2020, the Paktya police chief, Akhtar Mohammad Shahin, resigned only two months
after his appointment, allegedly due to the corruption and the lack of professionalism of theprovincial police.3372 As for the ALP, Paktya has often been listed as one of the provinces where it had
proven very effective compared to other forces, due to its tradition of local defence groups(arbaki).3373 However, in Zurmat district, following abuses against civilians, the ALP unit was
disbanded in 2018.3374 On 30 September 2020, the ALP was replaced by a new local force, the ANA
Territorial Force (ANA-TF). This prompted concern over former ALP members potentially joining theAGEs.3375 AAN nonetheless noted that Paktya was one of the provinces where local communities
were involved in the identification and vetting of potential ANA-TF recruits, to ‘actively ensure there
was local support for the programme’.3376
According to AAN and Human Rights Watch, writing in 2019, the 01-Unit of NDS Special Forces(‘NDS-01’) and the Khost Protection Force (‘KPF’) operate in Patkya. Backed by the CIA, both havebeen accused of killing civilians in several raids in Zurmat.3377 In another report, AAN added that the
KPF and NDS-supported ‘uprising forces’3378 hold posts along the Gardez-Tamir road.3379 Another progovernment armed group, the Paktika-based Shaheen Forces, also appeared to conduct operationsin Paktya.3380
In October 2020, the Washington Post assessed that Paktya was ‘not heavily contested by the
Taliban’, noting that since the departure of US forces from the province, in March 2020, they had not
attempted to seize urban centres. Instead, they focused on strengthening their grip on territory thatthey have controlled for years, by setting up more permanent checkpoints and fortified bases. The
US newspaper added that the Taliban were now able to intimidate people living in contested andgovernment-held rural areas.3381
A survey Pajhwok Afghan News conducted from November 2020 until February 20213382 estimatedthat 55.87 % of Paktya’s territory (341 877 inhabitants) was under government control, and 44.13 %(270 075 inhabitants) under Taliban control.3383

3371 Washington Post (The), With U.S. troops gone, Taliban expands influence in one Afghan province, 10 October 2020, url
3372 Khaama Press, Paktia Police Chief Resigns over Corruption, Negligence, 21 December 2020, url
3373 Clark, K. et al., Ghosts of the Past: Lessons from Local Force Mobilisation in Afghanistan and Prospects for the Future,

AAN and GPPI, July 2020, url, pp. 46-47, 93 ; Clark, K., Disbanding the ALP: A dangerous final chapter for a force with achequered history, AAN, 6 October 2020, url
3374 Ali, O., Sadat, S. A. and Bleuer, C., One Land, Two Rules (8): Delivering public services in insurgency-affected insurgentcontrolled Zurmat district, AAN, 4 September 2019, url
3375 Clark, K., Disbanding the ALP: A dangerous final chapter for a force with a chequered history, AAN, 6 October 2020, url
3376 Clark, K. et al., Afghanistan’s Newest Local Defence Force: Were ‘all the mistakes of the ALP’ turned into ANA-TF
safeguards?, AAN, August 2020, url, p. 34, 35
3377 Ruttig, T., “Murder Is Always”: The Kulalgo night raid killings, AAN, 17 August 2019, url; HRW, “They’ve Shot Many LikeThis” Abusive Night Raids by CIA-Backed Afghan Strike Forces, 31 October 2019, url
3378 For more information, see: Chapter 1.2. Actors in the conflict
3379 Ali, O., Sadat, S. A., and Bleuer, C., One Land, Two Rules (8): Delivering public services in insurgency-affected insurgentcontrolled Zurmat district, AAN, 4 September 2019, url
3380 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, 22 February 2020, url, p. 58
3381 Washington Post (The), With U.S. troops gone, Taliban expands influence in one Afghan province, 10 October 2020, url
3382 For this survey Pajhwok Afghan News interviewed (through telephonic interviews or by distributing questionnaires) a
total of 1 266 respondents, randomly selected across the country.
3383 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url

312Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

According to information collected by LWJ and presented in a map, Ahmadaba, Alikhel (Jaji), Dand
Wa Patan, Lija Ahmed Khel and Sayedkaram districts were ‘contested’. LWJ also listed Chamkani,
Gardez, Shawak and Zadran districts as government-controlled or undetermined, and Janikhel andZurmat districts as under Taliban control. More recently, as of 26 May 2021, Janikhel and Zurmat
districts remained under the ‘Taliban control’.3384 Regarding Zurmat district, in its 2021 survey,
Pajhwok listed it among the districts inaccessible to the authorities.3385

2.27.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 206 civilian casualties (62 deaths and 144 injured) in Paktya province.
This represents a decrease of 6 % compared to 2019. Leading causes of casualties were non-suicide
IEDs, followed by targeted killings and ground engagements.3386 Resolute Support recorded between
102 and 150 civilian casualties in Paktya in the first half of 2020, reporting an increase during thesecond quarter compared to the first.3387 Such data for the second half of 2020 were no longer
available in the SIGAR quarterly reports.3388
In the period from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, ACLED collected data on 267 violent eventsin Paktya province from open sources: 185 coded as ‘battles’ (68 %), 62 as ‘explosions/remoteviolence’ (24 %), 20 as ‘violence against civilians’ (8 %) and one incident concerned an attempted
escape by Taliban prisoners.3389

Figure 54 Paktya province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data3390

3384 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n. d., url However the source does not systematically specify when andwhich information of the aforementioned map was updated.
3385 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url
3386 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 110
3387 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 April 2020, url, p. 69 ; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 July 2020, url, p. 72
3388 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 October 2020, url; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 January 2021, url
3389 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website on a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Paktya province, update 25 March
2021, url
3390 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Paktya province,
update 25 March 2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Figure 55: Paktya province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on
ACLED data3391

Regarding events coded as ‘battles’ by ACLED, all of them were ‘armed clashes’. More than 80 % of
the armed clashes were described as initiated by the Taliban against the ANDSF and pro-government
militias, with a peak in October 2020 and high levels in the following months.3392 Examples of such
incidents include, in Dand Wa Patan district, the killing of 14 border security agents during a Taliban
attack on a checkpoint, on 29 May 2020, despite the extension of the Eid ceasefire. According tosecurity officials quoted by Tolonews, the Taliban ‘suffered heavy casualties’ too.3393 The Afghan
security forces and allied groups initiated about 20 clashes, mostly in Ahmadaba, Gardez, Jaji and
Zurmat districts. Half of them occurred between May and July 2020.3394
In 2020, interviewed by AAN after the February ‘reduction in violence’ period had ended, a local
journalist stated that the Taliban had soon resumed attacks against security forces posts in Jaji
(Alikhel), Rohany Baba, Sayedkaram and Zurmat districts,3395 although violence had remained‘somewhat reduced’ in some other districts.3396 A couple of months later, a militia commander activein Zurmat district described ‘the increase in Taliban activity’ as ‘shocking’. In October 2020, theWashington Post noted that, since the withdrawal of US forces from Paktya, the province had
witnessed more ‘low-level attacks’, including targeted killings.3397
In its February 2021 assessment based on several criteria, including conflict severity and spread,
UNOCHA listed two Paktya’s districts among the 100 ‘hardest to reach’ in the country: Zurmat (n°9)
and Chamkani (n°94).3398 The latter was not mentioned in the previous assessment, published inAugust 2020, while Zurmat only ranked n°71.3399

3391 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Paktya province,

update 25 March 2021, url; 13 events (12 battles and 1 remote violence) in the province for which ACLED has no
information about the location, were not included in this graph (geoprecision code 3 – see introduction)
3392 ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Paktya province, update 25 March 2021, url
3393 Pajhwok Afghan News, 14 security personnel killed in Paktia attack, 29 May 2020, url; Tolonews, 14 Border Forces
Killed in ‘Taliban Attack’ Despite Ceasefire, 30 May 2020, url
3394 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Paktya province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3395 AAN, Voices from the Districts, the Violence Mapped (1): What has happened since the reduction in violence ended?,
21 March 2020, url
3396 Clark, K., Voices from the Districts, the Violence Mapped (2): Assessing the conflict a month after the US-Taleban
agreement, AAN, 8 April 2020, url
3397 Washington Post (The), With U.S. troops gone, Taliban expands influence in one Afghan province, 10 October 2020, url
3398 UNOCHA, Hard-To-Reach Districts, February 2021, url
3399 UNOCHA, Hard To Reach Districts, August 2020, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

In terms of incidents coded by ACLED as ‘Explosions/Remote violence’, the most represented subcategory was ‘Remote explosive/Landmine/IED’ (64,5 %), distantly followed by and ‘Air/drone
strikes’ (16 %) and ‘Shelling/artillery/missile attacks’ (13 %). Provincial capital Gardez was clearly themost affected district by explosive/IED attacks (12 incidents out of 39 recorded province-wide). All ofthem were attributed to the Taliban and, for a lesser part, to unidentified armed groups.3400 For
instance, in January 2020, a magnetic IED planted by an unidentified armed group killed one civilian
and injured eight others in Gardez.3401 A similar event killed two civilians in Gardez City in August2020.3402 In Zurmat, a Taliban roadside bomb killed a mother and two of her children in June
2020.3403 Another explosion of a Taliban-planted roadside device, in Jaji district, killed a child andwounded four others in January 2021.3404
The three suicide attacks recorded in Paktya also took place in Gardez3405, the first one occurring inMarch.3406 In May, the Taliban took responsibility for the explosion of a suicide truck near an ANA
facility, in a populated area of the city, killing 5 people (including 3 civilians) and injuring at least
14.3407 In September 2020, a Taliban suicide bomber and gunmen attacked a military base, causing
six fatalities.3408
Out of the 20 recorded events of violence against civilians, half took place in Gardez district. The ten
incidents attributed to Afghan security forces and its NATO allies were all reported by the Taliban’s
website, Voice of Jihad.3409 Moreover, in January 2021, residents of Ahmadabad protested against
the brutality of the police special forces, accused of arbitrarily killing two local civilians. The
authorities denied this claim, explaining that they had been killed during an operation targeting
narcotics factories.3410 AGEs were held responsible for the rest of the ACLED-documented events
involving violence against civilians.3411 In October 2020, the Taliban were held responsible for thekilling of three civilians in Mirzaka district.3412
There were reports of murders of tribal elders in Jaji (Alikhel) district, in June 20203413, and in Gardez
City in October 2020.3414 Several other government officials or local public figures have been underattack. For instance, in September 2020, the deputy head of the provincial council was killed in
Gardez City. Despite remaining unclaimed, the attack was thought to have been carried out by the
Taliban.3415 In another event attributed to the Taliban, in September 2020, two religious scholars
were abducted then killed in Chamkani district.3416

3400 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Paktya province,

update 25 March 2021, url
3401 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (27 January - 2 February 2020), 2 February 2020, url
3402 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: August 2020, 29 October 2020, url
3403 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: June 2020, 29 October 2020, url
3404 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2021, 28 January 2021, url
3405 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Paktya province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3406 Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 injured in Gardez suicide bombing, 23 March 2020, url
3407 Pajhwok Afghan News, 5 killed, 34 injured in Gardez truck bombing, 14 May 2020, url; Reuters, Truck bomb in eastern
Afghan city kills five, Taliban claim responsibility, 14 May 2020, url
3408 Al Jazeera, Afghan soldiers killed in Taliban attack on Paktia military base, 1 September 2020, url; RFE/RL/Gandhara,
Taliban Attacks Military Base In Afghanistan, Killing Three, 1 September 2020, url
3409 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Paktya province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3410 Pajhwok Afghan News, Paktia protestors ask govt to explain murder of 2 locals, 6 January 2021, url
3411 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Paktya province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3412 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2020, 29 October 2020, url
3413 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: June 2020, 2 July 2020, url
3414 Khaama Press, Tribal Chief Killed in a Magnetic Bomb Blast, 5 October 2020, url
3415 RFE/RL, Paktia Provincial Councilor Shot Dead In Southeastern Afghanistan, 19 September 2020, url
3416 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 1 October 2020, url

315Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Besides its high numbers across the three ACLED categories detailed above, representing 34 % of theincidents recorded in the province, Gardez capital district has also been the scene of increasing
crime, since at least 2019.3417 In February 2021, a special police unit and new checkpoints werereportedly set up to improve the situation in the city, following a rise in robberies and carjacking.3418
In October 2020, the Taliban destroyed a Salaam Network telecom tower in Gardez City, a few
kilometres away from the NDS headquarters.3419
According to Pajhwok, in early 2020, the Taliban were preventing Paktya’s health centres fromreceiving medical supplies, reportedly because of their discontent towards the quality of services
provided by the NGO in charge of these supplies.3420 In mid-February 2020, UNOCHA noted that 45
health care facilities had forcedly been closed by AGEs in Paktya, depriving up to one million peopleof basic health services.3421 Lastly, the Taliban allowed polio vaccination again in Patkya during thethird quarter, except for Zurmat district.3422
The UN Secretary-General noted that Paktya was among the provinces where several civil society
activists and human rights defenders had been killed in unattributed attacks between June andDecember 2020.3423
In September 2020, the Taliban damaged a school in Jaji (Alikhel) district, wounding 15 children who
were returning home from the madrasa.3424 The following month, they were held responsible for abomb explosion near a school under construction, because the building firm had refused to pay
them the 10 % fee that they demanded.3425 Also in October, the Washington Post reported onincreasing Taliban threats against Paktya’s schools and teachers, one of them stating that he had
been ordered to quit working for the government. By then, the Taliban had forcibly closed ‘a numberof schools’ across the province.3426
Regarding ethnic minorities, a member of the Sikh community was abducted in Chamkani district inJune 2020 and released a month later, upon the intervention of local tribal elders.3427
In July 2020, the Kabul-Paktya highway was reported to be increasingly dangerous, several residentsof Paktya complaining of frequent AGEs attacks on ANDSF.3428 Insecurity was also behind theconstant pushbacks of rehabilitation work on the Gardez-Zurmat road.3429 That is the reason why, in
November 2020, Afghan forces established new bases and checkpoints along the road.3430 In
December 2020, ANDSF retook control of the Gardez-Dand Wa Patan road, which was blocked by the
Taliban in Lija Ahmad Khel and Mirzaka districts since June 2020, forcing the travellers to significant
detours.3431 Rebuilding work was reportedly underway in March 2021.3432

3417 Pajhwok Afghan News, Rising targeted killings spark concerns in Gardez, 16 June 2019, url‫ن‬‫ن‬3418 Etilaatroz, ‫ګارنېون ځانګړې قطعه جوړه شوه‬‫قومانداب د پوليسو د‬‫[ د پکتيا امنيه‬informal translation: ‘A special police garrison unit‫ر‬‫ي‬
has been formed at the Paktia police headquarters’], 8 February 2021, url
3419 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban torch Salaam Network tower in Paktia, 13 October 2020, url
3420 Pajhwok Afghan News, Medical supplies to Paktia clinics yet to resume, 30 January 2020, url
3421 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (10 February – 16 February 2020), 19 February 2020, url
3422 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: HAG Quarterly Report (July to September 2020, 25 October 2020, url
3423 UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, Report of
the Secretary-General, 18 August 2020, url, p. 9 ; UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications forinternational peace and security, Report of the Secretary-General, 9 December 2020, url, p. 103424 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 74
3425 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (5 – 11 October 2020), 14 October 2020, url; Pajhwok AfghanNews, Taliban extort millions from uplift projects in Paktia, 20 January 2021, url
3426 Washington Post (The), With U.S. troops gone, Taliban expands influence in one Afghan province, 10 October 2020, url
3427 Kabul Now, 11 Afghan Sikhs seek citizenship in India, 26 July 2020, url
3428 Tolonews, Fierce, Widespread Fighting Surges to Control Afghan Highways, 7 July 2020, url
3429 Tolonews, Construction Work Resumes on Gardez-Zurmat Road, 21 August 2020, url
3430 Pajhwok Afghan News, Paktika-Paktia highway security ensured after 10 years, 3 November 2020, url
3431 Pajhwok Afghan News, Paktia-Paktika road reopens after 5 months, 14 December 2020, url
3432 Pajhwok Afghan News, Gardez-Dand-i-Patan road being rebuilt in Paktia, 9 March 2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020 – 28 February 2021, reporting 2 637 persons
displaced from Paktya – one of the lowest provincial figures recorded over the period. Almost all ofthem were displaced within the province, in Gardez capital district. Only 61 persons were headed to
Nangarhar’s Jalalabad. During the same period, 77 persons were displaced from Logar province toPaktya’s Gardez district.3433
More than half of the displacements occurred in January and February 2020 (1 421), with othersignificant waves in June (539) and September (616) 2020. Overall, the main districts of origin of
IDPs were Sayedkaram (623), Janikhel (588), Zurmat (586), Zadran (357) and Alikhel (Jaji) (343). The
five of them accounted for almost 95 % of Paktya’s IDPs.3434 This can be linked to protracted
insecurity, since Taliban operations were reported in some of these districts throughout thereporting period.3435
In a weekly update from February 2021, UNOCHA mentioned 7 000 newly displaced people from
Alikhel (Jaji), Sayedkaram, Zadran and Zurmat to Gardez City, due to clashes and IED attacks.3436

3433 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 30 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, last update: 5 April 2021, url
3434 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 30 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, last update: 5 April 2021, url
3435 VOA, Landmines Kill 12 Afghans in 2 Incidents, 3 June 2020, url ; Pajhwok Afghan News, 20 militants killed in Logar,
Paktia violence, 12 August 2020, url ; Etilaatroz, ‫[ پکتیا رک طالبانو رسه نښته رک دوه پاڅونوال وژل شوي‬informal translation: Two
insurgents killed in Paktya clashes], 12 November 2020, url
3436 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (25 – 31 January 2021), 3 February 2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

2.28 Panjsher province
2.28.1 General description of the province

Map 28: Afghanistan - Panjsher province, source: UNOCHA3437

Panjsher province is located in the central region of Afghanistan and is divided into the following
districts: Bazarak, Dara (or Hes-e Duwumi), Ab Shar (listed as temporary district by NSIA), Khenj (Hese Awal), Onaba (or Anawa), Paryan, Rukha and Shutul. The provincial capital is Bazarak.3438 Nearly theentire province consists of mountainous or semi-mountainous terrain,3439 located between thesouthern and south-eastern Hindu Kush mountain ranges.3440
According to estimates for 2019-20 by NSIA, Panjsher province has a population of 167 000.3441
The main ethnic group in the province is Tajik.3442 Other groups present include a minority of Hazara,
Pashai, Nuristani and Ghilzai Pashtuns.3443 A small population of Kuchi is also reported to reside in
Panjsher.3444
A road passing through Bagram district of neighbouring Parwan province connects Panjsher with
Kabul.3445 The distance between Kabul and Bazarak is about 150 kilometres.3446 The deep and narrow
3437 UNOCHA, Afghanistan. Provincial Reference Map, 25 May 2015, url, p. 27
3438 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Panjsher Province - District Atlas, April 2014, url; Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of

Afghanistan 2019-2020, November 2019, url, p. 133439 Afghanistan, MRRD, National Area Based Development Program - Panjshir Provincial Profile, n.d., url, p. 1
3440 Pajhwok Afghan News, Elections 2019: Panjsher Province Background Profile, n.d., url
3441 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, 18 November 2019, url, pp. 2, 133442 New York Times (The), Recalling Past Threats, Afghans in Tranquil Valley Work to Keep It That Way, 13 January 2014,url
3443 Pajhwok Afghan News, Elections 2019: Panjsher Province Background Profile, n.d., url; US Naval Postgraduate School,
Panjsher Provincial Overview, n.d., url
3444 Afghanistan, MRRD, National Area Based Development Program - Panjshir Provincial Profile, n.d., url, p. 23445 Fox News, Afghanistan‘s Beautiful ‘Green Zone‘ Offers Emeralds, Peace, 23 May 2017, url
3446 Der Tagesspiegel, Das Panjshrital in Afghanistan: Mit dem Stolz der Löwen, 4 March 2015, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

gorge at the beginning of the Panjsher Valley, described as ‘tailor-made for obstruction and ambush’,has kept the province isolated and difficult to access.3447 Panjsher province has no functioning
airport3448 and air traffic is regularly interrupted by bad weather conditions.3449

2.28.2 Conflict background and actors in Panjsher
Certain regions in Afghanistan, like Panjsher province3450 and the area of the central highlands, havebeen described as relatively safe and less affected by conflict-driven violence.3451 According to an
Afghan military expert cited by Pajhwok Afghan News, the relative stability of Panjsher as well as thecentral highland region is related to the social cohesion among its inhabitants, as most of thembelong to the same ethnic or tribal group.3452
Panjsher province led the resistance against the Soviets and the Taliban during the 1980s and the1990s. The province is home to Tajik Ahmad Shah Massoud, called the ‘Lion of Panjsher’, who fought
against the Soviets and headed the Northern Alliance against the Taliban.3453 The Panjsheris, as theethnic Tajiks of the Panjsher Valley are called, are known for their historical opposition to the Taliban
and went on to dominate the initial post-Taliban order in both politics and security forces. Panjsheri
leaders were key pillars in the creation of the Afghan government after the Taliban’s withdrawal in
2002.3454 Many Panjsheris have been members of the Afghan political and military elite, like former
Minister of Defence/Vice President Muhammad Qasim Fahim (who was also an important leader of
the Northern Alliance), former CEO and current chairman of the HCNR Dr. Abdullah and former NDS(National Directorate of Security) Chief/Minister of Interior and now Vice-President Amrullah
Saleh.3455 Panjsher’s political spectrum is dominated by the Jamiat-e Islami party.3456
In September 2019, Ahmad Shah Massoud’s son, Ahmad Massoud, was reported to have started a
new political movement in Panjsher, aiming to establish an anti-Taliban and pro-decentralisation
front, following the footsteps of his father’s Northern Alliance.3457 In September 2020, the New York3447 New York Times (The), Recalling Past Threats, Afghans in Tranquil Valley Work to Keep It That Way, 13 January 2014,url
3448 Falling Rain, Directory of Airports in Afghanistan, n.d., url; MSF, Afghanistan: Country Kit, 12 January 2016, url;

Afghanistan, ACAA, All Airports, 24 September 2017, url
3449 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Needs Overview Afghanistan 2020, 17 December 2019, url, p. 113450 Tolonews, Local Forces Mobilize to Purge Taliban Threats in Panjshir, 2 August 2019, url; New York Times (The), At aMaternity Center Near a War Zone, 20 Births in One Day, 12 September 2019, url; RFE/RL/Gandhara, Taliban Hits
Northeast Afghan Province for First Time in Two Decades, 8 September 2020, url; VOA, Taliban Fighters Attack Previously
Spared Afghan Province, 8 September 2020, url; IF RCRCS, Emergency Plan of Action (EPoA) Afghanistan: Flash Floods, 9September 2020, url; Khaama Press, Afghan Forces Repulse Panjshir Attack, 22 September 2020, url
3451 An international organisation Landinfo spoke to in October 2019. Norway, Landinfo, Afghanistan: Sikkerhetssituasjonog konfliktmonster i 2019, 22 January 2020, url, p. 13; Sweden, Lifos/Migrationsverket, Säkerhetsläget i Afghanistan(Version 2.0), 7 April 2020, url, pp. 12, 51; IOM, DTM Afghanistan, Community Based Needs Assessment: Summary Results
Round 10 Jan-June 2020, 1 October 2020, url, p. 83452 Pajhwok Afghan News, 2017 Causalities: Nearly 25,000 People Killed, Wounded in Afghanistan, 14 January 2018, url
3453 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Former Mujahedin Sanctuary Now an Afghan Weekend Gateway, 25 August 2020, url;
RFE/RL/Gandhara, Taliban Hits Northeast Afghan Province for First Time in Two Decades, 8 September 2020, url; VOA,
Taliban Fighters Attack Previously Spared Afghan Province, 8 September 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan Vice
President, Staunch Opponent of Taliban, Survives Blast, 9 September 2020, updated 15 September 2020, url; Print (The), As
Taliban-Afghan Govt Talk Peace, Lessons from an Afghan Hero Killed 19 Years Ago, 15 September 2020, url
3454 New York Times (The), Recalling Past Threats, Afghans in Tranquil Valley Work to Keep It That Way, 13 January 2014,
url; New York Times (The), In Proud Corners of Afghanistan, New Calls for Autonomy, 28 September 2020, url
3455 Telegraph (The), Afghanistan‘s Former Spy Chief: ‘Never Trust the Taliban‘, 13 August 2011, url; New York Times (The),
Recalling Past Threats, Afghans in Tranquil Valley Work to Keep It That Way, 13 January 2014, url; New York Times (The),
Afghan Rivals Sign Power-Sharing Deal as Political Crisis Subsides, 17 May 2020, url; New York Times (The), In Proud
Corners of Afghanistan, New Calls for Autonomy, 28 September 2020, url
3456 New York Times (The), Players Say Soccer Chief Sexually Abused Them for Years. He May Still Win, 18 March 2019, url
3457 Asia Times, Afghanistan: Ahmad Massoud Seizes Father’s Torch, 5 September 2019, url; RFE/RL, Son of Afghanistan's'Lion of Panjshir' Takes up Father's Fight against Taliban, 10 September 2019, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Times reported on a growing sentiment of distrust among Panjsheris towards the government in
Kabul. Despite the province’s ties to the Afghan capital through both money and power, Panjsher’s
deputy governor indicated ‘Panjsheri’s don’t see themselves in the government anymore’. Concerns
over fractured Afghan government’s efforts to make peace with the Taliban are raising fears that
Panjsher’s residents might take up arms as independent militias and try to enforce more autonomy.
Some factions in the province are reportedly openly calling for a renewal of the Northern Alliance,
also known as the United Front.3458
After Kuran Wa Munjan district of neighbouring Badakhshan province was overrun by the Taliban at
the end of July 2019, the militant group reportedly threatened Panjsher’s Paryan district. The Long
War Journal (LWJ) referred to Paryan district as surrounded by several other districts controlled orcontested by the militant group, such as Pul-e Hissar and Khost Wa Firing districts in Baghlan
province and Mandol district in Nuristan province. According to Taliban sources cited by LWJ, there
has been a long-term military interest of the militant group in gaining control over strategic areas
such as Panjsher province.3459 In response to this possible Taliban infiltration in Paryan district inAugust 2019, dozens of former mujahideen fighters and members of public uprising forces werereported mobilizing alongside the Afghan national security forces, to defend the area.3460
Until three reported incidents in September 2020 (see chapter on recent security trends), Panjsher
province, described as a traditional stronghold of anti-Taliban sentiment,3461 has never been attacked
by the militant group during nearly two decades of war, although the Taliban had a presence innearby provinces such as Nuristan, Baghlan, Badakhshan and Kapisa.3462 In November 2020,
American think-tank the Jamestown Foundation suggested the destabilization of Badakhshan
province could have an impact on the situation in northern Afghanistan, including Takhar, Baghlan,
Kunduz and Panjsher provinces.3463
An LWJ assessment mapping Taliban control in Afghanistan in a frequently updated map and basedon open-source information, consulted on 12 March and May 2021, indicated all districts of Panjsher
province as ‘government-controlled’ or ‘undetermined’.3464 A survey Pajhwok Afghan News
conducted from November 2020 until February 20213465 designated 97.75 % of Panjsher’s territory
under government control, 0 % under Taliban control and 2.25 % controlled by neither side.
According to the same survey, 166 103 of Panjsher’s inhabitants live in areas under government
control, none of the province’s population live in areas under Taliban control and 3 823 of Panjsher’s
residents live in areas controlled by neither side.3466
No security incidents specifically attributed to ISKP have been recorded in Panjsher province
between 1 January 2020 and 28 February 2021 by ACLED.3467 In a June 2020 USIP report, analyst
Borhan Osman mentioned Panjsher as an area where ISKP has been recruiting for its Kabul cell.3468 In

3458 New York Times (The), In Proud Corners of Afghanistan, New Calls for Autonomy, 28 September 2020, url
3459 LWJ, Taliban Threatens Panjshir Province, 4 August 2019, url
3460 Tolonews, Local Forces Mobilize to Purge Taliban Threats in Panjshir, 2 August 2019, url; LWJ, Taliban Threatens

Panjshir Province, 4 August 2019, url
3461 BBC News, Afghanistan Conflict: IS Links to Kabul Student Killings Cause Outrage, 5 November 2020, url
3462 VOA, Taliban Fighters Attack Previously Spared Afghan Province, 8 September 2020, url
3463 Sukhankin, S., Central Asia’s Specter of Insecurity: The View from Badakhshan to Fergana, The Jamestown Foundation,
20 November 2020, url
3464 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url. LWJ, however, does not specify when and which information of
the aforementioned map was updated.
3465 Through telephonic interviews or by distributing questionnaires, Pajhwok Afghan News interviewed a total of 1 266
respondents for this survey, randomly selected across the country. Pajhwok acknowledges the complexity of this task andthe possible inaccuracy of the provided information.
3466 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url
3467 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Panjsher province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3468 Osman, B., Bourgeois Jihad: Why Young, Middle-Class Afghans Join Islamic State, USIP, June 2020, url, pp. 4, 11-12

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

November 2020, BBC reported that the name of one of the assailants of the attack on Kabul
University earlier that month (see chapter on Kabul City) suggested a link to Panjsher province. The
attacker was referred to by ISKP with his nom de guerre ‘Anas al-Banishiri’.3469
According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, Panjsher province remained a poppy-freeprovince.3470
In terms of the presence of government security forces, Panjsher was reported to be under the
responsibility of the 201th ANA Corps and included in the Train, Advise and Assist Command - East
(TAAC-E), part of NATO’s Resolute Support Mission within Afghanistan. TAAC-E is led by US forces
and has its headquarters in Nangarhar province.3471

2.28.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented no civilian casualties in Panjsher province.3472 Resolute Support (RS)recorded between 0 and 50 civilian casualties in Panjsher province in the first half of 2020, with novariation between the first and second quarter of the year.3473 RS data on civilian casualties perprovince for the second half of 2020 were no longer available in the SIGAR quarterly reports.3474
In the period from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, ACLED collected data from reports in open
sources on three incidents related to insurgents in Panjsher province, all coded as ‘battles’ (‘armed
clashes’) between Taliban militants and ANDSF forces in September 2020. No other violent incidents
were recorded in Panjsher during the reporting period. The districts Onaba (Anawa), Dara and Paryan
each counted one battle.3475
On 6 September 2020, the Taliban reported that their fighters attacked a military checkpoint inParyan district, purportedly killing five Afghan soldiers.3476 A few days later, on 8 September 2020,
Taliban fighters attacked an Afghan police checkpoint in the Qala Tari area of Ab Shar district3477 (partof Dara district). During the clashes, a number of villagers were reportedly taken hostage (they werereleased later). According to local officials, the Taliban came from neighbouring provinces Nuristan orLaghman. Local residents reportedly took up arms and helped the Afghan security forces to expel the
militants from the region.3478 This attack, on the 19th anniversary of the death of Ahmad Shah
Massoud, was described as the first large-scale Taliban attack in Panjsher province in nearly two
decades.3479 On 21 September 2020, the Taliban reportedly attacked a security forces’ checkpoint inOnaba (Anawa) district, equally facing strong resistance from local residents and security

3469 BBC News, Afghanistan Conflict: IS Links to Kabul Student Killings Cause Outrage, 5 November 2020, url
3470 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 93471 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2020, 23 April 2021, url, p. 53472 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 110
3473 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 April 2020, url, p. 69; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 July 2020, url, p. 72
3474 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 October 2020, url; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 January 2021, url
3475 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Panjsher province, update 25 March
2021, url
3476 Ariana News, Taliban Attack Abshar District in Panjshir, 8 September 2020, url
3477 Temporary district (see above). ACLED indicated Ab Shar district as an official part of Dara district.
3478 VOA, Taliban Fighters Attack Previously Spared Afghan Province, 8 September 2020, url; RFE/RL/Gandhara, Taliban Hits
Northeast Afghan Province for First Time in Two Decades, 8 September 2020, url; Tolonews, Taliban Attacks Panjshir
Border, Hostages Taken: Official, 8 September 2020, url
3479 New York Times (The), Afghan Vice President, Staunch Opponent of Taliban, Survives Blast, 9 September 2020, updated
15 September 2020, url

321Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

personnel.3480 According to local officials, the insurgents entered Panjsher from Hisa-i Awal-e
Kohestan district in Kapisa province. At least three militants were reportedly arrested.3481
On 23 August 2020, protests from local armed residents/militia forces were reported in Panjsher’scapital Bazarak, thwarting an ANDSF operation to arrest Keramuddin Karim for assault. Karim,
former provincial governor and head of Afghanistan’s National Football Federation, was accused of
sexual assault and harassment of female Afghan soccer players.3482
The WHO did not register any attacks related to health care provision in Panjsher province in
2020.3483 In October and November 2020 reports on mine contamination and cluster munition
remnants, the Directorate of Mine Action Coordination (DMAC) in Afghanistan reported on possible
cluster munition contamination and suspected hazardous areas in remote parts of Panjsher
province.3484

Displacement
No conflict-induced internal displacement from Panjsher province was reported by UNOCHA for theperiod 1 January 2020 - 28 February 2021. During the same period, UNOCHA collected data on 70
persons displaced to Panjsher province, coming from Baghlan (Khost Wa Fereng district),
Badakhshan (Argo district), Laghman (Dawlatshah district) and Nuristan (Mandol district) provinces.
These 10 IDP families arrived in Panjsher province in June, July, August and September 2020 and
relocated to Bazarak, Khenj (Hes-e Awal) and Rukha districts.3485

3480 Khaama Press, Afghan Forces Repulse Panjshir Attack, 22 September 2020, url; Pasbanan, Taliban Second Attack on

Panjshir Province Failed, 22 September 2020, url
3481 Pajhwok Afghan News, Rebels Storm Security Check-Post in Panjsher, 22 September 2020, url
3482 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghan Operation Fails to Nab Ex-Soccer Chief Accused of Sexual Abuse, 24 August 2020, url;
Khaama Press, Saleh Warns Panjshir Officials over Forces Failed Attempt in the Arrest of Keramuddin Karim, 24 August
2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan Soccer Official, Charged with Sexual Abuse, Evades Arrest, 24 August 2020, url;
Tolonews, Special Forces Attempt Arrest of Ex-AFF President, 24 August 2020, url
3483 WHO, Afghanistan – Attacks on Health Care (January 01 - December 31, 2020), 11 January 2021, url
3484 Mine Action Review, Clearing Cluster Munition Remnants 2020, October 2020, url, p. 18; Cluster Munition Coalition,
Cluster Munition Monitor 2020: 11th Annual Edition, November 2020, url, p. 48
3485 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 23 February 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict
Displacement 2021, updated 8 March 2021, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

2.29 Parwan province
2.29.1 General description of the province

Map 29: Afghanistan - Parwan province, source: UNOCHA3486

Parwan province is located in the central region of Afghanistan and is divided into the following
districts: Bagram, Charikar, Ghorband (or Siya Gird), Jabalus Saraj, Koh-e Safi, Salang, Saydkhel,
Shekhali, Shinwari and Surkh-e Parsa. The provincial capital is Charikar.3487 More than two thirds ofthe province consists of mountainous or semi-mountainous terrain.3488
According to estimates for 2019-20 by NSIA, Parwan province has a population of 724 561.3489
The main ethnic group in Parwan is Tajik, with a presence in every district of the province. Other
groups present include Pashtun, Uzbek, Qizilbash, Kuchi and Hazara.3490 Shinwari district has a
Pashtun majority and Ghorband district a significant Pashtun population,3491 as well as Koh-e Safi
district.3492 Parwan’s Hazaras mainly reside in the districts of Shekhali3493 and Surkh-e Parsa.
According to AAN analyst Thomas Ruttig, Surkh-e Parsa is inhabited by a Sunni Hazara population,
who ‘traditionally are at odds with their Shiite fellow-Hazaras in neighbouring Bamian and therefore
have always supported Hezb-e Islami (HIG)’.3494

3486 UNOCHA, Afghanistan. Provincial Reference Map, 25 May 2015, url, p. 28
3487 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Parwan Province - District Atlas, April 2014, url; Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of

Afghanistan 2019-2020, November 2019, url, p. 73488 Afghanistan, MRRD, National Area Based Development Program - Parwan Provincial Profile, n.d., url, p. 1
3489 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, 18 November 2019, url, pp. 2, 73490 US Naval Postgraduate School, Parwan Provincial Overview, n.d., url
3491 Ruttig, T., Ghorband - A Valley Once Friendly, AAN, 19 July 2011, url
3492 Pajhwok Afghan News, Elections 2019: Parwan Province Background Profile, n.d., url
3493 Pajhwok Afghan News, Elections 2019: Parwan Province Background Profile, n.d., url
3494 Ruttig, T., Ghorband - A Valley Once Friendly, AAN, 19 July 2011, url

323

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

The Salang Pass tunnel, located between the provinces of Parwan and Baghlan and purportedly usedby more than 10 000 vehicles daily,3495 connects Kabul to northern Afghanistan.3496 The roads leading
to the tunnel have been in a bad condition and lack proper maintenance.3497 In April 2020, USAID
completed a power-infrastructure project next to the strategically located tunnel, through which
reportedly over 80 % of Afghanistan’s north-south trade passes.3498 A highway from Kabul runs
through the districts of Charikar, Jabalus Saraj and Salang to Kunduz province. Another highway
connecting Parwan to Bamyan province runs through the districts of Charikar, Shinwari, Ghorband,
Shekhali and the Shibar Pass.3499 A small airport is reportedly located in Charikar district, no
information has been found that this is a functioning airport for civil aviation.3500
At the end of August 2020, Parwan’s district centre Charikar City was affected by severe flash floods
causing the deaths and injuries of over 200 people and resulting in seriously damaged agriculturalland and public infrastructure as well as hundreds of families displaced.3501

2.29.2 Conflict background and actors in Parwan
In 2011, AGEs started to expand their activities into Parwan’s Siya Gird (or Ghorband) and Shinwari
districts, where the majority of the residents are Pashtun, and into Surkh-e Parsa district, where theSunni Hazara majority sympathised with Hezb-e Islami (HIG) forces. The Pashtun areas of the
Ghorband Valley have traditionally supported Hezb-e Islami during the civil war, but some of thesestructures have been absorbed by the Taliban since their regime in the 1990s. The Taliban in Parwan
have also appointed Tajiks into their ranks to avoid limiting the insurgency exclusively to the Pashtun
ethnicity. According to AAN analyst Thomas Ruttig, in the past, Parwan province has witnessed along-established rivalry between Jamiat-e Islami and Hezb-e Islami (HIG), as several ethnic Tajiks
affiliated with Jamiat were powerful strongmen and had important networks throughout the area.
Many of them were in control of Parwan’s administration and have reportedly actively contributed tothe insecurity in the region.3502
The Kabul-Bamyan Highway, going through Jalrez district in Wardak province, has many side roads
and mountain paths leading to several districts in Wardak, Parwan and Kabul provinces. According to
AAN analyst Ehsan Qaane, these serve as ‘supply and escape routes’ providing safe havens tomilitant groups and impeding the movement of government forces. For example, the unpaved roadconnecting Sanglakh in Jalrez district to Surkh-e Parsa district in Parwan is a difficult pass, neither
safe nor accessible for military vehicles.3503

3495 Xinhua, Feature: Afghanistan's Vital Salang Pass Tunnel in Dire Need of Restoration, 17 September 2019, url
3496 Diplomat (The), Fixing the Salang Pass Tunnel, 21 October 2015, url; Tolonews, Road Works Underway on Salang Pass,

1 September 2018, url; Telegraph (The), Through Mountain Passes and Taliban Land: the Longest Journey in the World for
Covid-19 Samples, 10 June 2020, url
3497 Tolonews, Govt Reports Back on New Salang Tunnel Progress, 18 June 2018, url; Xinhua, Feature: Afghanistan's Vital
Salang Pass Tunnel in Dire Need of Restoration, 17 September 2019, url
3498 USAID, Salang Tunnel Substation Overview, 5 December 2019, url; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States
Congress, 30 April 2020, url, p. 142; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 July 2020, url, p. 147
3499 Ruttig, T., Ghorband - A Valley Once Friendly, AAN, 19 July 2011, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Parwan Province - District
Atlas, April 2014, url; Afghanistan, IDC - MOPW, Application of Road Numbering System National Highways, 16 October
2015, url, p. 5
3500 Falling Rain, Directory of Airports in Afghanistan, n.d., url; MSF, Afghanistan: Country Kit, 12 January 2016, url;
Afghanistan, ACAA, All Airports, 24 September 2017, url
3501 UNOCHA, Afghanistan - Weekly Humanitarian Update (24 - 30 August 2020), 2 September 2020, url, p. 2; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan - Flash Update No. 1: Localised Floods in Central and Eastern, 26 August 2020, url, p. 1; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Flash Update: Conflict Displacement and Localised Flooding, 31 August 2020, url, p. 1
3502 Ruttig, T., Ghorband - A Valley Once Friendly, AAN, 19 July 2011, url
3503 Qaane, E., One Land, Two Rules (9): Delivering Public Services in Insurgency-Affected Jalrez District of Wardak Province,
AAN, 16 December 2019, url

324

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

An LWJ assessment mapping Taliban control in Afghanistan in a frequently updated map and basedon open-source information, consulted on 12 March and 26 May 2021, indicated Saydkhel, Koh-i Safi,
Surkh-e Parsa, Shinwari and Ghorband (or Siya Gird) districts as ‘contested’. LWJ designated Shinwari
and Ghorband (or Siya Gird) districts as ‘government-influenced’. Parwan’s remaining districts werecategorised as ‘government-controlled’ or ‘undetermined’ in this assessment.3504 A survey Pajhwok
Afghan News conducted from November 2020 until February 20213505 designated 55.67 % of
Parwan’s territory under government control, 36 % under Taliban control and 8.33 % controlled byneither side. According to the same survey, 410 653 of Parwan’s inhabitants live in areas under
government control, 265 572 of the province’s population live in areas under Taliban control and
61 475 of Parwan’s residents live in areas controlled by neither side.3506
According to May 2020 reporting from the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team to the
UN Security Council, the Taliban ordered increased supplies of ammunition and explosive materials
for their forces in Parwan province.3507 In July 2020, AAN reported on the Taliban building up apresence to the northeast, north and northwest of Kabul, including in Koh-e Safi district of Parwan
province.3508
In April 2020, the Taliban’s head of intelligence for Shinwari district, known as Noor Mohammad or
Omari, was killed during an operation in the Azgard area.3509 In June 2020, more than 200 Taliban
fighters reportedly attacked public uprising forces in Koh-e Safi district. The attack was repelled by
the security forces and 17 Taliban members were killed.3510 In June-July 2020, Parwan’s former
provincial police chief and a former member of Parwan’s provincial council declared to the New YorkTimes that the Taliban have hired criminals from local networks as freelancers in Parwan, often
blurring the lines of who carried out which attacks. According to the former police chief, a networkthat commissions criminals to carry out attacks is coordinated by Taliban commanders in Siya Gird
and Shinwari districts. According to the former provincial council member, these criminals do notreceive a monthly salary from the Taliban but get paid for the work done when the Taliban needthem, adding that the Taliban have also hired freelance criminals in Bagram district.3511 In November
2020, a Taliban militant group of six members was reportedly arrested in Saydkhel district, after they
had attacked the deputy police chief of the district.3512
Three security incidents specifically attributed to ISKP have been recorded in Parwan between 1
January 2020 and 28 February 2021 by ACLED. In April 2020,3513 August 2020 and December
2020,3514 ISKP claimed responsibility for several rocket attacks targeting Bagram Airbase; no3504 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url. LWJ, however, does not specify when and which information of

the aforementioned map was updated.)
3505 Through telephonic interviews or by distributing questionnaires, Pajhwok Afghan News interviewed a total of 1 266
respondents for this survey, randomly selected across the country. Pajhwok acknowledges the complexity of this task andthe possible inaccuracy of the provided information.
3506 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url
3507 UN SECURITY COUNCIL, Eleventh Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant
to Resolution 2501 (2019) Concerning the Taliban and Other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat tothe Peace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, 27 May 2020, url, p. 93508 Ruttig, T. and Sabawoon, A.M., A Threat at Kabul’s Southern Gate: a Security Overview of Logar Province, AAN, 18 July
2020, url
3509 Pajhwok Afghan News, Parwan: Taliban’s District Intelligence Head Killed, 28 April 2020, url
3510 Tolonews, '17 Taliban Killed' in Parwan Attack: Official, 30 June 2020, url
3511 New York Times (The), Trump Got Written Briefing in February on Possible Russian Bounties, Officials Say, 29 June
2020, updated 16 November 2020, url; New York Times (The), Suspicions of Russian Bounties Were Bolstered by Data on
Financial Transfers, 30 June 2020, updated 29 July 2020, url
3512 Pajhwok Afghan News, 6-Member Taliban Group Detained in Parwan, 2 November 2020, url
3513 RFE/RL, No Casualties in Rocket Attack on Largest U.S. Afghan Base, 9 April 2020, url
3514 VOA, Rockets Hit US Base in Afghanistan; No Casualties Reported, 19 December 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News,
Major US Airbase Comes under Rocket Attack, 19 December 2020, url

325

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

casualties were recorded by ACLED.3515 In a June 2020 USIP report, analyst Borhan Osman
mentioned Ghorband district as an area where ISKP has been recruiting for its Kabul cell.3516
According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, Parwan province remained a poppy-freeprovince.3517
In terms of the presence of government security forces, Parwan was reported to be under the
responsibility of the 201st ANA Corps and included in the Train, Advise and Assist Command - East
(TAAC-E), part of NATO’s Resolute Support Mission within Afghanistan. TAAC-E is led by US forces andhas its headquarters in Nangarhar province.3518 NDS unit 01 is reported to operate in the central
region, including in Parwan province. This paramilitary CIA-backed militia has been allegedly accusedof human rights abuses, such as involvement in extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances
and attacks on medical facilities.3519 Parwan’s Bagram district hosts Bagram Airbase, the largest NATOmilitary base (with adjacent military airfield)3520 in Afghanistan,3521 located 25 miles north of
Kabul.3522 Bagram town depends on the military base for its economy and supplies the base with alocal work force, reportedly making it a preferred target for the Taliban.3523

2.29.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 76 civilian casualties (47 deaths and 29 injured) in Parwan province.
This represented a decrease of 69 % compared to 2019. Leading causes of casualties were targetedkillings, followed by ground engagements and non-suicide IEDs.3524 Resolute Support (RS) recorded
between 0 and 25 civilian casualties in Parwan province in the first quarter of 2020.3525 In the second
quarter of 2020, RS recorded between 26 and 50 civilian casualties in Parwan province.3526 RS dataon civilian casualties per province for the second half of 2020 were no longer available in the SIGAR
quarterly reports.3527
In the period from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, ACLED collected data from reports in open
sources on 70 incidents related to insurgents in Parwan province, of which 36 were coded as‘battles’, 25 as ‘explosions/remote violence’ and 9 as ‘violence against civilians’.3528

3515 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Parwan province,

update 25 March 2021, url
3516 Osman, B., Bourgeois Jihad: Why Young, Middle-Class Afghans Join ISKP, USIP, June 2020, url, p. 123517 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 93518 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2020, 23 April 2021, url, p. 53519 HRW, “They’ve Shot Many Like This” Abusive Night Raids by CIA-Backed Afghan Strike Forces, 31 October 2019, url;
Clark, K., CIA-Backed Afghan Paramilitaries Accused of Grave Abuses: New Human Rights Watch Report, AAN, 31 October
2019, url
3520 Falling Rain, Directory of Airports in Afghanistan, n.d., url; MSF, Afghanistan: Country Kit, 12 January 2016, url
3521 LWJ, Taliban Suicide Bomber Kills 3 Czech Soldiers, 5 August 2018, url; Ruttig, T., First Breakthrough Toward Peace? A
Look at the Seven-Day ‘Reduction of Violence’, AAN, 17 February 2020, url
3522 Afghanistan, ACAA, Aerodrome (AD) Part 3, AIP Edition 90, 5 November 2020, url, p. 93523 New York Times (The), A Growing U.S. Base Made This Afghan Town. Now It’s Dying, 12 January 2020, url
3524 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 110
3525 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 April 2020, url, p. 693526 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 July 2020, url, p. 72
3527 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 October 2020, url; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 January 2021, url
3528 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Parwan province, update 25 March
2021, url

326

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Figure 56: Parwan province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data3529

Figure 57 Parwan province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on
ACLED data3530

ACLED recorded around 51 % of the violent incidents in Parwan as ‘battles’, all of which were codedas ‘armed clashes’. The majority of the armed clashes in Parwan were attacks by the Taliban on
Afghan security forces, including military, police and NDS personnel as well as members of progovernment militias or so-called arbakis3531.3532 Examples of such incidents included the targeting of
security personnel by gunmen, such as the killing of an intelligence (NDS) officer and anaccompanying civilian in Saydkhel district in September 2020,3533 the shooting of NDS officers in
Bagram district in October 20203534 and in February 2021,3535 the killing of the district police chief of3529 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Parwan province,

update 25 March 2021, url
3530 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Parwan province,
update 25 March 2021, url; 2 battles in the province for which ACLED has no information about the location, were notincluded in this graph (geoprecision code 3 - see introduction)
3531 For more information on arbaki: see section 1.2.1 Pro-government forces.
3532 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Parwan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3533 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url;
Pajhwok Afghan News, Intelligence Agent Gunned Down in Parwan, 5 September 2020, url
3534 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2020, 8 October 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
3535 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 4 February 2021, updated 25 February 2021, url

327

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Ghorband (Siya Gird) district alongside his security guard in November 2020;3536 ambushes on
security convoys, for example in Shinwari and Charikar district in February 2020,3537 a Taliban attack
on an ANP convoy on the Kabul-Parwan Highway in March 2020,3538 Taliban ambushes on arbaki’s
and policemen in Ghorband and Bagram districts in October 2020;3539 assaults on security
checkpoints, for example in Ghorband (Siya Gird) district in May 2020,3540 in July 20203541 and in
September 2020,3542 in Koh-e Safi district in June 2020,3543 in Shinwari district in July 20203544 and in
August 20203545 and in Charikar district in December 2020.3546 In some of these incidents civilian
casualties were reported. For example in August 2020, Taliban militants attacked a security outpost
in Bagram district and civilians escaping flash floods in neighbouring Kapisa province were caught inthe crossfire.3547
Operations and attacks by Afghan security forces against AGEs were also registered under armed
clashes by ACLED.3548 These involved for example operations by the Afghan military forces in Bagram
district in February 2020, killing several Taliban militants, as well as operations by the Afghan police
forces in Shinwari3549 and Ghorband districts in April 2020, killing a Taliban head of intelligence and acommander;3550 and operations in Saydkhel district in December 2020, resulting in several arrests
and the seizing of ammunition.3551
AGEs using roadside bombs or IEDs, often targeting the Afghan security forces, represented about
19 % of all reported security incidents in Parwan.3552 For example in October 2020, a Taliban-planted
roadside bomb killed three police officers in Salang district.3553 In various incidents in December
2020, several police officers as well as a prosecutor with his police guards were reportedly killed inmagnetic IED blasts and roadside bombs in Bagram3554 and Charikar3555 districts. In January 2021, a3536 Pajhwok Afghan News, District Police Chief, Security Guard Shot Dead, 17 November 2020, url
3537 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Parwan province,

update 25 March 2021, url
3538 Tolonews, 'Taliban' Attack ANP Convoy in Bagram, 1 ANP Killed, 7 March 2020, url
3539 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Parwan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3540 Tolonews, At Least 7 Afghan Forces Killed in 'Taliban' Attack in Parwan, 28 May 2020, url; National (The), Afghanistan:First Deadly Attacks Since Ceasefire Kill 14, 28 May 2020, url
3541 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 2020, 9 July 2020, updated 30 July 2020, url
3542 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url
3543 Tolonews, '17 Taliban Killed' in Parwan Attack: Official, 30 June 2020, url
3544 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 2020, 9 July 2020, updated 30 July 2020, url; Tolonews,
4 Security Force Members Killed in Parwan Clashes, 13 July 2020, url
3545 Reporterly, 11 Security Personnel Killed across Afghanistan, 25 August 2020, url
3546 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: December 2020, 10 December 2020, updated 31 December 2020,
url
3547 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: August 2020, 6 August 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; NewYork Times (The), I Lost Everyone’: Floods Bruise a War-Weary Afghanistan, 27 August 2020, url; Reuters, Taliban Kill Four
Survivors of Afghanistan Flash Floods, 27 August 2020, url
3548 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Parwan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3549 Pajhwok Afghan News, Parwan: Taliban’s District Intelligence Head Killed, 28 April 2020, url
3550 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Parwan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3551 Pajhwok Afghan News, 7 Terror Suspects among 15 Held in Parwan, 30 December 2020, url
3552 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Parwan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3553 Pajhwok Afghan News, 3 Policemen Killed in Parwan Roadside Bombing, 17 October 2020, url; RFE/RL/Gandhara,
Several Blasts Rock Afghanistan, Killing At Least Three, Taliban Denies Responsibility, 2 February 2021, url
3554 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: December 2020, 10 December 2020, updated 31 December 2020,
url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Parwan Attorney Escapes Unhurt in Explosion, 29 December 2020, url
3555 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: December 2020, 10 December 2020, updated 31 December 2020,
url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

police vehicle was hit by a landmine in PD 1 of Charikar City.3556 Information on civilian casualties
reported during this incident was not found among the sources consulted. In the beginning of
February 2020, Parwan’s chief of police was targeted in an IED blast in Charikar city. He escaped theattack unharmed.3557 A few days later, two NDS personnel were reportedly killed and four morewounded in another magnetic IED blast in the provincial capital.3558 Some of these IED incidents
resulted in casualties among civilians. In May 2020, explosives detonated at the site of electricity
transmission towers in Charikar City, causing one death and four people injured among employees
from the country’s state electricity company Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS).3559 In February
2021, several civilians were killed and injured when the car of a former member of parliament was
hit by a sticky bomb in Bagram district.3560
ACLED coded around 14 % of the violent incidents in Parwan as ‘shelling, artillery and missile
attacks’. For example, in January 2020 the Taliban reported to have conducted several missile
attacks on Bagram Airbase.3561 In April 2020, an ISKP-claimed rocket attack shelled the US militarybase of Bagram.3562 Information on civilian casualties reported during both these incidents was notfound among the sources consulted. At the end of May 2020, three members of a family were killed
when a mortar shell fired by the Taliban (who reportedly denied their involvement in the attack) hit
a civilian house instead of an ANDSF checkpoint in Ghorband district.3563 Mid-November 2020 the
Taliban reported on three civilian deaths and five civilians wounded in Afghan military forces’
shelling.3564 Mid-December 2020, several rockets were fired at Bagram Airbase.3565 Information on
civilian casualties reported during this incident was not found among the sources consulted.
During the reference period, ACLED registered one suicide bomb attack and one air/drone strike in
Parwan province.3566 In March 2020, a truck filled with explosives hit the gate of Bagram Airbase. No
group claimed responsibility for the attack.3567 Information on civilian casualties reported during thisincident was not found among the sources consulted. In October 2020, the Taliban reported on a US
drone strike in Bagram district, killing one civilian.3568
ACLED categorised about 13 % of all reported violent incidents in Parwan as ‘violence against
civilians’.3569 These incidents involved for example: the shooting of an off-duty NDS employee andtwo civilians while travelling by car in the Qala-i Naw area of Charikar City in February 2020;3570 thekilling of six local contractors working at Bagram Airbase in April 2020;3571 the storming of a mosque3556 Pajhwok Afghan News, Parwan Highway Police Commander Survives Blast, 27 January 2021, url
3557 Reuters, Three killed in Wave of Bomb Attacks in Afghanistan, 2 February 2021, url
3558 Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Intelligence Agents Killed, 4 Wounded in Parwan Blast, 8 February 2021, url
3559 Tolonews, 1 Killed in Latest of 4 Attacks on Power Pylons: DABS, 5 May 2020, url; National (The), Why Blackouts Are So

Common in Afghanistan, 27 May 2020, url
3560 Pajhwok Afghan News, 4 Injured in Parwan Sticky Bomb Blast, 12 February 2021, url
3561 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Parwan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3562 RFE/RL, No Casualties in Rocket Attack on Largest U.S. Afghan Base, 9 April 2020, url
3563 Tolonews, 3 Civilians Killed in Shelling in Parwan, 31 May 2020, url
3564 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Parwan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3565 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: December 2020, 10 December 2020, updated 31 December 2020,
url; VOA, Rockets Hit US Base in Afghanistan; No Casualties Reported, 19 December 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News,
Major US Airbase Comes under Rocket Attack, 19 December 2020, url
3566 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Parwan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3567 Khaama Press, Mini Truck Packed with Explosives Goes Off Close to Bagram Airfield, 22 March 2020, url
3568 Voice of Jihad, 4 Children Martyred, Child, Women Injured, 5 October 2020, url
3569 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Parwan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3570 Pajhwok Afghan News, 1 Killed, NDS Worker Injured in Parwan Attack, 1 February 2020, url
3571 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: April 2020, 2 April 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; RFE/RL,
Gunmen Kill Six Local Contractors near Main U.S. Base in Afghanistan, 17 April 2020, url

329

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situationin the Khala Zayi area of Charikar City by unknown gunmen (the government blamed the Taliban,
while the militants accused the government)3572 in May 2020, causing more than a dozen casualties
among worshippers;3573 the shooting of a tribal elder by unknown gunmen in Charikar City in June
2020;3574 the shooting of a religious scholar and his brother by unknown gunmen in Saydkhel districtin July 2020;3575 the abduction of two doctors by unidentified armed men from a clinic in Bagram
district in December 2020;3576 and the assassination of a religious scholar by unknown armed menon the way from Jabalus Saraj to Saydkhel district in January 2021.3577
On the highways connecting Parwan to its neighbouring provinces and to the capital, security
incidents have been reported, such as the targeting of government officials on the Kabul-Parwan
highway3578, and the killing of two Afghan engineers on that same highway in August 2020.3579
The WHO did not register any attacks related to health care provision in Parwan province in 2020.3580
In May 2020, several missiles were fired at transmission towers in the Gul Ghondi area of Charikar
City, damaging the electricity pylons.3581 In July 2020, UNOCHA reported on rising criminality in
Parwan province.3582 In January 2021, the head of a criminal armed group, accused of kidnapping,theft, extortion and intimidation, was arrested in Jabalus Saraj district. Residents of the district, citedby Pajhwok Afghan News, indicated an increase in armed robberies and extortion in the region.3583

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020 - 28 February 2021, reporting 12 persons
displaced from Parwan province, constituting a group of 2 families coming from Charikar district andfinding refuge in Nangarhar province (Jalalabad district) in November 2020.3584
During the same period, UNOCHA collected data on 133 persons displaced to Parwan province,coming from Badakhshan (Baharak district), Kunduz (Aliabad district), Takhar (Chahab district),Faryab (Qasyar district) and Kapisa (Tagab district) provinces. These 19 IDP families arrived in
Parwan province in August, September and October 2020 and found refuge in Charikar, Bagram andJabalus Saraj districts.3585
According to an IOM community based needs assessment with data from January to June 2020, 38 %of IDP and returnee households in Parwan province, that have been heavily affected by conflict andnatural disaster, live in shelters that are severely damaged or destroyed.3586

3572 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: May 2020, 7 May 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
3573 Al Jazeera, Gunmen Attack Afghanistan Mosque Killing Many Worshippers, 19 May 2020, url; Khaama Press, Taliban’s

Claims Regarding the Deadly Mosque Attack in Parwan Province, 19 May 2020, url; UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of
Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 55
3574 Tolonews, Tribal Elder Killed in Attack by Unknown Gunmen in Parwan, 11 June 2020, url
3575 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 2020, 9 July 2020, updated 30 July 2020, url
3576 Tolonews, 2 Doctors Abducted by Gunmen in Parwan, 29 December 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Doctors
Abducted from Parwan Clinic, 29 December 2020, url
3577 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2021, 7 January 2021, updated 28 January 2021, url;
Pajhwok Afghan News, Religious Scholar Gunned Down in Parwan, 25 January 2021, url
3578 Strategy Nord, Taliban Increase Tempo of Attacks near Kabul, 24 August 2020, url
3579 Khaama Press, 2 Afghan Engineers Killed in Taliban Attack on Kabul-Parwan Highway, 13 August 2020, url
3580 WHO, Afghanistan – Attacks on Health Care (1 January – 31 December 31, 2020) 11 January 2021, url
3581 Tolonews, 1 Killed in Latest of 4 Attacks on Power Pylons: DABS, 5 May 2020, url
3582 UNOCHA, Afghanistan - Weekly Humanitarian Update (6 - 12 July 2020), 15 July 2020, url, p. 23583 Pajhwok Afghan News, Head of Extortionist Gang Arrested in Parwan, 20 January 2021, url
3584 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 23 February 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict
Displacement 2021, updated 8 March 2021, url
3585 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 23 February 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict
Displacement 2021, updated 8 March 2021, url
3586 IOM, DTM Afghanistan, Community Based Needs Assessment: Summary Results Round 10 Jan-June 2020, 1 October
2020, url, p. 12

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

2.30 Samangan
2.30.1 General description of the province

Map 30: Afghanistan – Samangan province, source: UNOCHA3587

Samangan province is located in the north of Afghanistan and is divided into the following districts:
Aybak, Dara-i-Suf-e-Payin (Lower Dara-i-Suf), Dara-i-Suf-e-Bala (Upper Dara-i-Suf), Feroznakhchir,
Hazrat-e-Sultan, Khuram Wa Sarbagh and Ruy-e-Duab.3588 The provincial capital of Samangan isSamangan City, formerly known as Aybak.3589
According to estimates for 2019-2020 by NSIA, the province has a population of 422 859, 116 281 ofwhom live in the provincial capital, Aybak.3590
The main ethnic groups in the province are Tajiks and Uzbeks. Other groups present include
Pashtuns, Hazaras, Arabs, Tatars3591 and Aimaqs.3592
Samangan province has a strategic position, to the north of the Hindu Kush.3593 The Ring Road
connects Samangan/Aybak city with Mazar-e Sharif and the northern provinces until Herat (crossing

3587 UNOCHA, Afghanistan. Provincial reference Map, 25 May 2015,
3588 UNOCHA, Afghanistan. Provincial reference Map, 25 May 2015,

url, p. 29
url, p. 29; Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of

Afghanistan 2020-21, June 2020, url, p. 30
3589 AAN, Afghanistan’s 2019 Election (22): Glances at Kunduz, Baghlan, Samangan, 30 October 2019, url
3590 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, 18 November 2019 , url, pp. 3; 263591 US Naval Postgraduate School, Samangan Provincial Review, n.d., url
3592 Afghanistan, Office of the President, Provincial Profile Samangan, 1 February 2017, url
3593 RFE/RL, Afghanistan‘s New Northern Flash Points, n.d., url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Hazrat-e-Sultan district) and with Kabul to the east (crossing Khuram wa Sarbagh district).3594
Samangan province has no airport.3595
Afghanistan Analyst Obaid Ali pointed out in 2019 that control of Dara-I Suf-e Payin district’s coalmines is a driving force that exacerbates the conflict in that district.3596 While the Taliban doesn’t
extract the coals in Dara-I Suf, it controls the highways, according to local officials.3597 According to
The Liaison Office (TLO), Dan-e Toor and Gramak areas of the district are housing most illegally
mined coals deposits in Afghanistan. Over 350 illegal mines are overseen by politicians, warlords andlocal power brokers.3598 According to statements by government and military officials in Samanganprovince in November 2020 and January 2021, the Taliban collected taxes from hundreds of trucks
carrying coal from a local mine, generating between 26 000 USD and 38 500 USD3599 per day for the
movement and funding their attacks across northern Afghanistan.3600

2.30.2 Conflict background and actors in Samangan
From early 2016 onwards, more attacks, incursions by the Taliban and fighting were reported in
Samangan province.3601
In previous years control over Dara-I Suf-e Payin’s district centre has switched several times between
government forces and the Taliban.3602 In October 2019, the head of the provincial council claimed
that the Taliban controlled the Dara-i-Suf - Aybak and Dara-i-Suf - Mazar-e-Sharif Highways, addingthat they had also been in control of Dara-i-Suf-e-Bala and Dara-i Suf-e Payin districts’ roads thatconnect both districts with Samangan City for the last three years and had taken control of roads
between the two districts and Mazar-e-Sharif City.3603 In April 2020, the UN Analytical Support andSanctions Monitoring Team reported on a reorganisation of the Taliban shadow governance andmilitary structure in several provinces, with new appointments made in Samangan province.3604 Alsoin May 2020, Afghanistan analyst Thomas Ruttig reported frequent Taliban activity in mostly Talibancontrolled Dara-i Suf-e Payin and government-controlled Dara-i Suf-e Bala and added that the Taliban
attacked Dara-i Suf-e Bala district several times in April 2020.3605 In January 2021 Samangan governor
claimed between 400 and 600 Taliban fighters were active in the province, expressing fear that theymight capture Dara-I Suf-e Payin and Dara-I Suf-e Bala districts.3606 As of 12 March and 26 May 2021
an assessment by the Long War Journal presented in a frequently updated map and based on opensource information, indicated Dara-i Suf-e Payin district as ‘Taliban-controlled’, Aybak district as‘contested’ and the remaining districts in Samangan province as ‘government-controlled’.3607 A
3594 Afghanistan, MOPW, Application of Road Numbering System National Highways, 16 October 2015, url; Diplomat (The),

Kabul‘s Plan to Realize Afghanistan‘s Geographic Dividend, 5 December 2017, url; MSF, Afghanistan Country Kit, 12 January
2016, url, pp. 1; 3; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Northern region District Atlas, 13 April 2014, url, p. 46
3595 MSF, Afghanistan Country Kit, 12 January 2016, url, p. 3; Afghanistan, ACAA, All airports, 24 September 2017, url
3596 AAN, Afghanistan’s 2019 Election (22): Glances at Kunduz, Baghlan, Samangan, 30 October 2019, url
3597 Tolonews, Taliban Benefits from Coal Mine Business in Samangan: Official, 12 November 2020, url
3598 TLO, The Real Cost of Coal, n.d., url
3599 3 000 000 Afghani, converted with XE Currency Converter (url) on 19 March 2021
3600 Pajhwok Afghan News, Samangan governor seeks offensive against Taliban, 24 January 2021, url; New York Times(The), On Afghan Highways, Even the Police Fear the Taliban’s Toll Collectors, 12 November 2020, url
3601 AAN, Afghanistan’s 2019 Election (22): Glances at Kunduz, Baghlan, Samangan, 30 October 2019, url
3602 AAN, Afghanistan’s 2019 Election (22): Glances at Kunduz, Baghlan, Samangan, 30 October 2019, url
3603 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban increase tax on coal trucks in Samangan, 29 October 2019, url
3604 UN Security Council, Eleventh Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant to
Resolution 2501 (2019) Concerning the Taliban and Other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat to thePeace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, 27 May 2020, url, para 16
3605 Ruttig, T., The case of Mawlawi Mehdi and Balkhab District: Are the Taleban attracting Hazaras?, AAN, 23 May 2020, url
3606 Pajhwok Afghan News, Samangan governor seeks offensive against Taliban, 24 January 2021, url
3607 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url. The source, however, does not specify when and which
information of the aforementioned map was updated. For more information on the methodology used by, see theIntroduction section of this report.

332

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

survey Pajhwok Afghan News conducted from November 2020 until February 20213608 designated34.57 % of Samangan’s territory under Taliban control, with no district fully under their control, and55.43 % under government control, whereas the rest of the province is controlled by neither side,with the Taliban not fully controlling any of the districts in Samangan. According to the same survey,
148 826 of Samangan’s inhabitants lived in areas under Taliban control and 238 614 of the province’s
population lived in areas under government control and 43 049 of Samangan’s residents lived inareas controlled by neither side.3609
According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, Samangan province remained a poppy-freeprovince.3610
In terms of the presence of government security forces, Samangan province was under the
responsibility of the 209th ANA Shaheen corps and included in the area of responsibility of the Train
Advise Assist Command – North (TAAC – North), part of NATO's Resolute Support Mission within
Afghanistan. TAAC-North was led by German forces and had its headquarters in Mazar-e Sharif, Balkhprovince.3611 Concerns were voiced over the ANA-Territorial Forces in Dara-I Duf-e Payin district
where a commander had reportedly recruited only from one or two villages and in Ruy-e-Duabdistrict, where a group of mujahideen commanders known for past abuses and still accused of similarabuses dominated the ANA-TF company. 3612

2.30.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 133 civilian casualties (12 deaths and 121 injured) in Samangan. This
represents an increase of 196 % compared to 2019. More than two out of three civilian casualties in
Samangan were caused by a large complex attack in provincial capital Aybak city on 13 July 2020.3613
As a result, complex attacks were the leading cause of casualties in Samangan, followed by
UXO/Landmines and targeted killings.3614 Resolute Support recorded between 0 and 50 civilian
casualties in Samangan in the first half of 2020, reporting similar numbers of civilian casualties
between the first and the second quarter of 2020.3615 RS data on civilian casualties per province forthe second half of 2020 were no longer available in the SIGAR quarterly reports.3616

3608 Through telephonic interviews or by distributing questionnaires, Pajhwok Afghan News interviewed a total of 1 266

respondents for this survey, randomly selected across the country. Pajhwok acknowledges the complexity of this task andthe possible inaccuracy of the provided information.
3609 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban make exaggerated claims of territory they control, 12 February 2021, url
3610 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 93611 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability In Afghanistan. December 2019, 23 January 2020, url, pp. 11-12, p. 50;
USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability In Afghanistan. June 2020, 1 July 2020, url, p. 14; USDOD, Enhancing Security andStability In Afghanistan. December 2020, 23 April 2021, url, p. 53612 Clark, K., Gaston, E. et.al., Ghosts of the Past: Lessons from Local Force Mobilisation in Afghanistan and
Prospects for the Future, AAN and GPPI, July 2020, url, pp. 66; 68; Clark, K. et al., Afghanistan’s Newest Local Defence
Force: Were “all the mistakes of the ALP” turned into ANA-TF safeguards?, AAN, August 2020, url, pp. 24-25
3613 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Midyear Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 46; 1103614 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Midyear Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 110
3615 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 April 2020, url, p. 69; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 July 2020, url, p. 72
3616 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 October 2020, url; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 January 2021, url

333Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

In the period from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, sources consulted by ACLED reported 46
violent events in Samangan province, of which 37 were coded as ‘battles’, 7 as ‘explosions/remoteviolence’ and 2 as ‘violence against civilians’.3617

Figure 58: Samangan province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violenceagainst civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data3618

Figure 59: Samangan province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, basedon ACLED data3619

All coded ‘battles’ were ‘armed clashes’. The majority of those incidents were attacks by the Taliban
on Afghan security forces, including military, police, NDS personnel, members of pro-government

3617 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website on a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Samangan province, update 25
March 2021, url
3618 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Samangan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3619 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Samangan province,
update 25 March 2021, url; 4 battles in the province for which ACLED has no information about the location, were notincluded in this graph (geoprecision code 3 – see introduction)

334

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

militias or local uprising forces,3620 attacks on their facilities such as checkpoints3621 or
headquarters,3622 or clashes between ANDSF and AGEs,3623 sometimes involving air support.3624
The complex attack on the NDS headquarters in Aybak city on 13 July 20203625 was coded by ACLED
under ‘armed clashes’. It was the first high-profile Taliban-claimed attack on a provincial capital in
Afghanistan since the US-Taliban February 2020 deal.3626 This kind of attacks had become rarer since
the February 2020 agreement.3627
Operations and attacks carried out by Afghan security forces against AGEs, such as an operation in
Ruy-e-Duab district in August 20203628 and including operations with air support, as in Dara-i Suf inJanuary 20203629 were also registered under armed clashes.3630
In January 2020 a Taliban group attack on the centre of Dara-I-Suf-e Payin was repelled.3631 According
to Afghanistan analyst Thomas Ruttig the Taliban attacked Dara-i-Suf-e Bala district several times in
April 2020.3632
Out of seven incidents categorised by ACLED under ‘explosions/remote violence’, two were air
strikes carried out by Afghan forces in Dara-i Suf-e Bala district3633, inflicting losses among AGEs in
one incident in April 2020.3634 ACLED registered four incidents which involved the use of IEDs,
including a roadside bomb explosion killing a territorial army soldier in Khuram Wa Sarbagh districtin November 2020.3635 A civilian was killed and three others wounded in late February 2021 when
unknown individuals threw a hand grenade to a gas shop and hotel in police district 1 of Aybak
city.3636
Two incidents categorised by ACLED as ‘violence against civilians’ included the killing of civilians by
the Taliban in an area under their control in Dara-i Suf-e Payin district in January 20203637 and thekilling of civilians by Afghan forces during operations, as reported by the Taliban in September
3620 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Samangan province,

update 25 March 2021, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: December 2020, 10 December 2020,
updated 31 December 2020,
url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Upraising commander killed in Samangan, 12 November 2020, url; Al Jazeera, Taliban kills 13
Afghan soldiers in Balkh province, 1 May 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2020, 2
January 2020, updated 30 January 2020, url
3621 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: April 2020, 2 April 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; New YorkTimes (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url; Pajhwok
Afghan News, 3 police killed in Aibak gun attack, 17 July 2020, url
3622 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: December 2020, 10 December 2020, updated 31 December 2020,
url
3623 Pajhwok Afghan News, Samangan clash: 13 Taliban killed, 5 injured, 18 September 2020, url
3624 Tolonews, '35 Taliban Killed' in Clashes with Security Forces: Officials, 27 September 2020, url
3625 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Midyear Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 46
3626 International Crisis Group, Crisis Watch, 3 August 2020, url; New York Times (The), Taliban Stage a Major Attack, as
Violence Intensifies in Northern Afghanistan, 13 July 2020, url
3627 Quilty, A., Taleban Opportunism and ANSF Frustration: How the Afghan conflict has changed since the Dohaagreement, AAN, 12 October 2020, url
3628 Pajhwok Afghan News, 3 Taliban militants killed in Samangan operation, 29 August 2020, url
3629 Afghanistan, Ministry of Defense (@MoDAfghanistan), [Twitter], posted on: 11 January 2020, url
3630 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Samangan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3631 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban’s groups attack on Dara-i-Souf Paen district repulsed, 3 January 2020, url
3632 Ruttig, T., The case of Mawlawi Mehdi and Balkhab District: Are the Taleban attracting Hazaras?, AAN, 23 May 2020, url
3633 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Samangan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3634 Khaama Press, Taliban militants suffer heavy casualties in preemptive airstrikes in Samangan, 30 April 2020, url
3635 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 5 November 2020, updated 26 November 2020,
url
3636 RiV-Monitoring (@rivmonitoring), [Twitter], posted on: 24 February 2021, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Teenage boy
killed in Samanagan hand grenade attack, 26 February 2021, url
3637 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2020, 2 January 2020, updated 30 January 2020, url

335

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

2020.3638 In addition to the incidents registered by ACLED, official sources reported the kidnapping of
Dara-i Suf-e Bala district chief and two of his guards in Dara-i Suf-e Payin district on
24 February 2020.3639
The complex attack on the NDS headquarters in Aybak city on 13 July 2020 did not only cause
several civilian casualties, but inflicted damage to several houses in the area as well.3640 According toa local official, houses three kilometres further away had broken windows as a result of the powerful
blast.3641
The WHO did not register any attacks related to health care provision in Samangan province in
2020.3642 After initial reports of the closure by the Taliban of 35 out of 47 health centres in
Samangan,3643 in January 2021 UNOCHA stated that 28 hospitals had been closed in Samangan since
4 November 2020. This impacted approximately 240 000 people who were in need of healthservices. Negotiations for reopening were being held.3644 At the time of drafting this report no
update on the situation was available.
Without further specifying which provinces or districts were impacted, UNOCHA observed how
civilian movements along main roads and roads between provincial capital and district centres wereinterrupted and humanitarian activities were obstructed in the northern region of Afghanistan due
to clashes and illegal checkpoints in September 20203645 as well as in January and February 2021.3646
The New York Times reported in February 2021 that the highways in the north, which are vital as
they offer the limited options of traveling between provinces by road, ‘have increasingly become thefront line for an emboldened Taliban insurgency’.3647

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020 – 28 February 2021, reporting 6 706 persons
displaced from Samangan, of which 6 517 (97 %) were displaced within the province. Others weredisplaced to Kabul and Jowzjan provinces. More than half were displaced from Dara-i Suf-e Payin
district, while no displacement was registered from Dara-i-Suf-e-Bala and Feroznakhchir districts.
During the same period, 6 944 persons were displaced to Samangan, nearly all from within theprovince and all relocating in Aybak district.3648

3638 Voice of Jihad, War Crimes (September 2020, 3 October 2020, url
3639 Pajhwok Afghan News, Insurgents kidnap district chief in Samangan, 2 February 2020, url; 1TV, Taliban abduct Afghan

district governor in Samangan: MoI, 24 February 2020, url; RFE/RL, At Least Six Killed In Afghanistan Despite 'Reduction Of
Violence' Deal, 24 February 2020, url
3640 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 2020, 9 July 2020, updated 30 July 2020, url
3641 New York Times (The), Taliban Stage a Major Attack, as Violence Intensifies in Northern Afghanistan, 13 July 2020, url
3642 WHO, Afghanistan – Attacks on Health Care (1 January – 31 December 2020), 11 January 2021, url
3643 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban close Samangan clinics over unpaid staff salaries, 28 November 2020, url
3644 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (4 – 10 January 2021), 13 January 2021, url, p. 23645 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (14 – 20 September 2020), 23 September 2020, url, p. 23646 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (22 – 28 February 2021), 2 March 2021, url; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (4 – 10 January 2021), 13 January 2021, url, p. 2; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Weekly Humanitarian Update (11 – 17 January 2021), 19 January 2021, url, p. 2 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly
Humanitarian Update (18 – 24 January 2021), 27 January 2021, url, p. 23647 New York Times (The), Inside the Shadowy Militias Luring Unsuspecting Afghans to Fight, or Die, 4 February 2021,
updated 22 March 2021, url
3648 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 23 February 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict
Displacement 2021, updated 8 March 2021, url

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2.31 Sar-e Pul
2.31.1 General description of the province

Map 31: Afghanistan – Sar-e Pul province, source: UNOCHA3649

3649 UNOCHA, Afghanistan. Provincial reference Map, 25 May 2015,

337

url, p. 30

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Sar-e Pul province is located in the north of Afghanistan and is divided into the following districts:
Balkhab, Gosfandi, Kohestanat, Sancharak, Sar-e Pul, Sayad and Sozmaqala.3650 It became province of
its own in 1988, when Jawzjan ceded it.3651 The provincial capital is Sar-e Pul.3652
According to estimates for 2019-2020 by NSIA, the province has a population of 609 986, 173 719 ofwhom live in the provincial capital, Sar-e Pul.3653
The main ethnic group in the province are Uzbeks.3654 Other groups present include Hazaras, Tajiks,
Pashtuns, Arabs, Aimaqs and Balochs.3655
The Ring Road does not run through Sar-e Pul province, but a main road connects the provincial
capital of Sar-e Pul with Jawzjan’s capital Shiberghan on the Mazar-e Sharif– Herat section of the Ring
Road.3656
Oil wells near Sar-e Pul City are an important source of income for the province, and the Taliban try
to either control or destroy them, as reported in January 2019.3657 In May 2020, a government official
mentioned Taliban attacks on 14 oil wells in Sar-e Pul province.3658

2.31.2 Conflict background and actors in Sar-e Pul
Sar-e Pul province is said to have become a ‘Taliban stronghold’ since 2012. The administration as
well as military structure of the Taliban network in Sar-e Pul has consisted mainly of non-Pashtun
locals, reflecting the multi-ethnic character of the province. The insurgency used to get its fightersfrom the prevailing ethnic groups in the districts. For instance, in Kohestanat, the movement was
mainly led by Aimaq and Tajiks, whereas in Sozmaqala it was mostly controlled by Uzbeks.3659 On
22 April 2020, the Taliban shared on their website, Voice of Jihad, a video introducing the Taliban
governor of Balkhab district, Mawlawi Mehdi Mujahed, a Shia Hazara.3660 This evoked surprise insome Twitter comments by journalists working for international media and in Afghan media reports,that stressed the fact that this was the first time a Shia Hazara Taliban commander was presented.3661
This ethno-religious group is barely represented in the Taliban movement, as Afghanistan analyst
Thomas Ruttig points out. Looking into the Taliban presence in Balkhab district and Mehdi’s
background, Thomas Ruttig considered this was an exceptional case but concluded that with only asmall group of fighters under his command and not having a presence in the district, Mehdi’s military
relevance was low and his appointment could hardly change the perception and mistrust among

3650 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Sar-e Pul Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url
3651 Pajhwok Afghan News, Background Profile of Sar-i-Pul province, n.d., url
3652 Afghanistan, Office of the President, Provincial Profile Sar e Pul, 1 February 2017, url
3653 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, 18 November 2019 , url, pp, 3; 283654 US Naval Postgraduate School, Sar-i-Pul Provincial Review, n.d., url; Ali. O., Non-Pashtun Taleban in the North (2): Casestudies of Uzbek Taleban in Faryab and Sar-e Pul, AAN, 17 March 2017, url
3655 Afghanistan, Office of the President, Sar e Pul, 1 February 2017, url; Ali. O., Non-Pashtun Taleban in the North (2): Casestudies of Uzbek Taleban in Faryab and Sar-e Pul, AAN, 17 March 2017, url
3656 Afghanistan, IDC - MOPW, Application of Road Numbering System National Highways, 16 October 2015, url, p. 5; MSF,
Afghanistan Country Kit, 12 January 2016, url, pp. 1; 3; UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Northern region, District Atlas, 13 April
2014, url, p. 54
3657 Reuters, Taliban threaten oil fields in northern Afghanistan, 4 January 2019, url
3658 Salaam Times, In favour of darkness: the Taliban's war on Afghan infrastructure, 18 May 2020, url
3659 Ali, O., Non-Pashtun Taleban in the North (2): Case studies of Uzbek Taleban in Faryab and Sar-e Pul, AAN, 17 March
2017, url‫د جهاد غږ‬, ‫مصاحبه استدیویی االمارة با مسئول ولسوالی بلخاب والیت سرپل محترم (مولوی مهدی‬‫[ مجاهد) به نشر رسید‬informal translation: Al Emarah Studio has published the interview with Mawlawi Mahdi Mujahid,

3660 Voice of Jihad,

responsible for Balkhab district of Sar-e Pul province’], 22 April 2020, url; Voice of Jihad, Video: Interview with governor of
Balkhab – Mawlawi Mahdi Mujahid, 24 April 2020, url
3661 Nasr, W. (@SimNasr), [Twitter], posted on: 22 April 2020, url; Mehsud, I. T. (@IhsanTipu), [Twitter], posted on: 22 April
2020, url; Khaama Press, Taliban appoints first Shia Hazara as shadow district chief of the group, 28 April 2020, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Hazaras of the Taliban. However it showed how switching alliances, even between unexpected sides,
could occur as a result of complicated local power balance.3662
An Afghanistan analyst contacted by the Swedish Migrations Agency in January 2020, consideredSar-e Pul and Faryab to be the most Taliban-controlled or influenced provinces in the northern
region.3663 As of 12 March and 26 May 2021 an assessment by the Long War Journal presented in afrequently updated map and based on open-source information, indicated Kohestanat district as‘Taliban-controlled’, Balkhab district as ‘government-controlled’ and the remaining districts in Sar-e
Pul province as ‘contested’.3664 A survey Pajhwok Afghan News conducted from November 2020 until
February 20213665 designated 64 % of Sar-e Pul’s territory under Taliban control and 36 % under
government control. According to the same survey, 397 441 of Sar-e Pul’s inhabitants lived in areas
under Taliban control and 223 561 of the province’s population lived in areas under government
control. Kohestanat district was one of a few districts in Afghanistan where government employees
were working from the provincial capital or other safe areas due to the Taliban controlling the district
centre.3666
According to AAN, Central Asian militants from the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU) have been active in Sar-e
Pul province and operating alongside the Taliban since 2015. IJU militants are mainly Uzbeks fromUzbekistan, who have settled in Kohestanat district. Their main activity in the province has consisted
in offering military training to new Taliban recruits. While their exact number is unclear their number
is reported to be small, with around 25 fighters and 15 family members.3667 AAN found no evidenceof the presence of militants affiliated with ISKP in Sar-e Pul province, as claimed by several sources
mid-2018, noting that existing reporting and locals may have confused ISKP with the IJU.3668 No
security incidents specifically attributed to ISKP were recorded by ACLED in Sar-e Pul province
between 1 Jan 2020 and 28 February 2021.3669
According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, opium poppy cultivation in Sar-e Pul province
increased by 22 %.3670
In terms of the presence of government security forces, Sar-e Pul province was under the
responsibility of the 209th ANA Shaheen corps and included in the area of responsibility of the Train
Advise Assist Command – North (TAAC – North), part of NATO's Resolute Support Mission within
Afghanistan. TAAC-North was led by German forces and had its headquarters in Mazar-e Sharif, Balkhprovince.3671

3662 Ruttig, T., The case of Mawlawi Mehdi and Balkhab District: Are the Taleban attracting Hazaras?, AAN, 23 May 2020, url
3663 Sweden, Lifos/Migrationsverket, Säkerhetsläget i Afghanistan, 2020, 7 April 2020, url, p. 47
3664 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url. The source, however, does not specify when and which

information of the aforementioned map was updated.
3665 Through telephonic interviews or by distributing questionnaires, Pajhwok Afghan News interviewed a total of 1 266
respondents for this survey, randomly selected across the country. Pajhwok acknowledges the complexity of this task andthe possible inaccuracy of the provided information.
3666 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url
3667 Ali, O., New Confusion about ISKP: A case study from Sar-e Pul, AAN, 7 September 2018, url
3668 Ali, O., New Confusion about ISKP: A case study from Sar-e Pul, AAN, 7 September 2018, url
3669 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Sar-e Pul province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3670 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 93671 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability In Afghanistan. December 2019, 23 January 2020, url, pp. 11-12, p. 50;
USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability In Afghanistan. June 2020, 1 July 2020, url, p. 14; USDOD, Enhancing Security andStability In Afghanistan. December 2020, 23 April 2021, url, p. 5

339

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

2.31.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 161 civilian casualties (56 deaths and 105 injured) in Sar-e Pul. This
represents a decrease of 26 % compared to 2019. Leading causes of casualties were groundengagements, followed by targeted killings and non-suicide IEDs.3672 Resolute Support recorded
between 26 and 75 civilian casualties in Sar-e Pul in the first half of 2020, reporting an increase in
the number of civilian casualties in the second quarter of 2020, compared to the first.3673 RS data on
civilian casualties per province for the second half of 2020 were no longer available in the SIGAR
quarterly reports.3674
In the period from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, sources consulted by ACLED reported 99
violent events in Sar-e Pul province, of which 71 were coded as ‘battles’, 21 as ‘explosions/remoteviolence’ and 7 as ‘violence against civilians’3675

Figure 60: Sar-e Pul province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data3676

3672 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Midyear Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 110
3673 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 April 2020, url, p. 69; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 July 2020, url, p. 72
3674 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 October 2020, url ; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 January 2021, url
3675 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website on a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Sar-e Pul province, update 25 March
2021, url
3676 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Sar-e Pul province,
update 25 March 2021, url

340

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Figure 61: Sar-e Pul province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, basedon ACLED data3677

Of the battles, nearly all concerned ‘armed clashes’.3678 The majority of those incidents were attacks
by the Taliban on Afghan security forces, including military, police or NDS personnel, and membersof pro-government militias3679, attacks on their facilities such as checkpoints3680, military bases3681 or
clashes between ANDSF and AGEs.3682 At times these incidents resulted in civilian casualties, as forexample on 17 February 2020, when the Taliban attacked military bases and houses in Sayad district,killing a child and injuring two other civilians.3683 Two civilians were killed and another was woundedby crossfire in Gosfandi district in March 2020.3684
Operations and attacks carried out by Afghan security forces against AGEs, were also registered by
ACLED under armed clashes.3685
Civilian casualties were reported in a number of 21 reported incidents of ‘explosions/remoteviolence’ in Sar-e Pul province registered by ACLED between 1 January 2020 and 28 February
2021.3686 For example, on 2 September 2020, six children were killed in a bomb explosion inside ahouse in Sancharak district. A farmer was killed in the same district, also in September 2020, by abomb planted in a wheatfield by the Taliban.3687 Three civilians were among the people killed when amilitary convoy was hit by two roadside bombs in Sar-e Pul city in October 2020.3688

3677 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Sar-e Pul province,

update 25 March 2021, url; 6 events (4 battles and 2 remote violence) in the province for which ACLED has no information
about the location, were not included in this graph (geoprecision code 3 – see introduction)
3678 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Sar-e Pul province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3679 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: December 2020, 10 December 2020, updated 31 December 2020,
url; New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url;
New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: May 2020, 7 May 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
3680 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 4 February 2021, updated 25 February 2021, url;
New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2020, 8 October 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url;
Pajhwok Afghan News, 10 Taliban killed, as many injured in Sar-i-Pul battle, 16 July 2020, url
3681 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: April 2020, 2 April 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; New YorkTimes (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: June 2020, 4 June 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
3682 Xinhua, Taliban key commander killed in Afghanistan's northern Sari Pul province, 20 September 2020, url
3683 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2020, 6 February 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
3684 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: March 2020, 5 March 2020, updated 26 March 2020, url
3685 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Sar-e Pul province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3686 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Sar-e Pul province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3687 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url
3688 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2020, 8 October 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url

341

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Seven incidents categorised by ACLED as ‘violence against civilians’ included the wounding andkilling of civilians for unknown or unclear reasons, mostly by the Taliban,3689 and the killing of an
English teacher and the abduction of another teacher by the Taliban in Sar-e Pul city in July 2020.3690
In addition to the incidents registered by ACLED, the New York Times reported about the killing in
February 2020 of three former Taliban members who were living a civilian life in Sar-e Pul district.3691
Also Afghan news agency Pajhwok reported about the kidnapping and release after a few days offive members of a health care team in Kohestanat district in January 2020.3692 According to Kabulbased news service reportedly a woman was killed by the Taliban in Sancharak district in March
2020 for criticizing the Taliban’s war against the government forces.3693 UNAMA documented theabduction of a young man and a pregnant girl by the Taliban on 6 July 2020. After being released by
the Taliban the girl was tortured and killed by her family.3694 Inayatullah Faizi, Sar-e Pul municipality’s
financial and administrative director or Sar-e Pul’s deputy mayor, depending on the source, waskilled by unknown armed men on 2 November 2020.3695 Afghan Peace Watch initiative, RiVMonitoring, reported on the killing of a women, wife of an ANA soldier, by the Taliban in Sozma Qala
district in January 2021.3696
Security incidents were reported in Sar-e Pul province, on the highway connecting the province toJawzjan, throughout 20203697 and in January 2021,3698 as well as on the road between Sozma Qalaand Sar-e Pul in December 2020.3699 Without further specifying which provinces or districts were
impacted, UNOCHA observed how civilian movements along main roads and roads between
provincial capital and district centres were interrupted and humanitarian activities were obstructedin the northern region of Afghanistan due to clashes and illegal checkpoints in September 20203700 as
well as in January and February 2021.3701 Despite reassurances and promises by the Afghan security
forces about improving the security on the northern highways, the situation worsened in the lastquarter of 2020. Passengers complained about increasing insecurity, the presence of Taliban
checkpoints, extortion and threats by the Taliban or other armed men.3702 The New York Times
reported in February 2021 that the highways in the north, which are vital as they offer the limited

3689 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban shoot injured my daughter, grandchildren: Sar-i-Pul man, 1 February 2021, url; NewYork Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url; NewYork Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: August 2020, 6 August 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; New YorkTimes (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: June 2020, 4 June 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
3690 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 2020, 9 July 2020, updated 30 July 2020, url
3691 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2020, 6 February 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
3692 Pajhwok Afghan News, Sar-i-Pul province, 16 January 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Around 58,000 Sar-i-Pul
children to miss polio drops, 27 January 2020, url
3693 Reporterly, Pregnant Woman Shot in Sar-e Pul Province by Taliban for Calling Their War ‘Unjust’, 20 March 2020, url
3694 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Midyear Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 32
3695 Reportely (@reporterlyaf), [Twitter], posted on: 2 November 2020, url; RiV-Monitoring (@rivmonitoring), [Twitter],posted on: 2 November 2020, url
3696 RiV-Monitoring, A woman assassinated in Sar-e-Pul, 8 January 2021, url
3697 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (7 – 13 December 2020), 16 December 2020, url, p. 2; RiVMonitoring, 1 ANA soldier killed in Sari-Pul - Jawzjan highway, 25 November 2021, url; RiV Monitoring,
2 Taliban rebels killed 3 wounded in Sar-e-Pul, 8 October 2020, url; RiV Monitoring, 2 soldiers wounded in Sar-e-Pul blast,
19 September 2020, url; RiV Monitoring, 7 militants killed in Sar-e-Pul, 15 September 2020, url; New York Times (The),
Afghan War Casualty Report: March 2020, 5 March 2020, updated 26 March 2020, url
3698 RiV Monitoring, A police officer killed in Sare-Pul, 3 January 2021, url
3699 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (7 – 13 December 2020), 16 December 2020, url, p. 23700 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (14 – 20 September 2020), 23 September 2020, url, p. 2
3701 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (22 – 28 February 2021), 2 March 2021, url, p. 2; UNOCHA,
Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (4 – 10 January 2021), 13 January 2021, url, p. 2; UNOCHA, Afghanistan –Weekly Humanitarian Update (11 – 17 January 2021), 19 January 2021, url, p. 2; UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly
Humanitarian Update (18 – 24 January 2021), 27 January 2021, url, p. 2
3702 Afghanistan Times, Passengers, drivers affected by security situation in north, 21 October 2020, url; Payk Fact-Check,
Security Situation In The Northern Highways Of The Country Have Gotten Worse, Instead Of Getting Better, 9 December
2020, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

options of traveling between provinces by road, ‘have increasingly become the front line for an
emboldened Taliban insurgency’.3703
The WHO registered the capture of four health care providers and the release of one in Sar-e Pul
province in 2020.3704 In July 2020, the WHO expressed concern about the potential disruption on
timely assessment and response in some of the northern provinces, including Sar-e Pul due to thesecurity threat on the Mazar-Shiberghan-Faryab highway.3705
There were Twitter posts by Afghanistan-based journalists about a school being set on fire in
Balkhab district at the end of November 2020, blaming the Taliban.3706

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020 – 28 February 2021, reporting 11 117 persons
displaced from Sar-e Pul (more than half from Sancharak and Sar-e Pul districts), 9 759 (88 %) ofwhom were displaced within the province, while a few hundred IDPs were displaced from Sayad,
Sancharak and Gosfandi districts to Shiberghan in Jowzjan province and a few dozen to Faryab andGhor provinces. During the same period, 11 642 persons were displaced to Sar-e Pul, most to Sar-e
Pul district, the others to Sancharak. Sar-e Pul also hosted IDPs from Faryab, Jowzjan and Balkhprovinces.3707
The largest displacement within Sancharak took place in August 2020 around the time when
airstrikes targeting the Taliban were carried out in the district. All IDPs were displaced within the
district.3708

3703 New York Times (The), Inside the Shadowy Militias Luring Unsuspecting Afghans to Fight, or Die, 4 February 2021,

updated 22 March 2021, url
3704 WHO, Afghanistan – Attacks on Health Care (January 01 - December 31, 2020) 11 January 2021, url
3705 WHO, Situation Report, Afghanistan, Emergency Type: protracted emergency, July 2020, url
3706 Sarwary, B., (@bsarwary), [Twitter], posted on: 29 November 2020, url; Abed, F. (@fahimabad), [Twitter], posted on:
29 November 2020, url
3707 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 23 February 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict
Displacement 2021, updated 8 March 2021, url
3708 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 23 February 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict
Displacement 2021, updated 8 March 2021, url; EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated
Data Files, Afghanistan – Sar-e Pul province, update 25 March 2021, url

343

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

2.32 Takhar
2.32.1 General description of the province

Map 32: Afghanistan – Takhar province, source: UNOCHA3709

3709 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Takhar Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url

344

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Takhar province is located in the north-eastern part of Afghanistan and has borders with
Badakhashan to the east, Panjshir and Baghlan to the south and south-west and Kunduz to the west
and an international border with Tajikistan to the north.3710 Takhar province is divided into thefollowing administrative units: Baharak, Bangi, Chahab, Chal, Darqad, Dasht-e-Qala, Eshkamesh,
Farkhar, Hazar Sumuch, Kalafgan, Khwajabahawuddin (Khwaja Bahawuddin), Khwajaghar (alsoKhwaja Ghar), Namakab, Rostaq, Taloqan, Warsaj and Yangi Qala.3711 The provincial capital is
Taloqan.3712
According to estimates for 2019-2020 by NSIA, the province has a population of 1 073 319, of which
253 735 live in the provincial capital, Taloqan. 3713
The main ethnic group in the province are Uzbeks and Tajiks.3714 Other groups present include
Pashtuns3715, Hazaras3716 and Arabs3717.
The Kunduz-Takhar Highway runs through the districts of Kalafgan, Taloqan and Bangi.3718 As in otherprovinces, reports of Taliban attacks on travellers and military convoys have been reported, witharmed clashes frequently blocking road access.3719

2.32.2 Conflict background and actors in Takhar
In Takhar, Taliban fighters started to emerge in 2010 in Darqad, Khwajabahawuddin, and Yangi Qala
districts3720, but after making some territorial gains in 2014, an AAN report of 2017 stated that
Taliban were not able, at that time, to ‘establish a stronger foothold’ in Takhar. 3721 In May 2019,
journalist Bilal Sarwary noted an increased Taliban presence in Takhar province.3722 According to
Afghanistan analysts Obaid Ali and Thomas Ruttig their presence had grown in most parts of Takhar
over the past few years and several offensives in the province, in 2019, enabled them to expand
their control towards Taloqan City3723, raising concern among the local people.3724 In October 2020, a
media report claimed that 11 of Takhar’s districts had been ‘largely controlled by Taliban fighters foryears’.3725 As of February 2021, an assessment by the Long War Journal presented in a frequently
updated map and based on open-source information, indicated Baharak, Chahab, Khwajaghar andYangi Qala districts as ‘Taliban-controlled’, Bangi, Darqad, Dasht-e Qala, Eshkamesh,
Khwajabahawuddin and Taloqan districts as ‘contested’ and the remaining districts in Takhar
province as ‘government-controlled’. More recently, as of 26 May 2021, Khwajaghar, Yangi Qala,
3710 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Takhar Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url
3711 Afghanistan, IEC, Afghanistan 2019 Presidential Elections – Final results by Polling Stations: Province Takhar, 2020, url;

Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, November 2019, url, p. 24
3712 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Takhar Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Background profile of
Takhar province, n.d., url
3713 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-20, 18 November 2019, url, p. 24
3714 Clark, K., A Maelstrom of Militias: Takhar, a case study of strongmen co-opting the ALP, AAN, 14 November 2019, url
3715 Clark, K., A Maelstrom of Militias: Takhar, a case study of strongmen co-opting the ALP, AAN, 14 November 2019, url
3716 Pajhwok Afghan News, Background profile of Takhar province, n.d., url; US Naval Postgraduate School, Takhar
Provincial Review, n.d., url
3717 Afghanistan, Office of the President, Provincial Profile Takhar, 1 February 2017, url
3718 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Takhar Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url; Diplomat (The), Kabul‘s Plan to Realize
Afghanistan‘s Geographic Dividend, 5 December 2017, url
3719 Xinhua, 25 policemen killed in Afghanistan's northern Takhar province, 21 October 2020, url; Salaam Times, Taliban
continue extortion, killing of travellers on highways 06 August 2020, url; Menafn, Afghanistan- Highway blocked due to
Taliban attacks in north, 15 August 2020, url
3720 Ali, O., The Non-Pashtun Taleban of the North (3): The Takhar case study, AAN, 29 July 2017, url; Clark, K., A Maelstromof Militias: Takhar, a case study of strongmen co-opting the ALP, AAN, 14 November 2019, url
3721 Ali, O., The Non-Pashtun Taleban of the North (3): The Takhar case study, AAN, 29 July 2017, url
3722 Sarwary, B., [Twitter], posted on: 22 May 2019, url
3723 Ali, O. and Ruttig, T., Taleban attacks on Kunduz and Pul-e Khumri: Symbolic operations, AAN, 11 September 2019, url
3724 Afghanistan Times, Rampant insecurity stymies peace in Takhar, 8 April 2020, url
3725 Al Jazeera, Taliban ambush kills dozens of Afghan forces in northern province, 21 October 2020, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Nama Akab, Farkhan and Chal districts shifted to ‘contested’.3726 At the same time, a survey by
Pajhwok Afghan News conducted from November 2020 until February 2021, designated 56.8 % of
Takhar’s territory under government control, 35.3 % under Taliban control, and 7.9 % controlled byneither side. According to the same survey, 620 490 of Takhar’s inhabitants lived in areas under
government control, 385 797 of the province’s population lived in areas under Taliban control and
86 804 of Takhar’s residents lived in areas controlled by neither side. 3727
Besides the Taliban, militants from ISKP, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), drug runners
and criminals were reportedly active along the Tajik border in 20183728, as well as members of theterrorist movement Jundullah, a splinter group of IMU, mainly composed of non-Pashtun3729
Afghans.3730
Militants affiliated to IMU, Jundullah and the Taliban fought alongside each other against the Afghan
security forces until the end of 2014. In mid-2015, the IMU allied with the IS, which led to the
Taliban ordering the disarmament and even the killing of some Uzbek Jundullah fighters in order toprevent them from allying with the IS, as IMU did.3731 Since 2017, it is reported that AGEs affiliatedwith IMU and Jundullah continue to fight autonomously from the Taliban. Although the three groups
share the same religious views, as they all follow the Hanafi school of law, the IMU and Jundullah
ignore local culture, such as the role of elders in conflict resolution and in other important issues.3732
More recently, a February 2019 AAN report stated that Jundullah’s military wing, Jabha-ye Qariha,
was operating in some northern districts of Takhar province.3733 Meanwhile, a small number ofIslamic Jihad Union (IJU) fighters, a movement mainly composed of Uzbeks from Uzbekistan, whowere part of an independent front called Imom Buxoriy Katiba (Imam Bukhari’s Battalion), wasreportedly active in Takhar in 2018, according to a September 2018 AAN report.3734 In May 2020, theUN reported that IJG, led by Ilimbek Mamatov, ‘consists of approximately 250 fighters, operating
primarily in the Afghan provinces of Badakhshan, Sari Pul, Zabul and Takhar’.3735 Additionally, in its
May 2020 and July 2020 reports, the UN confirmed the presence of ETIM in Takhar.3736

3726 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url. The source, however, does not specify when and which

information of the aforementioned map was updated.
3727 For this survey Pajhwok Afghan News interviewed (through telephone interviews or by distributing questionnaires) a
total of 1 266 respondents, randomly selected across the country; Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated
Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url
3728 RFE/RL/Gandhara, In The Dark: Tajik Border Residents Live Not Knowing What Lies Beyond, 22 November 2018, url
3729 Ali, O., The Non-Pashtun Taleban of the North (3): The Takhar case study, AAN, 29 July 2017, url
3730 Ali, O., Precarious Consolidation: Qari Hekmat‘s IS-affiliated ‚island‘ survives another Taleban onslaught, AAN, 4 March
2018, url
3731 Ali, O., The Non-Pashtun Taleban of the North (3): The Takhar case study, AAN, 29 July 2017, url
3732 Ali, O., The Non-Pashtun Taleban of the North (3): The Takhar case study, AAN, 29 July 2017, url
3733 Ali, O., One Land, Two Rules (3): Delivering public services in insurgency-affected Dasht-e Archi district in Kunduz
province, AAN, 26 February 2019, url
3734 Ali, O., New Confusion about ISKP: A case study from Sar-e Pul, AAN, 7 September 2018, url; UN Security Council,
Islamic Jihad Group (IJU), 18 January 2018, url
3735 UN Security Council, Twenty-fifth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant
to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2020/53, 20 January
2020, url, para. 60
3736 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para. 88; UN Security Council, Twenty-sixth
report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning
ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, S/2020/717, 23 July 2020, 23 July 2020, url, para. 67

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While a researcher for the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS) mentioned small pockets of
ISKP emerging in Takhar and Badakhshan provinces in August 20193737, more recent reports withregards to the activity of the group in Takhar were not available.3738
According to the 2020 UNODC opium survey, Takhar province remained poppy-free, as in theprevious year.3739 Drug smuggling routes leading into Central Asia run through some districts of
Takhar province, in particular Khwajabahawuddin district, according to a source on the ground.3740
According to the UN, heroin produced in Badakhshan province is smuggled through Takhar in‘consignments up to 100 kilograms. From there, heroin proceeded through Kunduz Province, acrossless guarded borders into Tajikistan and towards the capital Dushanbe’.3741
In terms of the presence of government security forces, a July 2019 SIGAR report stated that Takhar
province was at that time under the responsibility of the 217th ANA corps. ANA’s 20th Division,
previously under the ANA 209th Corps, was reassigned in April 2019 to become a new corps, the217th Corps.3742 Takhar province remains included in the area of responsibility of the Train Advise
Assist Command – North (TAAC–North), which is part of NATO's Resolute Support
Mission within Afghanistan. 3743
ALP, local uprising forces and pro-government militias were present and active in some of Takhar’s
districts.3744 The ALP unit in Takhar is cited as a negative case study; according to a July 2020 AAN
report, ‘Takhar has long been a key transit point for smuggling and had a history of problematiccommander politics’, which meant that ‘local powerbrokers in Takhar easily co-opted the ALP, using it
as a vehicle to legitimize and fund their militias and security rackets’. Moreover, ‘the ALP in Takhar
functioned as little more than predatory “drug-runners”’ according to a source quoted in thereport.3745 A subsequent report of October 2020 presented a somewhat more balanced view of the
Takhar ALP, where it was argued that ‘of the four districts with ALP units in Takhar, three are still
problematic [..] smuggling alcohol, drug and weapons’. Nevertheless, according to a source quoted in
the report, the presence of the ALP in Takhar was ‘useful, relatively speaking’, as it helped ‘themorale of other government forces’, while the unit in Eshkamesh had ‘improved in terms ofprinciples and discipline’ and was ‘entirely involved in the defence of the district’.3746 Funding for the
ALP has stopped on 30 September 2020, and the force was to be disbanded within three months,
while its members were expected either to be disarmed and retired, or transferred to the ANP and
ANA Territorial Force (ANA-TF).3747 A 2021 AAN report quoted a ‘former ALP commander’, whoclaimed that a majority of the former ALP members had joined the ANP, while the rest had been
3737 National (The), ISIS recruitment is growing in Afghanistan as US and Taliban work for peace, 8 August 2019, url
3738 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Takhar province,

update 25 March 2021, url
3739 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey, 3 May 2021, url, p. 9; UNODC, Afghanistan opium survey
2019, 17 February 2021, url, p. 123740 UNODC, “Voices of the Quchaqbar” – Understanding opiate trafficking in Afghanistan from the perspective of drugtraffickers, January 2020, url, p. 17; Ali, O., The Non-Pashtun Taleban of the North (3): The Takhar case study, AAN, 29 July
2017, url; RFE/RL/Gandhara, In The Dark: Tajik Border Residents Live Not Knowing What Lies Beyond, 22 November 2018,
url ; Clark, K., A Maelstrom of Militias: Takhar, a case study of strongmen co-opting the ALP, AAN, 14 November 2019, url
3741 UN Security Council, Eleventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant toresolution 2501 (2019) concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting a threat to thepeace, stability and security of Afghanistan, S/2020/415, 27 May 2020, url, para. 49
3742 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 July 2019, url, p. 78
3743 NATO, Resolute Support: Train Advise Assist Command – North, accessed 22 March 2021, url
3744 Khaama Press, Taliban’s ambush in Takhar kills 20 members of public uprising forces, 29 December 2019, url; Pajhwok
Afghan News, 17 pro-government militiamen killed in Takhar assault, 29 December 2019, url; Pajhwok Afghan News,
Takhar: 2 uprising members killed in Taliban attack, 15 January 2020, url
3745 Clark, K. et al., Ghosts of the Past: Lessons from Local Force Mobilization in Afghanistan and Prospects for the Future,
AAN and GPPI, 1 July 2020, url
3746 Clark, K., Disbanding the ALP: A dangerous final chapter for a force with a chequered history, AAN, 6 October 2020, url
3747 Clark, K., Disbanding the ALP: A dangerous final chapter for a force with a chequered history, AAN, 6 October 2020, url;
Afghanistan Times, Plans to disband local police sparks worries, 3 October 2020, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

dismissed, with the effect that ‘the Taleban had taken over ALP posts left vacant’. At the same time,
the report quoted a police spokesperson who stated that all former ALP members had joined the
ANP, and were ‘operating in their old areas and from their checkpoints as they had the past’.3748
According to Afghanistan analyst Kate Clark in November 2019, the ANA-TF was established in
Taloqan City and was also planned for Khwajabahawuddin district.3749 An October 2020 report by
AAN quoted the ALP commander in Dasht-e Qala who stated that his unit had ‘rejected an offer tointegrate ALP into the ANA-TF’, as it was a ‘failed project in Takhar province’, due to the ANA-TF
lacking ‘timely support and supplies’ from the Ministry of Defense.3750 More recently, a 2021 AAN
report stated that ‘in no district did ALP want to join the ANA-TF’ in Takhar. 3751

2.32.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 240 civilian casualties (88 killed, 152 injured) in Takhar province, a
25 % increase compared to 2019, when 192 civilian casualties (60 killed and 132 injured) wererecorded. In 2020, the leading causes of casualties were ground engagements, followed by airstrikes
and targeted killings, whereas in 2019, the leading causes of casualties were ground engagements,
followed by airstrikes and non-suicide IEDs. 3752
Between 1 January 2020 and 28 February 2021, ACLED collected data on 153 violent events in
Takhar province, of which 107 were coded as battles, 29 were coded as explosions/remote violence,and 17 were coded as violence against civilians.3753

3748 AAN, Disbanding the ALP – An Update: Major transition of security forces achieved during wartime, but at a cost, 15

April 2021, url
3749 Clark, K., A Maelstrom of Militias: Takhar, a case study of strongmen co-opting the ALP, AAN, 14 November 2019, url
3750 Clark, K, Disbanding the ALP: A dangerous final chapter for a force with a chequered history, AAN, 6 October 2020, url
3751 AAN, Disbanding the ALP – An Update: Major transition of security forces achieved during wartime, but at a cost, 15
April 2021, url
3752 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, February 2021, url, pp. 11, 110;
UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, February 2020, url, pp. 5, 94
3753 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website on a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Takhar province, update 25 March
2021, url

348

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Figure 62: Takhar province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data3754

Figure 63: Kunduz province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on
ACLED data3755

Of the 107 battles, around 93 % of incidents involved armed clashes, while the remaining 7 %recorded change in control over territory or positions. The majority of those armed clashes (some80 %) were attacks by the Taliban on Afghan security forces, including police or military personnel,
and members of pro-government militias or so-called arbakis3756 (the term arbaki is often used
locally and by the Taliban in reference to members of the Afghan Local Police or other progovernment militias3757), or on NATO troops.3758 Taliban attacks against Afghan forces occurred
throughout the reference period, with many attacks carried out as ‘late night assaults’,3759 and3754 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Takhar province,

update 25 March 2021, url
3755 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Takhar province,
update 25 March 2021, url; 9 incidents (6 battles and 3 remote violence) in the province for which ACLED has no
information about the location, were not included in this graph (geoprecision code 3 – see introduction)
3756 ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Takhar province, update 25 March 2021, url
3757 AAN, Enemy Number One: How the Taleban deal with the ALP and uprising groups, 19 July 2018, url; HRW, “Just Don’t
Call It a Militia” Impunity, Militias, and the “Afghan Local Police”, 4 September 2011, url, p. 133758 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Takhar province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3759 AA, Afghanistan: Over 30 policemen dead in Taliban attacks, 21 October 2020, url

349

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

resulting in numerous deaths among the security forces.3760 Moreover, episodes of fighting such as
those in Nahr-e Ab area of Farkhar3761, Dasht-e Qala3762, Taloqan3763or Chal3764, led to the forced
displacement of thousands of people in each case. Attacks initiated by the Taliban were launched on
security checkpoints3765, army convoys3766, and residences of local officials3767, while fighting
destroyed the houses of four families in Baharak district in May 2020.3768
With regards of change in control over territory or facilities, some of the incidents include: theTaliban took control of three check points in Khwajaghar district on 30 March 2020, and on 20 April
2020, the Hawa Shinasi military base in Khwajaghar district was captured by a Taliban Red Unit.3769
On 21 June 2020, the Taliban attacked Afghan security positions in Namakab district, and ‘captured
three security outposts’3770, while taking over parts of the Khwajabahawuddin district on 13
September 2020.3771
There were 29 incidents of explosions/remote violence recorded by ACLED during the reference
period in Takhar. Most of them were attributed to either the Afghanistan security forces (some 18
incidents), to the Taliban (5) or to unidentified armed groups (5), and to NATO forces (1). The mostincidents of explosions/remote violence took place in Taloqan (6 incidents), followed by Baharak (5),Eshkamesh (4), and Dasht-e Qala, Khwajaghar and Darqad (3 each).3772 Civilian fatalities wererecorded in several incidents, such as on 21 October 2020, when 12 children were killed and others
were injured by an airstrike on Taloqan city3773, while during 15 – 21 February 2021 two civilians
were killed, and five others were injured by mortar fire on a ‘residential area in Dasht-e-Qala
district’. 3774
With regards to violence against civilians, of the 17 incidents recorded in Takhar during thereference period, 9 were attributed to the Taliban, 5 to unidentified armed groups, and 3 toAfghanistan security forces. 3775 On 30 March 2020, one civilian was killed in a Taliban attack on
Khwajaghar district police chief’s home.3776 On 21 April 2020, a woman was reportedly killed at an
illegal checkpoint in the Qulbers area, Taloqan city. 3777 On 7 July 2020, three local government
employees were killed by a member of the Taliban in Aqlimamai village, Khwajaghar district.3778 On
15 September 2020, ‘bomb blast killed two civilians and injured a dozen more in Kalfagan
district’.3779

3760 VOA, Taliban Attacks Kill 21 Afghan Forces , 30 March 2020, url; Garda World, Afghanistan: Security forces killed in

Taliban attack in Takhar province on September 20, 21 September 2020, url; Al Jazeera, Afghan security forces killed inclashes in Takhar province, 20 August 2020, url
3761 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (31 August – 6 September 2020), 6 September 2020, url, p. 1
3762 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (21 – 27 September 2020), 30 September 2020, url, p. 1
3763 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (5 – 11 October 2020), 14 October 2020, url, p. 23764 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (26 October – 1 November 2020), 1 November 2020, url, p. 23765 Xinhua, Taliban attack on Afghan district repulsed, 12 killed, 28 September 2020, url
3766 Xinhua, 4 soldiers, 5 militants killed in N. Afghanistan's fighting, 14 February 2021, url
3767 Xinhua, 19 killed in Taliban attacks in 2 Afghan provinces, 30 March 2020, url
3768 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (4 May – 10 May 2020), 13 May 2020, url
3769 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: April 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
3770 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: June 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
3771 Afghanistan Times, Taliban overrun a district in Takhar, 13 September 2020, url
3772 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Takhar province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3773 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (19 – 25 October 2020), 28 October 2020, url, p. 2; VOAnews,
Airstrike Kills 12 Children in Northeastern Afghanistan, 22 October 2020, url
3774 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (15 – 21 February 2021), 24 February 2021, url, p.2
3775 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Takhar province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3776 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban raid leaves 14 security forces dead in Takhar, 30 March 2020, url
3777 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (20 April – 26 April 2020), 29 April 2020, url, p. 1
3778 Afghanistan Times, Freed Taliban prisoner kills govt. employees in Takhar, 8 July 2020, url
3779 Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 civilians killed, 12 wounded in Takhar blast, 16 September 2020, url

350Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Between 16 and 22 November 2020, ongoing fighting led to unspecified civilian casualties in Rostaq
and Chahab districts.3780 On 25 November 2020, three civilians were shot and killed by unknown
persons in Shingan village, Farkhar district. 3781 During 30 November – 6 December 2020, ‘two
women were reportedly wounded and one person was abducted by unknown gunmen in Baharak
district’.3782 On 21 January 2021, a civilian was killed in Baharak district.3783 In February 2021, civilians
were ‘reportedly killed in Takhar province as a result of the illegal checkpoints’.3784

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020-28 February 2021, reporting 34 937 persons
displaced from Takhar, of which 34 811 (some 99 %) were displaced within the province, while 126
persons were displaced to Faryab, Kabul, Nangarhar and Parwan provinces. During the same period,
no displacement was reported to Takhar from other provinces. 3785 At the same time, an IOM reportstated that between January-June 2020, at least 15 101 people were displaced from Takhar
province.3786
By district of origin in Takhar, higher levels of displacement during the reference period wererecorded in Taloqan (31.9 %), Baharak (20.1 %), and Farkhar (17.7 %). Smaller levels of displacement
were recorded in Khwajabahawuddin, Khwajaghar, Namakab, Dasht-e-Qala, Chal, Chahab, Kalafgan
and Yangi Qala.3787
Some of the indicative displacement events include: between 7 and 10 April 2020, some 1 400
people were displaced by fighting in Taloqan city and Baharak district.3788 Between 8 and14 June
2020, ‘fighting in Farkhar, Eshkamesh and Khwajabahawuddin districts’ displaced around 700 people
to Taloqan city.3789 During 6 – 12 July 2020, around 3 094 people were displaced ‘from remotevillages towards Taloqan city’.3790 Between 31 August and 6 September 2020, some 3 500 people
were displaced from Nahr-e Ab area of Farkhar district to Taloqan city. 3791 Between 5 and 11
October 2020, some 2 450 people were displaced ‘In the Qulbers and Abdal areas of Taloqan
city’.3792 During 26 October – 1 November 2020, around 2 100 people were displaced in Chal
district.3793 Between 30 November and 6 December 2020, approximately 1 750 people weredisplaced by conflict across the province.3794

3780 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (16 – 22 November 2020), 25 November 2020, url, p. 23781 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (23 – 29 November 2020), 3 December 2020, url, p. 2; Ariana

News, Three witnesses gunned down in Takhar after court appearance, 26 November 2020, url
3782 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (30 November – 6 December 2020), 10 December 2020, url, p. 23783 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (18 – 24 January 2021), 27 January 2021, url, p.2
3784 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (8 – 14 February 2021), 14 February 2021, url, p. 23785 UNOCHA, Afghanistan - Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, updated 22 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 22 March 2021, url
3786 IOM, DTM Afghanistan: Baseline Mobility Assessment - Takhar Summary Results, Round 10 - Jan – Jun 2020, 7 April
2021, url, p. 83787 UNOCHA, Afghanistan - Conflict Induced Displacements in 2021, updated 22 March 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, updated 22 March 2021, url
3788 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (6 April – 12 April 2020), 12 April 2020, url, p. 1
3789 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (8 June– 14 June 2020), 14 June 2020, url, p. 1
3790 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (6 July – 12 July 2020), 12 July 2020, url, p. 1
3791 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (31 August – 6 September 2020), 6 September 2020, url, p. 1
3792 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (5 – 11 October 2020), 11 October 2020, url, p. 23793 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (26 October – 1 November 2020), 1 November 2020, url, p. 23794 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update (30 November – 6 December 2020), 6 December 2020, url, p. 2

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2.33 Uruzgan
2.33.1 General description of the province

Map 33: Afghanistan – Uruzgan province, source: UNOCHA3795

Uruzgan province is located in the central part of Afghanistan and is also known by the name‘Rozgan’ or ‘Uruzganis’.3796 Uruzgan is divided into the following administrative units: Tirinkot withthe provincial capital Tirinkot City (also known as Tarinkot), Dehraoud, Chora, Shahidhassas (also
Shahid-e Hassas, Charchino) and Khas Urozgan, Gizab, Chinarto (temporary district). 3797
According to estimates for 2019-2020 by NSIA, Uruzgan has a population of 428 466 with 114 306 of
its residents living in the provincial capital of Tirinkot City. Urban population constitutes about 3.7 %of all inhabitants of the province.3798 Nearly all the population of the province is agrarian andUruzgan is one of the least developed provinces in terms of education, health facilities andinfrastructure.3799
The population is composed mainly of Pashtuns belonging to Durrani tribe and its sub-tribes (Nurzai,
Barakzai, Popalzai, Achakzai, Alikozai) and Ghilzai tribe (Hotak sub-tribe). There are also Hazaras who
settled down mainly in Tirinkot city3800 and in Gizab and Khas Urozgan district.3801 Some nomad Kuchi
tribes also travel through the province but their number depends on the season.3802

3795 UNOCHA, Afghanistan. Provincial reference Map, 25 May 2015,

url, p. 32

3796 Pajhwok Afghan News, Brief introduction of Uruzgan province, n.d., url
3797 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan, 1 June 2020, url, p. 35
3798 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, 18 November 2019, url, p. 31
3799 Pajhwok Afghan News, Brief introduction of Uruzgan province, n.d., url
3800 US Naval Postgraduate School, Zabul Provincial Overview, n.d., url; Kohistani, Urozgan Province, 2016, url
3801 TLO, Ten Years Later: An Assessment of Uruzgan Province a Decade After the Dutch Military Departure, November

2020, url, p. 15
3802 US Naval Postgraduate School, Zabul Provincial Overview, n.d., url; Kohistani, Urozgan Province, 2016, url

352

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

The Kandahar-Daikundi Highway runs through Uruzgan province, crossing the districts of Chora andTirinkot.3803 Taliban militants purportedly set up check-points along the highway and they searched
abducted, or even killed travellers.3804 Moreover, passengers complained about the ‘shabby
condition’ of the road, which extended the travel time and had a negative impact on vehicles andsecurity.3805 Military operations were ongoing in February 2019, in order to clear the road from
Taliban insurgents.3806 The city of Tirinkot hosts an airport, which was served by domestic scheduled
passenger flights.3807

2.33.2 Conflict background and actors in Uruzgan
Uruzgan was one of the first provinces affected by Taliban resurgence after 2001. Martine van
Bijlert, an expert on Afghanistan who has researched the dynamics of the conflict in Uruzgan andZabul, identifies several factors which contributed to the spread of Taliban influence in this region:‘tribal targeting and marginalization, human rights abuses and other forms of oppression, weakness
or absence of government, local conflicts, tribal and other links to prominent Taliban leaders, local
competition on resources and history of insurgency in the region’.3808
According to Bijlert, from 2002 to 2006, Jan Mohammad, a strongman known in the pre-Taliban era
for his brutality, was nominated as the governor of the province. He was also accused of killing,detaining or humiliating his private rivals. His private enemies included a wide range of local leaders,
who previously had been connected to Taliban, but after American intervention they agreed to stop
fighting. They sometimes were neutral or even pro-government leaders but they belonged to someless influential tribes. Soon, local leaders targeted by him, started organizing insurgency, using old
tribal or religious networks.3809 In the beginning of the insurgency, the Taliban suffered from great
losses caused by international air strikes so they quickly changed methods of fighting ‘from largescale attacks to asymmetrical warfare: ambushes, assassinations, small-scale attacks, IEDs, suicidebombings’. 3810 After 2006, the Australian and Dutch Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT) were
established in the province to prevent the counterinsurgency but also to focus on development,
however the distribution of the assistance also triggered some local conflicts.3811
The attempts by the government to set up local militias to protect villages against the Taliban
showed ‘mixed results’. In Khas Urozgan district, local Hazaras took part in such initiatives which led
to a conflict with the Pashtun population of this ethnically mixed district. Hazaras were accused ofproviding intelligence to the government. As a consequence, the targeting of this ethnic groupincreased. The Pashtun local leaders who tried to reach local peace agreements were also frequently
killed by Taliban who did not trust them and regarded them as US collaborators.3812

3803 UNOCHA, Afghanistan. Provincial reference Map, 25 May 2015,

url, p. 32;

3804 Tolonews, Taliban Abducts 19 Bus Passengers and Police On Uruzgan Highway, 28 February 2018, url; Pajhwok AfghanNews, Dilapidated Kandahar road gives passengers bumpy ride, 14 November 2018, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Lecturer
among 5 passengers killed on Uruzgan-Kandahar highway, 25 April 2018, url
3805 Pajhwok Afghan News, Dilipidated Kandahar road gives passengers bumpy ride, 14 November 2018, url
3806 Khaama Press, Militants suffer heavy casualties in ANDSF operations in Kandahar and Zabul, 7 February 2019, url
3807 Sweden, Lifos/Migrationsverket, Inrikesflyg I Afghanistan, 17 February 2021, url, p. 123808 Bijlert M., ‘The Taliban in Zabul and Uruzgan’ in: Bergen, P. (ed.), Talibanistan, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013, p.
993809 Bijlert M., ‘The Taliban in Zabul and Uruzgan’ in: Bergen, P. (ed.), Talibanistan, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013,
pp. 103, 105
3810 Bijlert M., ‘The Taliban in Zabul and Uruzgan’ in: Bergen, P. (ed.), Talibanistan, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013, p.
116
3811 Bijlert M., ‘The Taliban in Zabul and Uruzgan’ in: Bergen, P. (ed.), Talibanistan, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013,
pp. 103, 1053812 Bijlert M., ‘The Taliban in Zabul and Uruzgan’ in: Bergen, P. (ed.), Talibanistan, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013,
pp 103, 105353

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

After 2014, when most of the ISAF forces left Uruzgan, the Taliban managed to take control overmost of the province. In September 2016, they entered the capital district and Tirinkot city. A lot of
residents were forced to leave their homes and the Taliban used residential areas to fire on troops.
The central administration and police moved to the military base at the airport. Finally, the airstrikes
and the support from general Abdul Razeq from neighbouring Kandahar cleared the Taliban out of
the city.3813
In 2018, Taliban intensified their operations in the areas where mixed Pashtun and Hazara
populations live, especially in Khas Urozgan district. This caused battles between the Hazara ALP
leader, Hakim Shujai, his militiamen and the Taliban.3814 The fighting highly influenced also Hazara
districts in neighbouring Ghazni province.3815
According to the TLO rapid assessment report on the province from 2020, which documents aspectsof the situation there since the withdrawal of Dutch forces, the security situation in Uruzgan remains
unstable. The Taliban stepped up attacks in Uruzgan since the signing of the Doha deal. All majorroads in the province are controlled by the Taliban and ANSF is clashing with the Taliban in all
districts.3816
According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, opium poppy cultivation in Uruzgan province
increased by 16 %.3817
In terms of the presence of government security forces, Uruzgan province is under the responsibilityof the 205th ANA Corps, which falls under Train Advise Assist Command-South (TAAC-S), led by USforces.3818 The ANA soldiers usually originate from the other provinces and they do not often leave
military bases. In practice, their main task is not to defend local people but to avoid surrendering thebase or checkpoints to Taliban.3819 Soldiers have to protect military bases, sometimes without any
outside reinforcement. The only effective option for maintaining the military posts, are air
strikes.3820 ANSF supplies cannot reach military bases by roads as they are controlled by Taliban andthe army can rely only on air delivery to maintain check-points at the district level.3821 At the sametime, army and police checkpoints, bases, and office buildings which represent the only
government’s presence and control in the countryside, are the main target of repeated Taliban
attacks.3822

3813 BBC News, Afghan forces battle Taliban in Uruzgan, 8 September 2016, url; Al -Jazeera, Afghanistan: Taliban pushes

into Uruzgan’s Tarinkot, 8 September 2016, url
3814 Adili, A., Y. and van Bijlert, M., Taleban Attacks on Khas Uruzgan, Jaghori and Malestan (I): A new and violent push into
Hazara areas, AAN, 28 November 2018, url ; Adili, A. Y. and van Bijlert, M., Taleban Attacks on Khas Uruzgan, Jaghori andMalestan (II): A new and violent push into Hazara areas, AAN, 29 November 2018, url; Reuters, Afghan Shi‘ite militia battles
Taliban, raising sectarian fears, 3 November 2018, url
3815 Adili, A., Y. and van Bijlert, M., Taleban Attacks on Khas Uruzgan, Jaghori and Malestan (I): A new and violent push into
Hazara areas, AAN, 28 November 2018, url
3816 TLO, Ten Years Later: An Assessment of Uruzgan Province a Decade After the Dutch Military Departure, November
2020, url, p. 33817 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 93818 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, 1 June 2020, url , p. 13
3819 Canberra Times (The), Lessons to be learnt from failures in Uruzgan 26 June 2019, url
3820 RFE/RL/Gandhara , In Remote Afghan Corner, Besieged Afghan Troops Cry For Help 06 August 2019, url
3821 TLO, Ten Years Later: An Assessment of Uruzgan Province a Decade After the Dutch Military Departure, November
2020, url , p. 33822 RFE/RL/Gandhara , In Remote Afghan Corner, Besieged Afghan Troops Cry For Help, 6 August 2019, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

The central authority is limited to the provincial capital, Tirinkot and AGEs took initiatives in the restof the province.3823 The central administration is not present in most district centres and towns3824
and people felt let alone with no choice but to cooperate with Taliban.3825
In practice, police forces, ANP and especially on ALP have the responsibility to protect the local
population against AGEs.3826 However, appointments for senior positions in the police often cause
intra-tribal animosity and rivalry.3827 The top officials take the decision without any coordination andthey are often busy with internal infighting. Corruption is widespread among police chiefs in theprovince. In one case, a former police chief was accused of stealing 58 000 litres of oil during fourmonths which should have been used for police transport and generators.3828 In January 2020, theprovincial police chief was dismissed for the extortion of bribes from his subordinates and forstealing money intended for employees' remuneration.3829
Locals assess that professionalism of ANA and NDS has increased in recent years but they still
complain about ANP behaviour and civilian casualties. Policemen are often drug addicted and use‘indiscriminate force’ during clashes with Taliban.3830
The Taliban insurgency in Uruzgan is based ‘on religious networks’ and have ‘its roots in the Soviet
resistance’. The existence of strong ties helped Taliban to create the new networks of insurgency
quickly after 2001. Local command is supervised by the ‘Queta Shura’ based in Pakistan. As in otherprovinces, the Taliban established a shadow administration with provincial governor, district
governors, military commanders, and court and taxation system. The administration is highly
militarised. Only some Taliban judges had not been field commanders in the past.3831
Currently, Taliban controls 80-90% of territory of the province and what is even more important – allmajor roads linking Uruzgan and Kandahar.3832 A survey Pajhwok Afghan News conducted from
November 2020 until February 2021 designed 8.52% of Uruzgan territory and population under
government control, 89.52% of territory and 89.52% of population under Taliban control and 1.95%
territory and 1.96% population controlled by neither side. The entire district and its centre under
Taliban control is: Dehraoud. 3833 According to LWJ, only one Uruzgan district, Chora, is fully
controlled by Taliban, others are contested. More recently, as of 26 May 2021, Shahidhassas andDehraoud districts shifted to the ‘Taliban control’, while Chora remained under ‘Taliban control’,and as well as Tirinkot, Gizab and Khas Uruzgan districts remained as ‘contested’.3834 Bilal Sarwary
cited Afghan officials and tribal elders reporting a surge in the number of Taliban fighters ‘in andaround’ Tirinkot.3835 According to TLO report from November 2020, in the rest of the districts, whereadministration is appointed, the staff is present only in military base or simply it is removed toTirinkot. However, according to TLO, government control is effective only in Tirinkot, in ‘small
3823 Canberra Times (The), Lessons to be learnt from failures in Uruzgan, 26 June 2019, url
3824 TLO, Ten Years Later: An Assessment of Uruzgan Province a Decade After the Dutch Military Departure, November

2020, url , pp 7-8
3825Arab News, Afghans turn to Taliban in forgotten province, 09 February 2020, url
3826 Canaberra Times (The), Lessons to be learnt from failures in Uruzgan 26 June 2019, url
3827 TLO, Ten Years Later: An Assessment of Uruzgan Province a Decade After the Dutch Military Departure, November
2020, url, p. 53828 Arab News, Afghans turn to Taliban in forgotten province, 09 February 2020, url
3829 Pajhwok Afghan News, Uruzgan police chief sacked, summoned to Kabul, 17 January 2020, url
3830 TLO, Ten Years Later: An Assessment of Uruzgan Province a Decade After the Dutch Military Departure, November
2020, url, p. 13
3831 Bijlert M., ‘The Taliban in Zabul and Uruzgan’ in: Bergen, P. (ed.), Talibanistan, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013,
pp 99, 110
3832TLO, Ten Years Later: An Assessment of Uruzgan Province a Decade After the Dutch Military Departure, November
2020, url
3833 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban make exaggerated claims of territory they control, 12 February 2021, url
3834 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url; LWJ, however, does not specify when and which information of
the aforementioned map was updated.
3835 Sarwary, B., (@bsarwary), [Twitter], posted on: 28 May 2021, url

355

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

pockets immediately surrounding the district centres in Khas Urozgan and Chora’ and in ANA bases
in some other districts.3836 Status of Chora district is therefore unclear.3837

2.33.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 182 civilian casualties (61 deaths and 121 injured) in Uruzganprovince. This represents an increase of 26% compared to 2019. Leading causes of casualties wereground engagements, followed by non-suicide IEDs and air strikes.3838
In the period from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, ACLED reported a total of 344 incidents
related to security in Uruzgan province, of which 254 were classified as battles, 88 as remoteviolence, 2 as cases of violence against civilians.3839

Figure 64: Uruzgan province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2020, based on ACLED data3840

3836 TLO, Ten Years Later: An Assessment of Uruzgan Province a Decade After the Dutch Military Departure, November

2020, url, pp. 9-103837 TLO, Ten Years Later: An Assessment of Uruzgan Province a Decade After the Dutch Military Departure, November
2020, url , pp. 9-10; LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url; LWJ, however, does not specify when and which
information of the aforementioned map was updated.
3838 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 110
3839 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website on a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Uruzgan province, update 25 March
2021, url
3840 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Uruzgan province,
update 25 March 2021, url

356

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Figure 65: Uruzgan province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2020, based on
ACLED data3841

Taliban increased its attack during US-Taliban-talks and Taliban continued the same pressure andattacks when intra-Afghan talks began autumn 2020.3842 According to TLO, reporting in 2020, clashes
between security forces and AGEs took place in all districts. The most heavily affected were
Chinarto, Gizab and Dehrawud. In autumn, when intra-Afghan peace talks were beginning, theTaliban increased its attacks and stormed the district centre of Gizab and Dehraoud.3843
In 2020, the Taliban was able to attack check-posts in provincial capital Tirinkot and to kill soldiersand other security personnel there. As an example of the level of Taliban control and contestation in
Uruzgan beyond territorial presence, TLO cited the example that on 29 June 2020, the deputy
director of NDS was killed at the central bus station in Tirinkot.3844
In 2020 UNAMA ‘documented an increase in civilian casualties from ground engagements’ inUruzgan.3845 In September 2020, Gandhara reported about the death of civilians due to siege ofChinarto district. Up to 6 000 habitants were surrounded by the Taliban who had closed the onlyroad to Tirinkot. Residents could not leave the area and they were deprived of food and medical
services. According to Gandhara, quoting local people, at least 20 civilians, mostly women andchildren, died during the siege. Children and elderly suffered from ‘diseases and hunger’.3846
On 17 October 2020, two women were killed and two children wounded by a mortar in Deh Rahwod
district. Taliban was accused of launching the rocket.3847 On 23 January 2021 two civilians were killed
and three wounded due to Taliban’s rocket attack at the Tirinkot suburbs.3848
According UNAMA, the second cause of the civilian deaths were IED explosions.3849 On 18 July 2020,
three civilians were killed when their vehicle was hit by a Taliban-planted IED in Tirinkot city.3850 On 1
3841 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Uruzgan province,

update 25 March 2021, url; 2 battles in the province for which ACLED has no information about the location, were notincluded in this graph (geoprecision code 3 – see introduction)
3842 TLO, Ten Years Later: An Assessment of Uruzgan Province a Decade After the Dutch Military Departure, November
2020, url, pp 9-103843 TLO, Ten Years Later: An Assessment of Uruzgan Province a Decade After the Dutch Military Departure, November
2020, url, p. 33844 TLO, Ten Years Later: An Assessment of Uruzgan Province a Decade After the Dutch Military Departure, November
2020, url, p. 103845 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 72
3846 RFE/RL/Ganghara, Taliban Siege Cuts Off Remote Afghan District, 11 September 2020, url
3847Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 women killed as mortar shell hits civilian house, 18 October 2020, url
3848Bakhtar News Agency, Civilians Martyred in a Taliban Rocket Attack, 24 January 2021, url
3849UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 110
3850 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 2020, url

357

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

August 2020, four civilians were killed when a bomb exploded in Tirinkot city.3851 On 19 January
2021, two policemen were killed while five civilians were also wounded in an unidentified IED
planted in a motorcycle hit a vehicle of the highway police in Tirinkot city.3852
There were also reports of clashes and air strikes in Uruzgan which caused civilian casualties3853 On
31 January 2020, one civilian was killed and two were wounded in Tirinkot city3854; on 4 April 2020
eight civilians were killed in Khas Urozgan3855; on 20 November 2020 six civilians were killed in Gizab
district.3856 According to UNAMA, the house was targeted because Taliban fighters seized it to attack
Afghan troops.3857
The Taliban controls all major roads inside the province. In some districts, locals did not have accessto medical treatment, education and trade. Food supplies were highly limited and prices
increased.3858 Moreover, on 26 November 2020, Afghan airstrikes destroyed shops and a clinic in
Gizab district.3859 Access to education was limited in Tirinkot, Gizab and Khas Urozgan due to school
closure. During 2020 Taliban opened some schools for boys in certain areas under their control.3860
Humanitarian activities were suspended both in Dehrawud and Gizab due to ongoing fighting.3861

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020 – 31 December 2020, reporting 20 049
persons displaced in Uruzgan province. They were displaced from different districts of the provincesuch as Dehraoud, Chora / Chinarto, Khas Urozgan and Tirinkot. Most of them were resettled within
the province and stayed in Dehraoud and Tirinkot districts. Some families, however, left Uruzgan for
Kandahar City and Daikundi province. On the other hand, in October 2020, 415 people were
resettled from Daikundi’s Pato district to Tirinkot in Uruzgan.3862
TLO reports ‘the large number of persons displaced from insecure or Taliban-controlled districts into
the provincial centre’ and ‘regional hub of Kandahar city’. Most displaced people in Uruzgan moveto Tirin Kot where the majority lived in rented houses or with family.3863

3851 Pajhwok Afghan News, 5 people killed in Uruzgan blasts, 1 August 2020, url
3852 Pajhwok Afghan News, 7 people wounded in Tirinkot blast, 19 January 2021, url
3853 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Uruzgan province,

update 25 March 2021, url
3854New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: January 2021, url
3855 Voice of Jihad, 15 civilians martyred and wounded as a result of US and internal forces brutality in Zabul and Uruzgan,
05 April 2020, url
3856 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Weekly Humanitarian Update (23 – 29 November 2020), 3 December 2020, url
3857 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 673858 TLO, Ten Years Later: An Assessment of Uruzgan Province a Decade After the Dutch Military Departure, November
2020, url, p. 33859 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Uruzgan province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3860 TLO, Ten Years Later: An Assessment of Uruzgan Province a Decade After the Dutch Military Departure, November
2020, url, p. 3
3861UNOCHA, Afganistan, Weekly Humanitarian Update, 2-8 November 2020, url
3862 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, 30 March 2021, url
3863 TLO, Ten Years Later: An Assessment of Uruzgan Province a Decade After the Dutch Military Departure, November
2020, url, pp. 3, 9358

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

2.34 Wardak province
2.34.1 General description of the province

Map 34: Afghanistan - Wardak province, source: UNOCHA3864

Wardak province, also known as Maydan Wardak, is located in the central region of Afghanistan andis divided into the following districts: Chak, Daymirdad, Hesa-i Awal-e Behsud, Jaghatu, Jalrez,
Markaz-e Behsud (or Hesa-i Duwum-e Behsud), Maydan Shahr, Nerkh and Saydabad. The provincial
capital is Maydan Shahr, located approximately 40 kilometres south-west of Kabul.3865
According to estimates for 2019-20 by NSIA, Wardak province has a population of 648 866.3866
The main ethnic group in Wardak is Pashtun, followed by Hazara and Tajik enclaves.3867 The local
Pashtun population belongs to a variety of Ghilzai tribes, primarily the Wardak, Kharoti and Hotaktribes.3868 The districts of Hesa-i Awal-e Behsud, Markaz-e Behsud and Daymirdad are predominantly
inhabited by Hazara, as well as periodically visited by migrating Kuchi nomads.3869 Wardak province isinhabited by Sunni, as well as Shia Muslims.3870

3864 UNOCHA, Afghanistan. Provincial Reference Map, 25 May 2015, url, p. 33
3865 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Wardak Province - District Atlas, April 2014, url; Washington Post (The), Taliban Blocks Major

Afghan Highway in Expanding Attacks, 26 October 2016, url; Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 20192020, November 2019, url, p. 8
3866 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, 18 November 2019, url, pp. 2, 83867 Arab News, In the Line of Fire: Wardak Residents Struggle to Stay Afloat in Afghanistan, 23 June 2019, url; Adili, A. Y.,
Afghanistan’s 2019 Elections (29): A Statistical Overview of the Preliminary Results, AAN, 8 February 2020, url
3868 AREU, The Political Economy of Education and Health Service Delivery in Afghanistan, January 2016, url, p. 33
3869 ACCORD, Query Response on Afghanistan: Wardak Province, Behsud District: Land Disputes, 6 August 2019, url;
Giustozzi, A., Nomad-Settler Conflict in Afghanistan Today, AREU, October 2019, url, pp. 8, 19, 21
3870 US Naval Postgraduate School, Wardak Provincial Overview, n.d., url

359

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Wardak is described as a politically and strategically important province, due to its proximity to
Kabul and its location on a crossroad of highways connecting the west and the east, as well as thenorth and the south of Afghanistan.3871 The Kabul-Kandahar Highway passes through Wardak
province, traversing the districts of Maydan Shahr, Nerkh and Saydabad. A provincial road runs west
from Maydan Shahr to Bamyan province, through the districts of Jalrez, Hesa-i Awal-e Behsud andMarkaz-e Behsud.3872 The areas around the Kabul-Kandahar Highway are densely populated.3873
Wardak province has no functioning airport3874 and air traffic is regularly interrupted by bad weather
conditions.3875

2.34.2 Conflict background and actors in Wardak
Despite its proximity to Kabul, Wardak province remained economically underdeveloped in the years
after 2001, reportedly fuelling a sense of resentment among its residents. According to writer
Shuhrat Nangyal from Wardak province, cited by the Intercept, ‘village clearance operations
conducted by international troops further roiled the population’ and ‘by 2006 […] Wardak was fertile
for revolt’, creating opportunities for Taliban mobilisation.3876
In recent years, Wardak is described as an insecure area affected by ongoing armed conflict,3877 aheavily contested province3878 and ‘a hotbed of the insurgency’.3879 Intense fighting between militantgroups and government forces has been reported in several parts of the province, with civilians oftencaught in the crossfire.3880
According to AAN analyst, Ehsan Qaane, Jalrez district’s geographically strategic position has made it
prone for conflict and guerrilla activity for decades. The district’s importance is related to its
proximity to Kabul, its location along the Kabul-Bamyan Highway and its many side roads andmountain paths leading to various districts in Wardak, Parwan and Kabul provinces. Several of thosereportedly served as ‘supply and escape routes’, providing safe havens to militant groups and
impeding the movement of government forces.3881
The Taliban reportedly re-emerged and gained influence in Wardak province from 2006-2007, amid
power struggles among rival militias. By 2009, the militant group controlled much of the Pashtundominated southern and eastern districts of the province. Some districts, such as Chak andSaydabad, have reportedly gone back and forth between Taliban and government control since3871 Goodhand, J. and Hakimi, A., Counterinsurgency, Local Militias and State Building in Afghanistan, USIP, January 2014,

url, pp. 17-18; Arab News, In the Line of Fire: Wardak Residents Struggle to Stay Afloat, 23 June 2019, url
3872 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Wardak Province - District Atlas, April 2014, url
3873 Goodhand, J., Hakimi, A., Counterinsurgency, Local Militias and State Building in Afghanistan, USIP, January 2014, url, p.
173874 Falling Rain, Directory of Airports in Afghanistan, n.d., url; MSF, Afghanistan: Country Kit, 12 January 2016, url;
Afghanistan, ACAA, All Airports, 24 September 2017, url
3875 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Needs Overview – Afghanistan 2020, 17 December 2019, url, p. 113876 Intercept (The), The CIA’s Afghan Dead Squads - A US Backed Militia that Kills Children May Be America’s Exit Strategy
from Its Longest War, 18 December 2020, url
3877 Warden, S., Past as Prologue? What the Parliamentary Election Results Tell Us About the September Presidential
Election, AAN, 23 August 2019, url; PBS, What Life is Like for Afghans under Taliban Control, 31 December 2019, url; IOM,DTM Afghanistan, Community Based Needs Assessment: Summary Results Round 10 Jan-June 2020, 1 October 2020, url, p.
13878 Washington Post (The), As Afghanistan Struggles to Start Peace Talks, Violence Fills the Void, 10 August 2020, url
3879 Christian Science Monitor (The), Inside the Taliban: What These Jihadis Say about Long-Sought Peace, 28 February
2020, url
3880 International Crisis Group, Intensifying Violence Dulls Afghans’ Hopes for Peace, 5 July 2019, url; Qaane, E., One Land,
Two Rules (9): Delivering Public Services in Insurgency-Affected Jalrez District of Wardak Province, AAN, 16 December
2019, url; PBS, What Life is Like for Afghans under Taliban Control, 31 December 2019, url
3881 Qaane, E., One Land, Two Rules (9): Delivering Public Services in Insurgency-Affected Jalrez District of Wardak Province,
AAN, 16 December 2019, url

360Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

then.3882 Jalrez district was among the first places where the Taliban started to reorganise theirfighters. Since 2006, the district has been contested, with an increased Taliban activity reported from2014 onwards.3883
According to sources reporting in 2020 and 2021, the Taliban’s presence in Wardak is ‘discreet but
pervasive’,3884 the militants have been strengthening their influence and control3885 and enjoy
widespread support in the province.3886
In May 2020, the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team reported to the UN Security
Council on a reorganisation of the Taliban shadow governance and military structure in several
provinces, with key new appointments made, including in Wardak province. According to the same
report, the Taliban have ordered increased supplies of ammunition and explosive materials,
including for their forces in Wardak province.3887 According to a HRW study published in June 2020,‘Wardak’s Vice and Virtue police are less visible than in Helmand and Kunduz and implementation of
restrictions is more uneven, possibly because the Taliban’s control over the province is less secure’.
In Wardak the Taliban’s vice and virtue policing reportedly includes people being questioned, beaten
and detained for offenses against the Taliban’s rules. The Taliban in Wardak are reported to haveestablished a regulated system to collect taxes.3888 A senior Taliban commander, cited by AAN in
October 2020, indicated an increased activity of the militants’ recruitment commission in Wardak.
According to a provincial council member, the Taliban in Wardak are ‘capitalising on the growing
distance between the government and Wardaki’s’.3889
According to sources, Wardak’s provincial capital Maydan Shahr is under direct Taliban threat,3890
with the government’s control ending just two miles from the governor’s residence.3891 In Wardak’s
southern districts, the government’s presence is described as ‘limited to a handful of besieged
buildings’, with several of the district governors living in exile in Kabul, only visiting their precincts
sporadically. In a December 2020 article by the Intercept, the Taliban’s presence in Wardak province
is described as ‘inconspicuous’, with the militant’s interactions with local residents reportedly
limited to requests for food and accommodation.3892

3882 Qaane, E., One Land, Two Rules (9): Delivering Public Services in Insurgency-Affected Jalrez District of Wardak Province,

AAN, 16 December 2019, url; HRW, “You Have No Right to Complain”: Education, Social Restrictions, and Justice in TalibanHeld Afghanistan, 30 June 2020, url, pp. 31-32
3883 Qaane, E., One Land, Two Rules (9): Delivering Public Services in Insurgency-Affected Jalrez District of Wardak Province,
AAN, 16 December 2019, url
3884 Intercept (The), The CIA’s Afghan Dead Squads - A US Backed Militia that Kills Children May Be America’s Exit Strategy
from Its Longest War, 18 December 2020, url
3885 An Afghan analyst Lifos spoke to in January 2020. Sweden, Lifos/Migrationsverket, Säkerhetsläget i Afghanistan(Version 2.0), 7 April 2020, url, p. 52; Tolonews, Maidan Wardak Faces Imminent Threat as Taliban Expands Presence, 26
June 2020, url; Washington Post (The), As Afghanistan Struggles to Start Peace Talks, Violence Fills the Void, 10 August
2020, url
3886 New York Times (The), An Afghan Mayor Expected to Die. Instead, She Lost Her Father, 6 November 2020, updated 12
November 2020, url; Rolling Stone Magazine, Highway to Hell: A Trip Down Afghanistan’s Deadliest Road, 22 January 2021,
url
3887 UN SECURITY COUNCIL, Eleventh Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant
to Resolution 2501 (2019) Concerning the Taliban and Other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat tothe Peace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, 27 May 2020, url, pp. 8-93888 HRW, “You Have No Right to Complain”: Education, Social Restrictions, and Justice in Taliban-Held Afghanistan, 30 June
2020, url, pp. 48-52
3889 Quilty, A., Taleban Opportunism and ANSF Frustration: How the Afghan Conflict Has Changed since the Doha
Agreement, AAN, 12 October 2020, url
3890 Rolling Stone Magazine, Highway to Hell: A Trip Down Afghanistan’s Deadliest Road, 22 January 2021, url; LWJ, Afghan
Security Forces Withdrawing from Checkpoints, Bases, 4 March 2021, url
3891 Washington Post (The), As Afghanistan Struggles to Start Peace Talks, Violence Fills the Void, 10 August 2020, url
3892 Intercept (The), The CIA’s Afghan Dead Squads - A US Backed Militia that Kills Children May Be America’s Exit Strategy
from Its Longest War, 18 December 2020, url

361

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

An LWJ assessment mapping Taliban control in Afghanistan in a frequently updated map and basedon open-source information, consulted on 12 March 2021, indicated Saydabad district as ‘Talibancontrolled’ and Daymirdad, Chak, Jaghatu, Nerkh, Maydan Shahr and Jalrez districts as ‘contested’.
LWJ designated Saydabad district as ‘contested’ and Maydan Shahr district as ‘governmentinfluenced’. Markaz-e Behsud and Hesa-i Awal-e Behsud districts were categorised as ‘governmentcontrolled’ or ‘undetermined’ in this assessment. More recently, as of 26 May 2021, Nerkh, Maydan
and Deymirdad districts shifted under the ‘Taliban control’.3893 According to Bilal Sarwary, following
the besieged of Narkh district building by the Taliban for the past few days and continued
fighting,3894 on 11 May 2021, the Taliban captured Narkh district (located 7 km from the provincial
capital). Reportedly, chief of police and 30 ANDSF personal surrendered to the Taliban,3895 On 18
May 2021, in a video footage [a recently abandoned] ANDSF base was pillaged in Sayed Abad
district.3896 On 22 May 2021, the Taliban reportedly have captured Jalrez district, 3897 where NDS
commander, along with 60 fighters, surrendered to the Taliban.3898
A survey Pajhwok Afghan News conducted from November 2020 until February 20213899 designated
23.89 % of Wardak’s territory under government control, 70.81 % under Taliban control (with theentire district of Daymirdad and its centre reportedly under Taliban control) and 5.30 % controlled byneither side. According to the same survey, 157 728 of Wardak’s inhabitants live in areas under
government control, 467 560 of the province’s population live in areas under Taliban control and
34 969 of Wardak’s residents live in areas controlled by neither side.3900
Media sources in 2020 and 2021 reported on a Taliban presence in the districts of Jalrez3901 (where alocal group of Shiite fighters reportedly joined the Taliban in November 2020),3902 Saydabad3903 (Tangi
Valley),3904 Chak3905 (Seebak Bazar),3906 Daymirdad3907 (Sher Toghi)3908 and Nerkh.3909 In January 2020,
the Taliban deputy shadow intelligence chief for Jalrez district was arrested in an NDS Special Forces’
raid on hideouts of the militant group.3910 In April 2020, the shadow governor for Wardak, known as3893 LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url. LWJ, however, does not specify when and which information of

the aforementioned map was updated.
3894 Sarwary, B., (@bsarwary), [Twitter], posted on: 11 May 2021, url
3895 Sarwary, B., (@bsarwary), [Twitter], posted on: 11 May 2021, url
3896 Sarwary, B., (@bsarwary), [Twitter], posted on: 17 May 2021, url
3897 Sarwary, B., (@bsarwary), [Twitter], posted on: 20 May 2021, url
3898 Sarwary, B., (@bsarwary), [Twitter], posted on: 20 May 2021, url
3899 Through telephonic interviews or by distributing questionnaires, Pajhwok Afghan News interviewed a total of 1 266
respondents for this survey, randomly selected across the country. Pajhwok acknowledges the complexity of this task andthe possible inaccuracy of the provided information.
3900 Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021, url
3901 AAN, The ‘Reduction in Violence’ Week: What Did (Some of the) People Think?, 28 February 2020, url; Clark, K., Voicesfrom the Districts, the Violence Mapped (2): Assessing the Conflict a Month after the US-Taleban Agreement, AAN, 8 April
2020, url; Tolonews, Maidan Wardak Faces Imminent Threat as Taliban Expands Presence, 26 June 2020, url
3902 Ruttig, T., Before Today's Deportation: On the Security Situation in Afghanistan, 12 January 2021, url
3903 Clark, K., Voices from the Districts, the Violence Mapped (2): Assessing the Conflict a Month after the US-Taleban
Agreement, AAN, 8 April 2020, url; HRW, “You Have No Right to Complain”: Education, Social Restrictions, and Justice in
Taliban-Held Afghanistan, 30 June 2020, url, pp. 31-36, 48-52; LWJ, Taliban Parades Forces in Logar Province, 7 October
2020, url; Quilty, A., Taleban Opportunism and ANSF Frustration: How the Afghan Conflict Has Changed since the Doha
Agreement, AAN, 12 October 2020, url
3904 LWJ, Analysis: Taliban is Caught in a Lie by Denying Al Qaeda’s Presence in Afghanistan, 17 June 2020, url; Rolling Stone
Magazine, Highway to Hell: A Trip Down Afghanistan’s Deadliest Road, 22 January 2021, url
3905 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Afghans Celebrate Partial Truce In Frontline Provinces, 24 February 2020, url; HRW, “You Have No
Right to Complain”: Education, Social Restrictions, and Justice in Taliban-Held Afghanistan, 30 June 2020, url, pp. 31-36, 4852
3906 RFE/RL/Gandhara, How Afghan Women Fare under Taliban Rule, 28 April 2020, url
3907 Intercept (The), The CIA’s Afghan Dead Squads - A US Backed Militia that Kills Children May Be America’s Exit Strategy
from Its Longest War, 18 December 2020, url
3908 Mekong Review, Back in Force, February 2021, url
3909 Tolonews, Maidan Wardak Faces Imminent Threat as Taliban Expands Presence, 26 June 2020, url
3910 Xinhua, Afghan Intelligence Agency Captures 6 Taliban Militants Near Kabul, 27 January 2020, url

362

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Wali Jan or Hamza, was killed in Saydabad district.3911 In the same month, the Taliban’s shadow
police district chief of Saydabad district, known as Qari Jawid or Mansoor and reportedly in charge ofa group of 50 militants, was killed.3912 In June 2020, a key member of the Taliban’s Red Unit, known
as Qari Zalmai or Ansar, was killed in Jalrez district.3913 In July 2020, Wardak’s deputy shadow
governor was killed in an operation in Nerkh district.3914 In October 2020, a key Taliban commander
known as Awal Khan, reportedly planning attacks in Paghman district of Kabul province, waskilled.3915 In February 2021, a Taliban intelligence chief, known as Karimullah Zarghawi, was killed in
Jalrez district.3916
The Haqqani Network reportedly expanded to Wardak province in the past and merged there withjihadist groups who were operating south of Kabul. In Wardak, the Haqqani Network has mainly
provided indirect support in the form of funds, training and sanctuary, reportedly to co-opt local
islamist militant leaders governing areas close to Kabul.3917
Mid-July 2016, UNAMA reported on groups claiming allegiance to ISKP as operational in Wardak.3918
In 2017, a possible emergence of ISKP was reported in the Takana area in Jalrez district.3919 No
incidents specifically attributed to ISKP were registered in Wardak province between 1 January 2020
and 28 February 2021 by ACLED. ACLED did record six incidents in which Taliban and/or ISKP
militants were wounded and/or killed during military operations and caused by airstrikes in the
districts of Chak, Nerkh, Daymirdad and Maydan Shahr in January and February 2020.3920
According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, Wardak province remained a poppy-freeprovince.3921
In terms of the presence of government security forces, Wardak was reported to be under the
responsibility of the 203rd ANA Corps. According to USDOD reporting from April 2021, Task ForceSoutheast from NATO’s Resolute Support Mission within Afghanistan, previously including Wardak
province, is no longer active.3922 NDS unit 01 is reported to operate in the central region, including in
Wardak province. This paramilitary CIA-backed militia has been allegedly accused of human rights
abuses, such as involvement in extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances and the killing ofcivilians in raids on residential homes, health clinics, mosques and madrasas.3923 In a December 2020
in-depth article from the Intercept, government officials in Wardak declared to have fielded
numerous complaints about unit 01, but at the same time credited the militia with preventing the
Taliban from overrunning the provincial capital Maydan Shahr and mounting attacks in nearby

3911 Khaama Press, Afghan Forces Kill the Shadow Governor of Taliban for Wardak Province, 12 April 2020, url
3912 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban’s District Police Chief Among 7 killed in Wardak Firefight, 5 April 2020, url; Khaama

Press, Prominent Taliban Leader Killed in Wardak Province, 5 April 2020, url
3913 Khaama Press, Key Taliban Red Unit Group Member Killed in Wardak Clash, 16 June 2020, url
3914 Khaama Press, Taliban’s Deputy Shadow Governor among 7 Killed in Wardak Province, 28 July 2020, url
3915 Khaama Press, Maidan Wardak: Key Taliban Commander Killed in a ‘Joint Security’ Operation, 10 October 2020, url
3916 Reporterly, [Twitter], posted on: 22 February 2021, url
3917 Stanford University, Mapping Militant Organizations: Haqqani Network, 8 November 2017, url
3918 UNAMA, Afghanistan Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict Midyear Report 2016, July 2016, url, p.73
3919 Qaane, E., One Land, Two Rules (9): Delivering Public Services in Insurgency-Affected Jalrez District of Wardak Province,
AAN, 16 December 2019, url
3920 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Wardak province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3921 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 93922 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2020, 23 April 2021, url, p. 53923 HRW, “They’ve Shot Many Like This” Abusive Night Raids by CIA-Backed Afghan Strike Forces, 31 October 2019, url;
Clark, K., CIA-Backed Afghan Paramilitaries Accused of Grave Abuses: New Human Rights Watch Report, AAN, 31 October
2019, url; Intercept (The), The CIA’s Afghan Dead Squads - A US Backed Militia that Kills Children May Be America’s Exit
Strategy from Its Longest War, 18 December 2020, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Kabul. According to a Taliban spokesperson, cited by the Intercept, the terrorising attacks of militias,
like unit 01, have had a positive effect on recruitment for their forces in Wardak.3924
During spring and summer, migrations of Kuchi nomads have regularly resulted in violent clashes
caused by land disputes in Wardak’s predominantly Hazara districts of Hesa-i Awal-e Behsud,Markaz-e Behsud and Daymirdad.3925 According to AAN analyst Fabrizio Foschini, in the past the
Taliban exploited local land disputes between ethnic Hazaras and Kuchis to gain the latter’s
support.3926 When tensions between Kuchi nomads and local Hazara residents intensified in 2015, a
public uprising force, called the Resistance Front, was created by Hazara commander Abdul Ghani
Alipur.3927 In November 2018, Alipur was arrested by the NDS on charges of human rights abuses andcorruption. His militia group was accused of attacking security forces and of extorting, harassing andkidnapping Pashtun passengers on the highway between Maydan Shahr and Jalrez.3928 His
supporters claimed that Alipur had been fighting the Taliban,3929 patrolling and ensuring the safety ofHazara travellers.3930 After violent Hazara protests broke out in several parts of the country, Alipur
was released from NDS custody.3931 In June 2020, dozens of road construction workers werereportedly abducted and abused by armed men from Alipur’s militia,3932 and the killing of more thana dozen people due to armed confrontations between local residents and Kuchi nomads wasreported.3933 In September 2020, several security outposts in Markaz-e Behsud district wereattacked by Alipur’s militiamen, wounding two police officers, taking one security official hostage
and confiscating a military Humvee and ammunition.3934 At the end of January 2021, several civilians
were reportedly killed3935 when clashes broke out between government security forces andmilitiamen loyal to commander Alipur in the districts of Hesa-i Awal-e Behsud and Hesa-i Duwum-e
Behsud.3936 The government ordered an investigation into the exact circumstances of the event.3937
According to reporting from the New York Times, ‘the cause of fighting and who started the attack
were unclear’ - with reasons reportedly ranging from control over tribal migration routes, the theftof government armoured vehicles, to the appointment of new police chiefs.3938 According to findings
from the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), unarmed civilians were‘directly’ and ‘indiscriminately’ targeted by the security forces, when a protest following the clashes

3924 Intercept (The), The CIA’s Afghan Dead Squads - A US Backed Militia that Kills Children May Be America’s Exit Strategy

from Its Longest War, 18 December 2020, url
3925 ACCORD, Query Response on Afghanistan: Wardak Province, Behsud District: Land Disputes, 6 August 2019, url;
Giustozzi, A., Nomad-Settler Conflict in Afghanistan Today, AREU, October 2019, url, pp. 8, 19, 21; Tolonews, Govt Team
Probes Prolonged Violent Feuding in Wardak, 8 July 2020, url
3926 Foschini, F., The Kuchi-Hazara Conflict, Again, AAN, 27 May 2010, url
3927 Tolonews, Alipoor Says He Is 'Ready to Hand Over All Weapons', 27 November 2018, url
3928 Tolonews, NDS Chief Says Claims Against Alipoor Will Be Investigated, 27 November 2018, url; Tolonews, Alipoor Says
He Is 'Ready to Hand Over All Weapons', 27 November 2018, url; Qaane, E., One Land, Two Rules (9): Delivering PublicServices in Insurgency-Affected Jalrez District of Wardak Province, AAN, 16 December 2019, url
3929 Tolonews, Alipoor Supporters Protest for the Second Day in Kabul, 26 November 2018, url
3930 Washington Post (The), Afghan Authorities Free Hazara Fighter Whose Arrest Ignited Street Clashes, 27 November
2018, url
3931 RFE/RL, Afghan Authorities Release Militia Leader after Violent Demonstrations, 26 November 2018, url
3932 Pajhwok Afghan News, Alipour’s Men Kidnap, Beat Road Workers in Wardak, 23 June 2020, url
3933 Tolonews, Team to Investigate Maidan Wardak Clashes, 25 June 2020, url
3934 Ariana News, Commander ‘Sword’s’ Men Allegedly behind ANDSF Checkpoints Attack, 6 September 2020, url; Pajhwok
Afghan News, Alipour’s Men Abduct, Beat Policemen in Maidan Wardak, 6 September 2020, url
3935 Accounts of the incident were reportedly contradictory. RFE/RL/Gandhara, Taliban Claims Car Bombing That Killed at
Least 14 Afghan Troops, 30 January 2021, url
3936 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 4 February 2021, updated 25 February 2021, url;
RFE/RL/Gandhara, Taliban Claims Car Bombing That Killed at Least 14 Afghan Troops, 30 January 2021, url; Tolonews,
Clashes in Maidan Wardak Leave Nine Dead: MoI, 30 January 2021, url; New York Times (The), U.S. Should Slow
Withdrawal from Afghanistan, Bipartisan Panel Urges, 3 February 2021, url
3937 Kabul Now, Behsud Case to Be Investigated, 1 February 2021, url
3938 New York Times (The), At Least 9 Dead in Afghan Helicopter Crash, after Clashes with Local Militia, 18 March 2021, url

364

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

had turned violent.3939 Wardak’s provincial police chief was suspended and referred to the Attorney
General’s Office (AGO).3940 Since this incident, government forces and Alipur’s militia men havereportedly been engaged in a tense and sometimes violent standoff in the Behsud districts.3941

2.34.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 145 civilian casualties (55 deaths and 90 injured) in Wardak province.
This represents a decrease of 21 % compared to 2019. Leading causes of casualties were groundengagements, followed by non-suicide IEDs and targeted killings.3942 According to UNAMA, Wardak is
one of 16 provinces that experienced an increase in civilian casualties from ground engagements in2020 compared to 2019.3943 Resolute Support recorded between 0 and 25 civilian casualties in
Wardak province in the first quarter of 20203944 and between 26 and 50 civilian casualties in thesecond quarter of 2020.3945 RS data on civilian casualties per province for the second half of 2020
were no longer available in the SIGAR quarterly reports.3946
In its June 2020 Crisiswatch overview, International Crisis Group mentioned Wardak in a group ofprovinces that witnessed unchanging or increasing levels of conflict.3947 In June and August 2020, theUN Secretary-General indicated Wardak as one out of four provinces where the highest amount ofconflict activity and security incidents were recorded.3948 In its Hard-to-Reach Districts Map,published in February 2021, UNOCHA ranked Chak district 23th out of 100 districts countrywide, witha conflict intensity of 2.7 (on a scale of 1.0 to 4.0); Saydabad district 32th, with a conflict intensity of
3.5; Nerkh district 33th, with a conflict intensity of 2.8; and Jalrez district 80th, with a conflict intensityof 2.6.3949
In an October 2020 AAN dispatch, journalist Andrew Quilty described how the conflict pattern in
Wardak province has changed since the signing of the Doha Agreement in February 2020. The
cessation of night raids and airstrikes, that characterised the conflict in the province in 2018 and2019, has brought calm to areas controlled by the Taliban. In Wardak’s contested areas, the Taliban
have mounted their attacks on Afghan security forces. Increasing violence on the fringes of the small
areas under government control in Wardak has impacted the civilian population caught in the
crossfire on the new frontlines. In contrast to an intense offensive in previous years, the government
security forces have been quiet in 2020. The Taliban, taking their advantage of the ceased airstrikes
and NDS raids, have stepped up their assaults on ANDSF checkpoints, increased their IED attacks andhave exerted more control of the roads in Wardak.3950 According to USDOD, the Taliban periodically3939 Reporterly, AIHRC Releases Findings on Behsud Protest, 9 February 2021, url
3940 Tolonews, Maidan Wardak Police Chief Suspended over Behsud Incident, 8 February 2021, url
3941 New York Times (The), At Least 9 Dead in Afghan Helicopter Crash, after Clashes with Local Militia, 18 March 2021,

url

3942 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 1103943 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 72
3944 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 April 2020, url, p. 69
3945 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 July 2020, url, p. 72
3946 SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 30 October 2020, url; SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the UnitedStates Congress, 30 January 2021, url
3947 International Crisis Group, Crisis Watch - Overview Afghanistan June 2020, June 2020, url
3948 UN Security Council, The Situation in Afghanistan and Its Implications for International Peace and Security, Report of
the Secretary-General, A/74/897–S/2020/549, 17 June 2020, url, p. 5; UN Security Council, The Situation in Afghanistan
and Its Implications for International Peace and Security, Report of the Secretary-General, 18 August 2020, S/2020/809, url,
p. 53949 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Access Group (HAG), Hard-to-Reach Districts - 11 February 2021, url, pp. 4-53950 Quilty, A., Taleban Opportunism and ANSF Frustration: How the Afghan Conflict Has Changed since the Doha
Agreement, AAN, 12 October 2020, url

365Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

carried out and claimed responsibility for large attacks, including high-profile attacks, in Wardak
province in the second half of 2020.3951
In the period from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, ACLED collected data from reports in open
sources on 270 incidents related to insurgents in Wardak province, of which 170 were coded as‘battles’, 78 as ‘explosions/remote violence’ and 22 as ‘violence against civilians’.3952

Figure 66: Wardak province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on ACLED data3953

Figure 67: Wardak province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, based on
ACLED data3954

ACLED recorded around 63 % of the violent incidents in Wardak as ‘battles’, nearly all of which werecoded as ‘armed clashes’. The majority of the ‘armed clashes’ in Wardak were attacks by the Taliban
on Afghan security forces, including military, police and NDS personnel as well as members of pro-

3951 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, December 2020, 23 April 2021, url, p. 83952 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Wardak province, update 25 March
2021, url
3953 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Wardak province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3954 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Wardak province,
update 25 March 2021, url; 8 incidents (7 battles and 1 violence against civilians) in the province for which ACLED has no
information about the location, were not included in this graph (geoprecision code 3 - see introduction)

366

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

government militias or so-called arbakis3955.3956 Examples of such incidents included: assaults on
security checkpoints in different areas near the provincial capital Maydan Shahr in May 20203957 andin June 2020,3958 in Saydabad district in April 2020,3959 in May 20203960 and in July 2020,3961 in Nerkh
district in April 20203962 and in May 2020,3963 and in Jalrez district in June 20203964 and in February2021;3965 as well as attacks/ambushes on security convoys/vehicles in Nerkh and Jalrez districts in
March 2020,3966 in Saydabad district in July 2020,3967 in the Deh Afghanan area of Maydan Shahr City
in September 20203968 and on Highway Two in Jalrez district in December 2020.3969 These incidents
resulted in several casualties among the security forces. Information on civilian casualties reported
during these incidents was not found among the sources consulted.
Operations and attacks by Afghan security forces against AGEs were also registered under ‘armed
clashes’ by ACLED.3970 These incidents involved for example: various operations in January 2020 in
Chak and Nerkh districts, killing and injuring several Taliban militants;3971 operations in Jalrez districtin January 2020, where Taliban encampments were raided and militants were killed, wounded andarrested3972 and Special Forces’ search operations in the same district in December 2020;3973 and an
operation in July 2020 in Nerkh district, preventing a Taliban attack on a security outpost.3974
Information on civilian casualties reported during these operations was not found among thesources consulted.
AGEs using roadside bombs or IEDs, often targeted the Afghan security forces.3975 These attacks
represented about 15 % of all reported security incidents in Wardak. The majority of IED incidents
were registered in Maydan Shahr district (where the provincial capital is located), followed by Chak,
Saydabad and Nerkh districts.3976 Some of these incidents resulted in casualties among civilians. Late
October 2020, at least ten civilians were killed and several others wounded when two passenger
cars were hit by a roadside IED explosion on the highway between Maydan Shahr and Bamyan in
3955 For more information on arbaki: see section 1.2.1 Pro-government forces.
3956 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Wardak province,

update 25 March 2021, url
3957 Khaama Press, Afghan Forces Repulse Taliban Attack in Wardak Province: 203rd Thunder Corps, 6 May 2020, url
3958 Tolonews, [Twitter], posted on: 26 June 2020, url
3959 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban’s District Police Chief Among 7 killed in Wardak Firefight, 5 April 2020, url
3960 Pajhwok Afghan News, 23 Taliban Killed in Maidan Wardak, Logar Clashes, 1 May 2020, url
3961 Tolonews, Car Bomb Hits Security Checkpoint in Maidan Wardak, 9 July 2020, url; Reporterly, Car Bombs Hits
Checkpoint In Wardak, 9 July 2020, url; Khaama Press, Suicide Car Bomb Attack Hits Afghan Forces’ Check Post in Wardak,
9 July 2020, url
3962 Khaama Press, 6 Taliban Militants Killed, 4 Wounded in Wardak Operations: Thunder Corps, 20 April 2020, url
3963 Pajhwok Afghan News, 23 Taliban Killed in Maidan Wardak, Logar Clashes, 1 May 2020, url
3964 Khaama Press, Key Taliban Red Unit Group Member Killed in Wardak Clash, 16 June 2020, url
3965 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: February 2021, 4 February 2021, updated 25 February 2021, url
3966 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: March 2020, 5 March 2020, updated 26 March 2020, url
3967 Xinhua, 3 Security Force Members, 21 Militants Killed in Afghan Daily Clashes, 3 July 2020, url
3968 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url
3969 Khaama Press, Security Convoy Trapped in Taliban Ambush, 14 December 2020, url
3970 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Wardak province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3971 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Wardak province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3972 Xinhua, Afghan Intelligence Agency Captures 6 Taliban Militants Near Kabul, 27 January 2020, url
3973 Pajhwok Afghan News, Car Bomb Hits Afghan Special Forces in Wardak, 31 December 2020, url
3974 Khaama Press, Taliban’s Deputy Shadow Governor among 7 Killed in Wardak Province, 28 July 2020, url
3975 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: March 2020, 5 March 2020, updated 26 March 2020, url; New YorkTimes (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: September 2020, 3 September 2020, updated 1 October 2020, url; Pajhwok
Afghan News, ANA Base in Wardak Comes under Bomb Attack, 15 October 2020, url; New York Times (The), Afghan War
Casualty Report: December 2020, 10 December 2020, updated 31 December 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Car Bomb
Hits Afghan Special Forces in Wardak, 31 December 2020, url
3976 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Wardak province,
update 25 March 2021, url

367

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Jalrez district. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack, but government officials blamed
the Taliban.3977 Also in October 2020, four civilians were killed when their car hit a roadside bomb in
the Kotah-ye Ashro area of the provincial capital Maydan Shahr and another civilian was killed whena truck was blown up in a roadside bomb blast in Chak district. Local police officials blamed the
Taliban for both attacks.3978 In the beginning of November 2020, one student (reportedly a former
Hezb-e Islami commander) was killed and several others injured in an IED explosion at the entranceof a private university in Maydan Shahr. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack.3979 In
late November 2020, two civilians were killed in a bomb explosion in Maydan Shahr City.3980
During the reference period, ACLED registered one suicide bomb attack in Wardak province.3981 In
July 2020, a suicide car bomb targeting an ANA convoy in Saydabad district killed eight soldiers andwounded several more. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.3982
Air/drone strikes represented about 7 % of all reported violent incidents in Wardak. Most air/drone
strikes were carried out in Saydabad district, followed by Chak, Nerkh, Daymirdad and Maydan Shahr
districts. The majority of these air/drone strikes were carried out by Afghan military forces, twowere attributed to NATO forces.3983 While these air/drone strikes mostly inflicted losses among
AGEs,3984 destroying several Taliban hideouts and ammunition,3985 some also caused civilian
casualties, such as: the killing of three university students in a US drone strike in Daymirdad districtin February 2020, as reported by the Taliban;3986 and the killing of three civilians (alongside several
Taliban militants) in a US forces’ airstrike on a Taliban stronghold in Nerkh district in October
2020.3987
ACLED coded around 7 % of the violent incidents in Wardak as ‘shelling, artillery and missile
attacks’.3988 For example, in July 2020, the Taliban fired mortars on the district governor’s office in
Nerkh, killing a police officer.3989 The Taliban reported on several shelling and grenade attacks of
their militants on the Afghan security forces in October 2020 and January 2021 in Saydabad and3977 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2020, 8 October 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url;

Tolonews, Civilians Killed in Maidan Wardak Blast: Official, 20 October 2020, url; UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of
Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, pp. 48-49
3978 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2020, 8 October 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url
3979 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 5 November 2020, updated 26 November 2020,
url; Pajhwok Afghan New, 1 Student Killed, 6 Injured in Blast outside Wardak University, 9 November 2020, url
3980 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2020, 5 November 2020, updated 26 November 2020,
url
3981 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Wardak province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3982 RFE/RL/Gandhara, Suspected Taliban Attacks Kill aver a Dozen Afghan Security Personnel, 20 July 2020, url; Tolonews,
8 Soldiers Killed in Maidan Wardak, 20 July 2020, url; Reuters, Taliban Suicide Attack Kills Eight Afghan Troops, Wounds
Nine, 21 July 2020, url; Eurasia Review, Afghanistan: The Calculus of Violence - Analysis, 28 July 2020, url
3983 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Wardak province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3984 Xinhua, Afghan Air Raids on Taliban Fighters Kill 3, Foil Design to Attack Checkpoints, 30 November 2020, url; Khaama
Press, Taliban ‘Battered’ across Afghanistan, ‘IEDs Defused’, 10 January 2021, url
3985 Khaama Press, 20 Taliban Militants Killed in Ghazni, Paktika and Wardak Provinces, 19 May 2020, url; Pajhwok AfghanNews, Taliban’s Governor for Maidan Wardak Injured, 9 April 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, AAF Airstrike Hits
Undetonated Car Bomb in Maidan Wardak, 11 January 2021, url
3986 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Wardak province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3987 Although American forces denied the claim of civilian casualties caused by the airstrike. New York Times (The), Afghan
War Casualty Report: October 2020, 8 October 2020, updated 29 October 2020, url; Pajhwok Afghan News, Bombarded
Taliban in Maidan Wardak: US forces, 26 October 2020, url;
3988 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Wardak province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3989 New York Times (The), Afghan War Casualty Report: July 2020, 9 July 2020, updated 30 July 2020, url

368

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Nerkh districts.3990 Some of these shelling incidents resulted in civilian casualties, such as: the killingof a man and his two sons, when a mortar shell (fired by government forces according to local
residents) hit their house in Saydabad district in July 2020;3991 and the killing of several civilians inshelling and mortar attacks by the Afghan security forces in Saydabad district in April, May, Augustand September 2020 and in February 2021, as well as in Maydan Shahr district in April 2020 and in
Nerkh district in October 2020, as reported by the Taliban.3992
ACLED categorised about 8 % of all reported violent incidents in Wardak as ‘violence against
civilians’.3993 These incidents involved for example: the abduction by the Taliban of dozens ofcivilians, reportedly professionally related to the Afghan government, from several villages in Chak
district in March 2020;3994 the kidnapping and killing of a tribal elder by unknown perpetrators in
Saydabad district in April 2020;3995 Taliban ambushes and killings of off-duty security personnel in
Saydabad district in April 20203996 and in Chak district in May 2020;3997 a Taliban shooting of a tribal
elder and three of his family members in Chak district in June 2020 (however, the Taliban reportedly
denied their involvement in the incident);3998 the killing of several civilians (one civilian was killed ineach incident) by the Afghan security forces in Jaghatu and Nerkh districts in July 2020, in Saydabad
district in October and December 2020, as well as in Nerkh district in January 2021, as reported by
the Taliban;3999 and the abduction of around 28 civilian passengers by Taliban militants on the roadin Jalrez district in November 2020.4000
The highways in Wardak province are described as insecure4001 and ‘under concentrated assault’.4002
The stretch of Highway Two running through Jalrez district is described as ‘one of the most unsafe
routes for travellers in the central region’.4003 An increasing number of Afghans have reportedly been
taking flights or longer routes to bypass roads situated in contested or Taliban-controlled areas.4004
Several sources reported on increased Taliban activity along Wardak’s highways, for several years4005
and certainly since the reduced use of air power by US forces after the signing of the Doha
Agreement in February 2020,4006 with the militants regularly detonating roadside bombs, mounting

3990 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Wardak province,

update 25 March 2021, url
3991 Tolonews, Afghanistan Violence: 9 Civilians Killed in Latest Incidents, 11 July 2020, url
3992 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Wardak province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3993 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Wardak province,
update 25 March 2021, url
3994 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban Abduct 55 Civilians in Madian Wardak, 2 March 2020, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Weekly Humanitarian Update (2 - 8 March 2020, 11 March 2020, url, p. 23995 Pajhwok Afghan News, Kidnapped Tribal Elder Found Dead in Wardak, 6 April 2020, url
3996 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban Kill 3 Off-Duty Soldiers in Wardak, 21 April 2020, url
3997 Pajhwok Afghan News, Chak District Police Chief Killed in Taliban Attack, 23 May 2020, url
3998 Khaama Press, A Tribal Leader and Family Members Killed in Wardak, 7 June 2020, url; Tolonews, 'Taliban' Kill 4
Members of Family in Wardak: Officials, 7 June 2020, url
3999 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Wardak province,
update 25 March 2021, url
4000 Ariana News, Taliban Kidnap Over Two Dozen Civilians in Wardak, 25 November 2020, url; Khaama Press, ICRC
Employee Kidnapped in Maidan Wardak Following Abduction of 28 Locals, 29 November 2020, url
4001 New York Times (The), Afghan Town’s First Female Mayor Awaits Her Assassination, 4 October 2019, url; Sweden,
Lifos/Migrationsverket, Säkerhetsläget i Afghanistan (Version 2.0), 7 April 2020, url, p. 52; Afghanistan Times, Central
Provinces Feared to Lose Security, 23 August 2020, url
4002 Rolling Stone Magazine, Highway to Hell: A Trip Down Afghanistan’s Deadliest Road, 22 January 2021, url
4003 Afghanistan Times, Central Provinces Feared to Lose Security, 23 August 2020, url; Khaama Press, Security Convoy
Trapped in Taliban Ambush, 14 December 2020, url
4004 Kazemi, S., R., Peace in the Districts (1): A Chasm between High Talks and Local Concerns in Afghanistan, AAN, 11
December 2019, url
4005 Sweden, Lifos/Migrationsverket, Säkerhetsläget i Afghanistan (Version 2.0), 7 April 2020, url, p. 52
4006 Intercept (The), The CIA’s Afghan Dead Squads - A US Backed Militia that Kills Children May Be America’s Exit Strategy
from Its Longest War, 18 December 2020, url

369

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

ambushes against military convoys, setting up checkpoints and searching vehicles for government
employees.4007 The Afghan security forces have been reported as ‘scarcely visible on the road’,
occupying a decreasing number of checkpoints.4008 Highway-side security checkpoints have comeunder greater pressure since mid-2020, with the Taliban reportedly attacking outposts within akilometre of the governor’s office in Maydan Shahr. Government troops have reportedly abandoned
many of their positions in October 2020, due to a lack of supplies and an increasing amount of
Taliban roadside mines to diffuse every day.4009 According to an ANA commander of Wardak’s 5th
Brigade, cited by Rolling Stone Magazine in January 2021, Taliban attacks on Highway One haveincreased since early 2020.4010
Mid-2020, UNOCHA indicated the impact of the volatile security situation in Wardak on government
resources and law enforcement in the province, contributing to rising criminality.4011 In June 2020,
UNAMA expressed its concern on the scale of deliberate attacks on healthcare in Afghanistan at atime when the country has been confronted with the COVID-19 pandemic, documenting several
Taliban abductions of healthcare workers in Wardak province between 11 March and
23 May 2020.4012 Concerning attacks related to health care provision in 2020, the WHO registered
one health care facility affected (closed) in Saydabad district of Wardak province.4013 In its Baseline
Mobility Assessment, published in October 2020, IOM mentioned the destruction of a clinic in
Maydan Shahr district during ongoing conflict.4014
The Taliban reported on the shelling of a school by the Afghan military forces in Jaghatu district inAugust 2020 and on the destruction of two schools during a shelling attack of the Afghan militaryforces in Nerkh and Jalrez districts in November 2020.4015 An ERM Protection Analysis Report withdata from May to June 2020 reported on the kidnapping of children on their way to and from schoolin Wardak province, likely resulting in a reduced school attendance.4016 In a Human Rights Watch(HRW) report published in June 2020, a teacher in Wardak declared that the Taliban havethreatened teachers and principals in some districts for working in girls’ schools, particularly when
they came from areas under government control.4017
The destruction of residential homes and infrastructure as well as heavy fighting in Wardak’s
provincial capital were reported by residents, after a car bomb exploded at an ANA base near
Maydan Shahr (see above) in October 2020.4018 In January 2021, civilians living in villages alongside

4007 An international source Landinfo spoke to in October 2019. Norway, Landinfo, Afghanistan: Sikkerhetssituasjon og

konfliktmonster i 2019, 22 January 2020, url, p. 29; Sweden, Lifos/Migrationsverket, Säkerhetsläget i Afghanistan (Version2.0), 7 April 2020, url, p. 52; Quilty, A., Taleban Opportunism and ANSF Frustration: How the Afghan Conflict Has Changed
since the Doha Agreement, AAN, 12 October 2020, url; Intercept (The), The CIA’s Afghan Dead Squads - A US Backed Militia
that Kills Children May Be America’s Exit Strategy from Its Longest War, 18 December 2020, url
4008 Intercept (The), The CIA’s Afghan Dead Squads - A US Backed Militia that Kills Children May Be America’s Exit Strategy
from Its Longest War, 18 December 2020, url
4009 Quilty, A., Taleban Opportunism and ANSF Frustration: How the Afghan Conflict Has Changed since the Doha
Agreement, AAN, 12 October 2020, url; Ruttig, T., Afghanistan Remains the “Most Unpeaceful” Country in the World: an
Overview of the Security Situation, 27 October 2020, url
4010 Rolling Stone Magazine, Highway to Hell: A Trip Down Afghanistan’s Deadliest Road, 22 January 2021, url
4011 UNOCHA, Afghanistan - Weekly Humanitarian Update (6 - 12 July 2020), 15 July 2020, url, p. 24012 UNAMA, Afghanistan: Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict. Special Report: Attacks on Healthcare during the Covid19 Pandemic, June 2020, url, p. 204013 WHO, Afghanistan – Attacks on Health Care (January 01 - December 31, 2020, 11 January 2021, url
4014 IOM, DTM Afghanistan, Baseline Mobility Assessment: Summary Results Round 10 Jan-June 2020, 1 October 2020, url,
p. 94015 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan - Wardak province,
update 25 March 2021, url
4016 ERM, Protection Analysis Report: May - July 2020, 9 September 2020, url, p. 94017 HRW, “You Have No Right to Complain”: Education, Social Restrictions, and Justice in Taliban-Held Afghanistan, 30 June
2020, url, p. 36
4018 Pajhwok Afghan News, ANA Base in Wardak Comes under Bomb Attack, 15 October 2020, url

370Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Highway One, carving through Taliban territory in Wardak province, reported on indiscriminate firingfrom Afghan government forces in an attempt to hold back on advancing militants.4019

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020 - 28 February 2021, reporting 1 911 persons
displaced from Wardak province, of which the majority (1 463) were displaced within the province
itself (all relocating to Maydan Shahr district). The remaining 448 IDPs from Wardak sought shelterin neighbouring province Kabul (Kabul district). The majority of IDPs in Wardak province weredisplaced from Jalrez district (588) with peaks in the beginning of April and mid-June 2020; followed
by Saydabad (350), Maydan Shahr (336) and Nerkh (329) districts, equally with peaks in April andJune 2020. Smaller numbers of IDPs were displaced from Daymirdad (140) and Jaghatu (105)
districts in August 2020, and Chak district (63) in June 2020. No conflict-induced internal
displacement to Wardak province from other provinces was reported by UNOCHA during the same
period.4020
In February 2021, UNOCHA reported on 700 people displaced in Hesa-i Awal-e Behsud district due tofighting, with needs assessments ongoing to verify this information.4021
According to IOM displacement data from January to June 2020, Wardak is one of five provinces (theother provinces indicated as Jawzjan, Paktika, Kapisa and Zabul) that showed a sharp increase in thenumber of IDPs, most likely due to people fleeing to safer areas to escape the ongoing armed
conflict. IOM additionally indicated that two in five persons in Wardak province have fled their homeas an IDP and that 85 % of IDPs in Wardak have not returned home.4022 According to an IOM
Community Based Needs Assessment with data from January to June 2020, 32 % of IDP and returnee
households in Wardak province, that have been heavily affected by conflict and natural disaster, livein shelters that are severely damaged or destroyed. IOM mentioned access to basic services andconflict as the main reasons for people to leave their area of origin in Wardak province.4023
In UNOCHA’s Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) for 2021, Wardak is mentioned as a province
where the majority of displaced households don’t feel safe on roads. More than a third of theassessed displaced households expressed concerns about explosive hazards in Wardak, among otherprovinces (such as Logar, Paktika, Farah, Ghazni and Kunduz).4024

4019 Rolling Stone Magazine, Highway to Hell: A Trip Down Afghanistan’s Deadliest Road, 22 January 2021, url
4020 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, updated 23 February 2021, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict

Displacement 2021, updated 8 March 2021, url
4021 UNOCHA, Afghanistan - Weekly Humanitarian Update (15 - 21 February 2021), 24 February 2021, url, p. 24022 IOM, DTM Afghanistan, Baseline Mobility Assessment: Summary Results Round 10 Jan-June 2020, 1 October 2020, url,
pp. 1, 5, 74023 IOM, DTM Afghanistan, Community Based Needs Assessment: Summary Results Round 10 Jan-June 2020, 1 October
2020, url , pp. 3, 124024 UNOCHA, Humanitarian Needs Overview Afghanistan 2021, 19 December 2020, url, p. 137

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2.35 Zabul
2.35.1 General description of the province

Map 35: Afghanistan – Zabul province, source: UNOCHA4025

Zabul province is located in the southern part of Afghanistan and shares an international border withPakistan4026. Zabul is divided into the following districts: the provincial capital Qalat with provincial
capital Qalat city (formerly known as Qalat-i Ghilzai), Tarnak Wa Jaldak (also known as Shahr Safa),
Shinkai (also Seori, Seyuri), Mizan, Arghandab, Shah Joi, Daichopan, Atghar, Naw Bahar, Shemel Zayi,
Kakar (also known as Khak-e Afghan).4027
According to estimates for 2019-2020 by NSIA, Zabul has a population of 377 648. Urban population
constitutes about 3.5% of all inhabitants of the province.4028
It is composed mainly of Pashtuns belonging mostly to Hotak and Tokhi tribes4029 and Baloch.4030 The
province is also known by the name ‘Zabalistan’ and is considered the birthplace of the Pashtun
ethnic group.4031

4025UNOCHA, Afghanistan. Provincial reference Map, 25 May 2015,

url, p. 34

4026 US Naval Postgraduate School, Zabul Provincial Overview, n.d., url
4027Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan, 1 June 2020, url, p. 36
4028Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2019-2020, 18 November 2019, url, p. 32
4029 Sabawoon A., Government Rule Confined to District and Provincial Centres: Zabul’s capital under threat, 05 November

2019, url
4030 Afghanistan, Office of the President, Provincial Profile Zabul, 1 February 2017, url; US Naval Postgraduate School, Zabul
Provincial Overview, n.d., url
4031 Pajhwok Afghan News, Background profile of Zabul, n.d., url

372

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

The Kabul-Kandahar Highway, also known by the name of Highway One4032, runs through the districtsof Tarnak wa Jaldak, Qalat and Shahjoy.4033 The road has a significant strategic relevance, as it
connects the capital city with Kandahar. It passes through remote areas of the province, many ofwhich are not under government control. It is a key supply route for the south.4034
Zabul also has a 65-kilometre long, porous border with Pakistan 4035, running through Shemel Zayi
district. 4036 There are three unpaved roads leading to the border-crossing: in the Zanzir area, near
Qala-ye Rashid and further north, from where a road leads to the Pakistani city of Zhob.4037

2.35.2 Conflict background and actors in Zabul
The province is one of the poorest provinces in the country. The government is present military but
little development has been done. The feeling of being forgotten by the government is reportedly
one of the reasons for the considerable Taliban presence in the area. A lot of Taliban leadership
originated from Zabul but very few Zabulis participated in the central government in Kabul.4038
Due to proximity of Pakistani border and general poverty, many families migrate from Zabul to
Quetta in Pakistani Balochistan to seek greater economic opportunities. Migrant communities in
Quetta are under strong influence of religious conservatives and religious parties. It has a very
negative impact on security situation in the province.4039
In addition, writing in 2013, van Biljiert stated that a lot of conflicting interests contributed to thedeterioration of the security situation in the province and shaping insurgents’ networks after 2001.
In Zabul, some internal tribal tensions also existed: between the two Ghilzai tribes – Tokhi and Hotak,
between both Gilzai tribes and minority tribes but also some animosity between nomadic kuchis andsettlers. There were also some land disputes inside certain tribes. Apart from tribal affiliation, there
were also important political connections, common battlefield experience, area of origin, economic
interest and other ties which shaped relationship in the province.4040
The corrupt local strongmen became the government officials in Zabul after 2001. They used toabuse their power to target their private rivals.4041 There was also a rivalry between parliamentarians
from Zabul and provincial administration over governmental appointments. Both sides blame eachother for corruption and incompetence.4042
After US and NATO combat mission formally ended in December 2014, the economic and security
conditions in Zabul deteriorated. Poverty level increased and access to governmental services
worsened. In some districts, local authorities have been removed to military bases in district centres

4032 Telegraph (The), Kabul-Kandahar highway is a symbol of what‘s gone wrong in Afghanistan, 9 September 2012, url
4033 UNOCHA, Afghanistan: Zabul Province – District Atlas, April 2014, url
4034 Telegraph (The), Kabul-Kandahar highway is a symbol of what‘s gone wrong in Afghanistan, 9 September 2012, url;

Sabawoon A., Government Rule Confined to District and Provincial Centres: Zabul’s capital under threat, 05 November
2019, url
4035 Sabawoon A., Government Rule Confined to District and Provincial Centres: Zabul’s capital under threat, 05 November
2019, url
4036 UNOCHA, Afghanistan. Provincial reference Map, 25 May 2015, url, p. 34
4037 Sabawoon A., Government Rule Confined to District and Provincial Centres: Zabul’s capital under threat, 05 November
2019, url
4038 RFE/RL, The Forgotten Afghan Province That Is A Key Taliban Stronghold, 16 December 2018, url
4039 Sabawoon A., Government Rule Confined to District and Provincial Centres: Zabul’s capital under threat, AAN, 5
November 2019, url
4040 Bijlert M., ‘The Taliban in Zabul and Uruzgan’ in: Bergen, P. (ed.), Talibanistan, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013,
pp. 98-99
4041 Bijlert M., ‘The Taliban in Zabul and Uruzgan’ in: Bergen, P. (ed.), Talibanistan, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013,
pp. 103, 106
4042 Sabawoon A., Government Rule Confined to District and Provincial Centres: Zabul’s capital under threat, AAN,
5 November 2019, url

373

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

without any access to residents, unable to provide them any public services. The election turnout
both in parliament elections in 2018 and presidential elections in 2019 was very low (at 21%),reportedly due to security reasons.4043
According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2020, opium poppy cultivation in Zabul province increasedby 123 %.4044
In terms of the presence of government security forces, Zabul province is under the responsibility of
the 205rd ANA Corps, which falls under Task Force South (TF South), led by US forces.4045 The
government's control is however limited to Qalat4046 and to some military outposts in the sevensouthern districts.4047 Police chiefs and district governors are often linked to the MPs or senatorsfrom the region and many of them have served on these posts for many years. In July 2019 President
Ghani ordered the transfer or termination of duties some of them. It did not improve the security
situation in the area and the number of attacks on soldiers and government employees evenincreased.4048
Large-scale insider attacks were also reported in Zabul province. The deadliest one happened on
20 March 2020 when a group of Taliban-linked policemen opened fire on sleeping troops at a joint
police and army headquarters near Qalat, killing, according to different estimations, from 24 to 37
army and police personnel.4049
Zabul province has a historical significance for the Taliban, who started their battle over the controlof the country in the 1990s from there. There are many Zabulis in the Taliban’s higher ranks
including Mullah Amir Khan Haqqani.4050
Zabul was one of the first provinces affected by Taliban influence after 2001. The recruitment totheir movement started in 2002 and soon the Taliban was able to establish its first training base in
Daichopan district. In the beginning of the insurgency, Taliban suffered from great losses caused byinternational air strikes, so they quickly changed methods of fighting ‘from large-scale attacks toasymmetrical warfare: ambushes, assassinations, small-scale attacks, IEDs, suicide bombings’.4051
The Zabuli Taliban was formally under control of Pakistani Quetta Shura but it consisted of local
commanders who ‘alternatively cooperated with, coexisted with, and fought against each other’.
Motivation to join Taliban may vary: pressure, opportunism or revenge. The alliances may alsochange. As in other provinces, the Taliban established a shadow administration with provincial
governor, district governors, military commanders, and court and taxation system. 4052
A survey Pajhwok Afghan News conducted from November 2020 until February 2021 designed
21.52% of Zabul territory and population under government control, 72.73% of territory andpopulation under Taliban control and 5.76% territory and population controlled by neither side. The

4043 Sabawoon A., Government Rule Confined to District and Provincial Centres: Zabul’s capital under threat, AAN,

5 November 2019, url
4044 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, April 2020, url, p. 94045 USDOD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, 1 June 2020, url, p. 134046 RFE/RL, The Forgotten Afghan Province That Is A Key Taliban Stronghold, 16 December 2018, url
4047 Sabawoon A., Government Rule Confined to District and Provincial Centres: Zabul’s capital under threat, 5 November
2019, url
4048 Sabawoon A., Government Rule Confined to District and Provincial Centres: Zabul’s capital under threat, AAN,
5 November 2019, url
4049 Al Jazeera, Dozens of Afghan troops killed in insider attack: Officials 20 March 2020, url; Khaama News, Abdullah
reacts to deadly Taliban attack in Zabul, calling it ‘An Unforgivable Crime’ 21 March 2020, url
4050 Sabawoon A., Government Rule Confined to District and Provincial Centres: Zabul’s capital under threat, 5 November
2019, url
4051 Bijlert M., ‘The Taliban in Zabul and Uruzgan’ in: Bergen, P. (ed.), Talibanistan, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013,p. 1164052 Bijlert M., ‘The Taliban in Zabul and Uruzgan’ in: Bergen, P. (ed.), Talibanistan, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013,p. 110374

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

entire districts with its centres under Taliban control are: Naw Bahar, Khak Afghar and Daichopan. 4053
According to LWJ, Mizan, Arghandab, Shah Joi, Kakar and Naw Bahar is fully controlled by Taliban.
Three districts of Zabul are reportedly contested: Tarnak Wa Jaldak, Shinkai, Shemel Zayi andDaichopan on the north. Atghar was allegedly stormed by Taliban in July 2020 but the information is
not confirmed. According to the LWJ, only Qalat capital district is under full governmental control.
More recently, as of 26 May 2021, Daichopan shifted under the ‘Taliban control’.4054 Earlier on 25
May 2021, the Taliban reportedly reached the gates of Qalat.4055
The United Nations also reported that Zabul is one of three provinces ‘with the most significant
numbers’ of al Qaeda operatives present.4056
There is no known presence of ISIL-KP in Zabul. UNAMA did not documented civilian casualties from
ISIL-KP attacks in Helmand in 2019 or 2020.4057

2.35.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population
General
In 2020, UNAMA documented 303 civilian casualties (120 deaths and 183 injured) in Zabul province.
This represents a decrease of 39 % compared to 2019. Leading causes of casualties were non-suicide
IEDs, ground engagements, and air strikes.4058
In the period from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2021, ACLED reported a total of 253 incidents
related to security in Zabul province, of which 162 were coded as battles, 76 as remote violence, 15
as violence against civilians.4059

4053Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban make exaggerated claims of territory they control, 12 February 2021, url
4054LWJ, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, n.d., url. The source, however, does not specify when and which

information of the aforementioned map was updated.
4055
Sarwary, B., (@bsarwary), [Twitter], posted on: 25 May, 25 May 2021, url
4056UN Security Council, Tenth Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team Submitted Pursuant to
Resolution 2255 (2015) Concerning the Taliban and other Associated Individuals and Entities Constituting a Threat to thePeace, Stability and Security of Afghanistan, S/2019/481, 13 June 2019, url
4057 UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 43;
UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2019, February 2020, url , p. 36
4058UNAMA, Afghanistan – Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Annual Report 2020, 23 February 2021, url, p. 110
4059 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED made a methodological note on its website on a shift inreporting depicting a reduction in violence and advises against drawing comparisons in violence/fatalities in Afghanistan
between 2019 and 2020 (see: introduction). ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Zabul province, update 25 March
2021, url

375

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Figure 68: Zabul province - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against
civilians from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2020, based on ACLED data4060

Figure 69: Zabul province - Breakdown of security events per district from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 2020, based on
ACLED data4061

In 2020, Taliban was able to attack check-posts in the Qalat city and to kill soldiers and other security
personnel there. For example, on 10 October 2020, 75 Afghan soldiers were taken as hostages
within Qalat city as reported by Taliban.4062
In October 2020 there was a major military operation in Shinkai district when Taliban had stormed
the security checkpoints there. At least 34 Taliban insurgents were killed and at least 12 were
wounded. The government managed to repel attacks.4063 Apart from Shinkai, heavy fighting took
place also in Mizan, Tarnak Wa Jaldak, Arghandab districts in 2020 and at the beginning of 2021.4064
Taliban insurgents have been carrying out activities related to terrorism such as shootings, suicide
attacks and planting IED bombs resulting in casualties among civilians, the Afghan security forces and4060 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Zabul province, update

25 March 2021, url
4061 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Zabul province, update
25 March 2021, url; 7 battles in the province for which ACLED has no information about the location, were not included inthis graph (geoprecision code 3 – see introduction)
4062Voice of Jihad, 75 enemy personnel arrested in Qalat operations, 10 October 2020, url
4063 MENAFN, Afghanistan- Tens of Taliban rebels killed in Zabul raids, 19/10/2020, url
4064 EASO analysis based on UN UNOCHA Afghanistan Weekly Humanitarian Update, Humanitarian Response, Situation
Report, 01 January 2020 – 28 February 2021, url

376

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

the insurgents themselves.4065 On 16 January 2020, an explosion of a roadside bomb killed five
officials from Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), an Afghan Power Company, who travelled to
repair a power line.4066 On 19 May 2020, an IED planted in Mizan district killed four civilians andwounded another eight, including children.4067 On 10 July 2020, an explosion of IED in Qalat city
killed three children.4068 On 30 August 2020 several IEDs planted by Taliban exploded in various
villages in Shah Joi district, killing at least 6 people.4069 On 28 October 2020 three civilians were killed
and five injured by roadside bomb in Shinkai district.4070 On 7 November 2020, at least 3 civilians
were killed and 15 were wounded, including two guards, in a suicide attack when a car parked
outside the office of provincial council head in Qalat exploded.4071 Another suicide attack in Qalat
took place on 29 November 2020. At least 3 civilians were killed and 23 wounded, including the headof Zabul’s provincial council, Ata Jan Haqbayan. No one has taken responsibility for the two
attacks.4072
Airstrikes by Afghan and US forces continued throughout 2020. Taliban sources reported in February2020 that NATO drone strike killed two civilians in Arghandab district.4073 In April 2020, an airstrike ofNATO forces killed five civilians in the same district.4074 In May 2020, shelling by Afghan militaryforces killed 3 women and 2 children in residential area of Shah Joi district.4075 On 27 May 2020, atleast 3 children were killed by Afghan forces airstrikes in the same district.4076 On 11 July 2020 threechildren were killed in an Afghan mortar shelling in Shemel Zayi district.4077During the reporting
period, Taliban fighters were able to target civilians in Qalat City.4078 On 28 May 2020, a human rights
defender was killed, reportedly by the Taliban.4079
According to Taliban sources, Afghan security forces and pro-governmental militias also killed several
civilians in Zabul province during 2020 and 2021: two civilians were shot dead in Tarnak Wa Jaldak in
January 20204080 and two civilians in February 20214081. One farmer in Mizan district4082 was killed in
May; a merchant in Shah Joi district4083 and a girl were killed in Shinkai in July4084; a civilian was killedworking in his garden in Atghar district in August 2020.4085

4065 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Zabul province, update

25 March 2021, url
4066 Tolonews, Five DABS Employees Killed In Zabul Blast, 17 January 2020, url; SATP, Afghanistan Zabul, TimelineFatalities, 16 January 2020, url
4067 Khaama News, Children, women among 12 killed, wounded in Taliban IED attack in Zabul 19 May 2020, url
4068 SATP, Afghanistan Zabul, Timeline, Fatalities, 16 January 2020, updated 10 July 2020, url
4069 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Zabul province, update
25 March 2021, url
4070 ANI News, 3 killed, 5 injured in bomb blast in Afghanistan's Zabul, 28/10/2020, url
4071 Reporterly, Three Killed, 15 Wounded in Zabul Car Bomb Blast, 7 November 2020, url
4072 Tolonews, 3 Civilians Killed, 23 Wounded in Zabul Suicide Attack 29 November 2020, url
4073 Voice of Jihad, Drone martyrs 2 villagers, hurts 2 others in Zabul, 09 February 2020, url
4074 Voice of Jihad, 15 civilians martyred and wounded as a result of US and internal forces brutality in Zabul and Uruzgan,
05 April 2020, url
4075 Voice of Jihad, 7 including women, children martyred and wounded by enemy shelling in Zabul, 13 May 2020, url
4076 Voice of Jihad, 6 children martyred, wounded amid enemy bombardment in Zabul, 27 may 2020, url
4077 Voice of Jihad, 3 children martyred from enemy shelling in Zabul, 12 July 2020, url
4078 EASO analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Curated Data Files, Afghanistan – Zabul province, update
25 March 2021, url
4079 Frontline Defenders, Human rights defender Ibrahim Ebrat killed, 29 May 2020, url
4080 Voice of Jihad, Enemy martyrs 2 villagers in Zabul night raid, 15 January 2020, url
4081 Voice of Jihad, Enemy martyr 3 villagers, abduct prayer leader in Zabul, 4 February 2021, url
4082 Voice of Jihad, Enemy bombing martyr, hurt 4 villagers in Zabul, 11 May 2020, url
4083 Voice of Jihad, Enemy martyrs shopkeeper in Shajoy, 30 July 2020, url
4084 Voice of Jihad, Enemy firing martyrs 13-years-old girl in Zabul, 06 July 2020, url
4085 Voice of Jihad, Enemy martyrs villager in Zabul, 22 August 2020, url

377

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

The main hospital in the province was completely destroyed and abandoned in 2019. The only partstill standing is a paediatric ward which has been adapted as an isolation centre for patients with
COVID-19 in the spring 2020.4086

Displacement
UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2020 – 28 February 2021, reporting 4 843 persons
displaced within Zabul province. They were displaced from different districts of the province such as
Qalat, Shinkai, Mizan and Tarnak Wa Jaldak. Most of them moved to provincial capital Qalat. The
biggest group of 2 947 persons left their houses in Shinkai in September and October 2020. Most of
the group stayed within the district or moved to Qalat city. No displacement from other provinces
was registered in Zabul province. 4087
According to UNOCHA humanitarian assessment, hundreds of people left their homes in Zabul due
to insecurity in September 2020. The district affected by hostilities were Shinkai, Arghandab, Mizan
and Qalat. Over 700 habitants from Shinkai left their homes. In Arghandab, Mizan and Qalat, civilian
movement was disrupted by roadside IEDs and people in need could not reach medical aid.4088

4086 Guardian (The), Civil war, poverty and now the virus: Afghanistan stands on the brink, 2 May 2020, url
4087 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Conflict Induced Displacements in 2020, 30 March 2021,

url

4088 UNOCHA, Afghanistan – Weekly Humanitarian Update, 14-20 September 2020, url

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Annex 1: Bibliography
Public sources
1TV, Afghan forces retake Jowzjan's Khumab district, kill 14 Taliban militants, 19 April 2020,
https://1tvnews.af/19/04/2020/2891/, accessed 30 March 2021
1TV, Some tribal elders in Nangarhar are regularly paid by Taliban, 23 August 2020,
https://1tvnews.af/23/08/2020/3956/, accessed 7 May 2021
1TV, Taliban Abduct 53 Civilians in Daikundi, 20 June 2020,
http://www.1tvnews.af/en/news/afghanistan/42308-taliban-abduct-53-civilians-in-daikundi
1TV, Taliban abduct Afghan district governor in Samangan: MoI, 24 February 2020,
https://1tvnews.af/24/02/2020/2376/, accessed 30 March 2021‫[ ادعای باجگېی «نېوهای ن‬informal translation: ‘Money extortion by ‘public
8am, ‫خېش مردم» در مسې هرات – بادغیس‬uprising forces’ on Herat-Badghis highway’], 26 December 2020, https://8am.af/alleged-ransom-of-peoplesuprising-forces-on-herat-badghis-route/ , accessed 25 February 2021‫[ روش جدید جنگ در بادغیس؛ مردم از راکتپر ن‬informal translation: ‘New warfare method
8am, ‫اگتهای طالبان وحشتزدهاند‬in Badghis, people have been terrorised by Taliban rocket attacks], 6 February 2021, https://8am.af/newmethod-of-war-in-badghis-people-are-terrified-of-taliban-rockets/, accessed 25 February 2021
AA (Anadolu Agency) Taliban, Afghan forces clash in Balkh province, 18 March 2020,
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/taliban-afghan-forces-clash-in-balkh-province-/1770048, accessed 7
May 2021
AA (Anadolu Agency), Afghanistan: Over 30 policemen dead in Taliban attacks, 21 October 2020,
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/afghanistan-over-30-policemen-dead-in-taliban-attacks/2014095,
accessed 5 April 2021
AA (Anadolu Agency), Decades in making, Afghan mega dam opens on Iran border, 24 March 2021,
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/decades-in-making-afghan-mega-dam-opens-on-iran-border/2186632,
accessed 7 May 2021
AA (Anadolu Agency), Key Pakistani Taliban Leader Killed in Afghanistan, 7 February 2020,
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/key-pakistani-taliban-leader-killed-in-afghanistan/1727178#, accessed
26 March 2021
AA (Anadolu Agency), 'Kids among 5 of a family killed in Afghan airstrike', 8 January 2021,
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/kids-among-5-of-a-family-killed-in-afghan-airstrike/2103403 accessed:
7 May 2021
AA (Anadolu Agency), Pakistan's military, intelligence chiefs visit Kabul, 9 June 2020,
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/pakistans-military-intelligence-chiefs-visit-kabul/1870534, accessed 25
February 2021
AAN (Afghanistan Analysts Network), Afghan war crimes trials in the Netherlands: who are the suspects andwhat are the outcomes?, 25 March 2020, https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/rightsfreedom/afghan-war-crimes-trials-in-the-netherlands-who-are-the-suspects-and-what-have-been-theoutcomes/, accessed 25 February 2021
AAN (Afghanistan Analysts Network), Asadullah Sarwari freed from prison: what chances of war crimes trials in
Afghanistan?, 6 January 2017, https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/rights-freedom/assadullahsarwari-freed-from-prison-what-chances-of-war-crimes-trials-in-afghanistan/, accessed 25 February 2021
AAN (Afghanistan Analysts Network), Disbanding the ALP – An Update: Major transition of security forces
achieved during wartime, but at a cost, 15 April 2021, https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/warand-peace/disbanding-the-alp-an-update-major-transition-of-security-forces-achieved-during-wartime-but-ata-cost/, accessed 7 May 2021

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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

AAN (Afghanistan Analysts Network), Enemy Number One: How the Taleban deal with the ALP and uprisinggroups, 19 July 2018, https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/war-and-peace/enemy-number-onehow-the-taleban-deal-with-the-alp-and-uprising-groups/, accessed 5 April 2021
AAN (Afghanistan Analysts Network), Failings of inclusivity: the Herat uprising of March 1979, 15 March 2015,
https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/context-culture/failings-of-inclusivity-the-herat-uprising-ofmarch-1979/, accessed 7 April 2021
AAN (Afghanistan Analysts Network), Joint Declaration between the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and theUnited States of America for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan, 29 February 2020, https://www.afghanistananalysts.org/en/resources/peace-process/joint-declaration-between-the-islamic-republic-of-afghanistan-andthe-united-states-of-america-for-bringing-peace-to-afghanistan/, accessed 10 March 2021
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394

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395

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‫ن‬
Etilaatroz, ‫حقاب در پکتیکا بازداشت شدند‬‫[ مسئول ارتبایط «آیاسآی» و چهار عضو شبکهی‬informal translation: ‘Five
members of the Haqqani network were arrested in Paktika’], 11 January 2021,
https://www.etilaatroz.com/115878/five-members-of-the-haqqani-network-were-arrested-in-paktika/,
accessed 7 May 2021
‫ی‬‫ن‬
Etilaatroz, ‫سنگی این گروه‬‫امنیت غرب کشور؛ از افزایش تحرکات طالبان تا تلفات‬‫[ برریس اوضاع‬informal translation: ‘Security
assessment of the west of the country; from the increase of Taliban’s mobility to heavy losses of the group’,],30 August 2019, https://www.etilaatroz.com/82948/investigating-security-situation-in-west-of-country-fromincreased-taliban-mobility-to-heavy-casualties/ , accessed 20 March 2020
Etilaatroz, ‫[ پکتیا رک طالبانو رسه نښته رک دوه پاڅونوال وژل شوي‬informal translation: ‘Two insurgents killed in Paktya
clashes’], 12 November 2020, https://www.etilaatroz.com/ps/2020/11/12/two-insurgents-killed-in-paktiaclashes/, accessed 7 May 2021‫[ جالل اباد ښار ک مل امنیت د وسله والو طالبانو د ښاري شبک ی‬informal translation: ‘In Jalalabad, theEtilaatroz, ‫مش نیویل‬
‫ر ي‬
‫ر‬
National Directorate of Security (NDS) arrested the leader of the Taliban's urban network’], 8 December 2020,
https://www.etilaatroz.com/ps/2020/12/08/in-jalalabad-the-national-directorate-of-security-nds-arrestedthe-leader-of-the-talibans-urban-network/, accessed 7 May 2021‫ن‬‫قومانداب د پوليسو د ر ن‬
Etilaatroz, ‫ګارنېون ځانګړې قطعه جوړه شوه‬‫[ د پکتيا امنيه‬informal translation, ‘A special police‫ي‬garrison unit has been formed at the Paktia police headquarters’], 8 February 2021,
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404

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Etilaatroz, ‫ځ تر اوسه هېڅ چارواک نه و ورغل‬‫ ر‬،‫[ د پکتيکا امنيه قوماندان په لومړي ځل هغو ولسواليو ته والړ‬informal translation:‘For the first time, the Paktika police chief visited districts where no official had yet arrived’], 21 February
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Etilaatroz, ‫وژب‬‫ژب پرې او ډېر نور ښکته او ي‬‫ناپېنده وسله والو له رتېېدونکو ر‬‫ي‬translation: ‘Khost Center - Zazi Maidan Insecure Road, Unidentified gunmen arrest passers-by and killed many
more’], 16 March 2021, https://www.etilaatroz.com/ps/2021/03/16/khost-center-zazi-maidan-insecurityunidentified-gunmen-from-train-language-and-kill-more/, accessed 7 May 2021
Etilaatroz, ‫[ سه غېنظام در انفجاری در لغمان کشته شدند‬informal translation: ‘Three civilians killed in an explosion in
Laghman], 2 May 2020, https://www.etilaatroz.com/97560/three-civilians-were-killed-in-an-explosion-inlaghman/, accessed 7 May 2021
‫ طالبان بر ادامهی «افغان ی‬:‫ رسباز ارتش در لغمان؛ ارگ‬۲۱ ‫[ کشتهشدن‬informal translation: ‘Killing
Etilaatroz, ‫کش» پافشاری دارند‬
of 21 army soldiers in Laghman; Presidential palace: Taliban insist on continuing ‘killing Afghans’, 22 May
2020’], https://www.etilaatroz.com/98320/21-army-soldiers-killed-in-laghman-arg-taliban-insist-oncontinuing-afghan-killings/ , accessed 7 May 2021‫[ ’الل اباد ښار ک ی‬informal translation: ‘Unidentified gunmen
Etilaatroz, ‫ښوونځ مدیر وژیل‬‫خصوص‬‫ناپېنده وسله والو د یو‬
‫ي‬
‫ي‬
‫ر‬
kill a private school principal in Jalalabad’], 4 February 2021,
https://www.etilaatroz.com/ps/2021/02/04/unidentified-gunmen-kill-a-private-school-principal-in-jalalabad/,accessed 7 May 2021
Etilaatroz, ‫[ له کلونو بندېدو وروسته د ننګرهار پچېاګام رک د سلېمانخېلو الر پرانیستل شوه‬informal translation: ‘After years ofclosure, the Sulemankhel Road in Pachiragam, Nangarhar, was reopened’], 3 December 2020,
https://www.etilaatroz.com/ps/2020/12/03/after-years-of-closure-the-sulemankhel-road-in-pachiragamnangarhar-was-reopened/, accessed 7 May 2021
‫ی‬
Etilaatroz, ‫امنیت پېښو مخنیوي نوي تدابې یادوي‬‫چارواک ي رب المل د‬‫[ ننګرهار رک د داعش او نورو وسله والو ځپل؛‬informal‫ي‬‫ي‬translation: ‘ISIL and other militants crushed in Nangarhar Officials cite new security measures as the reason’],15 February 2021, https://www.etilaatroz.com/ps/2021/02/15/isil-and-other-militants-crushed-in-nangarharofficials-cite-new-security-measures-as-the-reason/, accessed 7 May 2021
‫ن‬
Etilaatroz, ‫وژب غوښتلو په تور ونیول شو‬‫[ ننګرهار رک یو تن د یو خېیال د ر‬informal translation: ‘A man has been arrested in
Nangarhar for trying to kill a journalist’], 4 January 2021, https://www.etilaatroz.com/ps/2021/01/04/a-manhas-been-arrested-in-nangarhar-for-trying-to-kill-a-journalist/, accessed 7 May 2021
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407

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408

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https://www.khaama.com/8-taliban-killed-300-rocket-shells-discovered-mod/, accessed 15 March 2021
Khaama Press, A Tribal Leader and Family Members Killed in Wardak, 7 June 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/a-tribal-leader-and-family-members-killed-in-wardak-9878976/, accessed 11 March
2021
Khaama Press, Abdullah reacts to deadly Taliban attack in Zabul, calling it ‘An Unforgivable Crime’ 21 March
2020, https://www.khaama.com/abdullah-reacts-to-deadly-taliban-attack-in-zabul-calling-it-an-unforgivablecrime-04536/, accessed 7 May 2021
Khaama Press, Afghan Force Kill, Wound 14 Taliban Militants; Detain 2 Others in 3 Provinces, 24 April 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/afghan-force-kill-wound-14-taliban-militants-detain-2-others-in-3-provinces04718/, accessed 8 March 2021
Khaama Press, Afghan Forces Kill the Shadow Governor of Taliban for Wardak Province, 12 April 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/afghan-forces-kill-the-shadow-governor-of-taliban-for-wardak-province-04649/,
accessed 15 March 2021
Khaama Press, Afghan Forces Kill, Wound 14 Taliban Militants in Logar Province, 27 July 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/afghan-forces-kill-wound-14-taliban-militants-in-logar-province-08989/, accessed 8
March 2021
Khaama Press, Afghan Forces Repulse Panjshir Attack, 22 September 2020, https://www.khaama.com/afghanforces-repulse-panjshir-attack-987654/, accessed 2 March 2021
Khaama Press, Afghan Forces Repulse Taliban Attack in Wardak Province: 203rd Thunder Corps, 6 May 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/afghan-forces-repulse-taliban-attack-in-wardak-province-203rd-thunder-corps07781/, accessed 11 March 2021
Khaama Press, Afghan Military Operations Kill 8 Taliban Militants, 17 January 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/afghan-military-operations-kill-8-taliban-militants-9798636/, accessed 5 March
2021
Khaama Press, Afghan Special Forces arrest top ISIS leader in Kunduz province, 7 July 2019,https://www.khaama.com/afghan-special-forces-arrest-top-isis-leader-in-kunduz-province-03850/, accessed 5
April 2021
Khaama Press, Airstrikes, Special Forces raid kill 6 ISIS militants in East of Afghanistan, 18 February 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/airstrikes-special-forces-raid-kill-6-isis-militants-in-east-of-afghanistan-04462/,
accessed 7 May 2021
Khaama Press, ANP Special Operations Claim 3 IS-K Militants in Nangarhar, 13 January 2021,
https://www.khaama.com/anp-special-operation-claims-3-is-k-militants-in-nangarhar-554455/, accessed 7
May 2021
Khaama Press, Around 100 Taliban militants killed, 88 arrested in Special Forces raids in Baghlan: Sources, 25
October 2019, https://www.khaama.com/around-100-taliban-militants-killed-88-arrested-in-special-forcesraids-in-baghlan-sources-04271/, accessed 5 April 2021

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Khaama Press, Back to Back Explosions Rock Kabul City, 12 April 2020, https://www.khaama.com/back-toback-explosions-rocks-kabul-city-04647/, accessed 29 March 2021
Khaama Press, Balkh Suicide Bombing Claims 1, Injures 8, 19 September 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/balkh-suicide-bombing-claims-1-injures-8/, accessed 11 March 2021
Khaama Press, Balkh: Local Police Commander Killed, 26 November 2020, https://www.khaama.com/balkhlocal-police-commander-killed-879879/, accessed 12 March 2021
Khaama Press, Blast Rocks Wedding in Khost, Kills 4, 11 September 2020, https://www.khaama.com/blastrocks-wedding-in-khost-kills-4-343456/, accessed 7 May 2021
Khaama Press, BREAKING: Government storms a warlord’s home with Helicopter gunships in northern Balkhprovince as he refuses to surrender to security forces, 15 December 2019,https://www.khaama.com/breaking-government-storms-qaisaris-home-with-helicopter-gunships-as-herefuses-to-surrender-to-security-forces-181819/, accessed 27 April 2021
Khaama Press, Children, women among 12 killed, wounded in Taliban IED attack in Zabul 19 May 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/children-women-among-12-killed-wounded-in-taliban-ied-attack-in-zabul-08848/,
accessed 7 May 2021
Khaama Press, Command Joint Forces Established to Root Out Terror Cells, Criminal Gangs in Kabul, 4 June
2020, https://www.khaama.com/command-of-joint-forces-established-to-root-out-terror-cells-criminal-gangsin-kabul-08891/, accessed 31 March 2021
Khaama Press, District Police Chief Killed in Kapisa Province, 17 November 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/district-police-chief-killed-in-kapisa-province-887698/, accessed 22 February 2021
Khaama Press, Explosion close to a prison leaves 3 dead in Laghman province of Afghanistan, 2 May 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/explosion-close-to-a-prison-leaves-3-dead-in-laghman-province-of-afghanistan04757/, accessed 7 May 2021
Khaama Press, Explosion in Kabul City Leaves at least 3 Dead, Wounded, 28 July 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/explosion-in-kabul-city-leaves-at-least-3-dead-wounded-08992/, accessed 29
March 2021
Khaama Press, Explosion Leaves 4 Dead, Wounded in Kabul, 4 June 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/explosion-leaves-4-dead-wounded-in-kabul-08892/, accessed 18 March 2021
Khaama Press, Faryab Airstrike Wrecks Taliban Camp, 31 August 2020, https://www.khaama.com/faryabairstrike-wrecks-taliban-camp-35634/, accessed 12 March 2021
Khaama Press, Faryab Vehicle Blast Causes Material Damage, 17 November 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/faryab-vehicle-blast-causes-material-damage-876876/, accessed 12 March 2021
Khaama Press, Former Kabul Police Chief Injured by Unknown Gunmen, 2 February 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/former-kabul-police-chief-injured-by-unknown-gunmen-87896/, accessed 25
March 2021
Khaama Press, Four key Taliban group leaders ambushed in Laghman province, 1 October 2018,https://www.khaama.com/four-key-taliban-group-leaders-ambushed-in-laghman-province-06069/, accessed 7
May 2021
Khaama Press, Gang Leader Killed During a Clash with the Police Forces in Kabul, 18 May 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/gang-leader-killed-during-a-clash-with-the-police-forces-in-kabul-08840/, accessed
18 March 2021
Khaama Press, Gov’t Prosecutor Murdered in Kabul, 6 December 2020, https://www.khaama.com/govtprosecutor-assassinated-in-kabul-987987/, accessed 26 March 2021
Khaama Press, ICRC Employee Kidnapped in Maidan Wardak Following Abduction of 28 Locals, 29 November
2020, https://www.khaama.com/icrc-employee-kidnapped-in-maidan-wardak-following-missing-of-28individuals-098098/, accessed 11 March 2021

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Khaama Press, IED claims one death in northern Balkh province, 4 January 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/ied-claims-one-death-in-the-northern-balkh-province-said-a-local-official-32145/,
accessed 15 March 2021
Khaama Press, Interior minister reacts to as former chief of Farah joins Taliban, 10 May 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/interior-ministry-reacts-as-former-police-chief-of-farah-joins-taliban-07796/,
accessed 15 March 2021
Khaama Press, Kabul Magnetic Bombs Rattle the City, 22 August 2020, https://www.khaama.com/kabulmagnetic-bombs-rattle-the-city-9878976/, accessed 29 March 2021
Khaama Press, Kabul Police Kill Taliban Militant, Arrest 4 Others During an Operation, 21 July 2021,
https://www.khaama.com/kabul-police-kill-taliban-militant-arrest-4-others-during-an-operation-08972/,
accessed 19 March 2021
Khaama Press, Key Taliban Commander Killed in Kabul, 23 September 2020, https://www.khaama.com/keytaliban-commander-killed-in-kabul-098567/, accessed 18 March 2021
Khaama Press, Key Taliban Member Arrested in a Joint Military Operation in Kabul, 23 August 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/key-taliban-member-arrested-in-a-joint-military-operation-in-kabul-978977/,
accessed 22 March 2021
Khaama Press, Key Taliban Red Unit Group Member Killed in Wardak Clash, 16 June 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/key-taliban-red-unit-group-member-killed-in-wardak-clash-08902/, accessed 11
March 2021
Khaama Press, KP Reporter Traumatized after Being Robbed at Gunpoint close to Kabul Police Station, 24
March 2020, https://www.khaama.com/kp-reporter-traumatized-after-being-robbed-at-gunpoint-close-tokabul-police-station-04553/, accessed 31 March 2021
Khaama Press, Laghman Governor Survived an Attempted Suicide Attack, 5 October 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/laghman-governor-survived-an-attempted-suicide-attack-987876/, accessed 7 May
2021
Khaama Press, Local Prosecutor Shot Dead in Kabul, 13 December 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/prosecutor-assassinated-in-unknown-gunmen-shootout-68688/, accessed 26
March 2021
Khaama Press, Maidan Wardak: Key Taliban Commander Killed in a ‘Joint Security’ Operation, 10 October
2020, https://www.khaama.com/maidan-wardak-key-taliban-commander-killed-in-a-joint-security-operation986766/, accessed 15 March 2021
Khaama Press, Marshal Dostum Takes The Lead in Faryab Battle, 18 November 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/marshal-dostum-takes-the-lead-in-faryab-battle-878979/, accessed 12 March 2021
Khaama Press, Media staff killed in Afghanistan’s southern province Helmand, 2 January 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/media-staff-killed-in-helmand-of-afghanistan-nai-wants-gov-to-pay-seriousattention-investigating-the-assassination-78965/, accessed 15 March 2021
Khaama Press, Member of Afghanistan’s Peace Negotiating Team Injured in Militants Ambush, 15 August 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/member-of-afghanistans-peace-negotiating-team-injured-in-armed-militantsambush-979876/, accessed 18 March 2021
Khaama Press, Militants suffer heavy casualties in ANDSF operations in Kandahar and Zabul, 7 February 2019,https://www.khaama.com/militants-suffer-heavy-casualties-in-andsf-operations-in-kandahar-and-zabul03256/, accessed 7 May 2021
Khaama Press, Mini Truck Packed with Explosives Goes Off Close to Bagram Airfield, 22 March 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/mini-truck-packed-with-explosives-goes-off-close-to-bagram-airfield-04543/,
accessed 26 February 2021
Khaama Press, MoD rejects the fall of Almar district to Taliban: Faryab, 11 March 2021,
https://www.khaama.com/mod-rejects-the-fall-of-almar-district-to-taliban-faryab-535366/, accessed 25
March 2021

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Khaama Press, MoI Fires 14 Security Officials in Balkh, 13 September 2020, https://www.khaama.com/moifires-14-security-officials-in-balkh-34534/, accessed 12 March 2021
Khaama Press, Mortar Attack Claims 4, Hurts 10 in Faryab, 22 October 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/mortar-attack-claims-4-hurts-10-in-faryab-445456/, accessed 11 March 2021
Khaama Press, Mullah Shot Dead in Morning Prayer Hours, 15 October 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/mullah-shot-dead-in-morning-prayer-hours-34333/, accessed 22 February 2021
Khaama Press, NDS Forces Arrest 9 ISIS Sympathisers from a Landmark Mall in Kabul City, 12 February 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/nds-forces-arrest-9-isis-sympathizers-from-a-landmark-mall-in-kabul-city-04447/,
accessed 31 March 2021
Khaama Press, Pak-Army shellings on Kunar draw Karzai’s ire, 3 February 2021,
https://www.khaama.com/pakistan-shelling-on-kunar-draw-karzais-ire-445544/, accessed 7 May 2021
Khaama Press, Paktia Police Chief Resigns over Corruption, Negligence, 21 December 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/police-chief-for-paktia-province-resigns-over-corruption-negligence-334433/,
accessed 7 May 2021
Khaama Press, PD8 Of Faizabad City Falls Under Taliban Influence, 18 October 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/badakhshan-pd8-of-faizabad-city-falls-under-the-taliban-influence-8776554/,
accessed 4 May 2021
Khaama Press, Police Busted Two over Target Killings and Assassinations: Kabul, 28 November 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/police-busted-two-over-target-killings-and-assassinations-kabul-9808098/,
accessed 22 March 2021
Khaama Press, Police killed in A Clash with Public Uprising Forces, Faryab Province, 27 December 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/police-killed-in-a-clash-with-public-uprising-forces-faryab-province-555544/,
accessed 12 March 2021
Khaama Press, Prominent Haqqani Network commander arrested in Jalalabad city, 7 March 2019,https://www.khaama.com/prominent-haqqani-network-commander-arrested-in-jalalabad-city-03438/,
accessed 7 May 2021
Khaama Press, Prominent Taliban leader killed in Herat drone strike, 17 December 2018,https://www.khaama.com/prominent-taliban-leader-killed-in-herat-drone-strike-02944/, accessed 11 March
2021
Khaama Press, Prominent Taliban Leader Killed in Wardak Province, 5 April 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/prominent-taliban-leader-killed-in-wardak-province-04613/, accessed 15 March
2021
Khaama Press, Renowned Journalist Killed in a ‘Magnetic IED’ Blast: Kabul, 7 November 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/renowned-journalist-killed-in-a-magnetic-ied-blast-kabul-987978/, accessed 29
March 2021
Khaama Press, Salang Road Side Bomb Claims 3, Injures One, 17 October 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/salang-road-side-bomb-claims-3-injures-one-686876/, accessed 26 February 2021
Khaama Press, Saleh Warns Panjshir Officials over Forces Failed Attempt in the Arrest of Keramuddin Karim, 24
August 2020, https://www.khaama.com/saleh-warns-panjshir-officials-over-forces-failed-attempt-in-thearrest-of-keramuddin-karim-979876/, accessed 3 March 2021
Khaama Press, Second Explosion Close to Electricity Pylon in Kabul leaves 4 Wounded, 4 May 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/second-explosion-close-to-electricity-pylon-in-kabul-leaves-4-wounded-04771/,
accessed 29 March 2021
Khaama Press, Security Convoy Trapped in Taliban Ambush, 14 December 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/security-convoy-trapped-in-taliban-ambush-687688/, accessed 12 March 2021
Khaama Press, Security Officials Seize Ammunition, Nab 4 in Logar Operation, 1 November 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/security-officials-seize-ammunition-nab-4-in-logar-operation-34534/, accessed 8
March 2021

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Khaama Press, Special Forces, Free 22 Prisoners in a ‘Rescue Operation’, 26 January 2021,
https://www.khaama.com/special-forces-free-22-prisoners-in-a-rescue-operation-556655/, accessed 9 March
2021
Khaama Press, Suicide Bomber Targets Funeral Ceremony in Paghman, Killing 1, 21 December 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/suicide-attack-claims-1-in-paghman-religious-ritual-attack-kabul-87979/, accessed
18 March 2021
Khaama Press, Suicide Car Bomb Attack Hits Afghan Forces’ Check Post in Wardak, 9 July 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/suicide-car-bomb-attack-hits-afghan-forces-check-post-in-wardak-08947/,
accessed 12 March 2021
Khaama Press, Taliban ‘Battered’ across Afghanistan, ‘IEDs Defused’, 10 January 2021,
https://www.khaama.com/taliban-battered-across-afghanistan-ieds-defused/, accessed 11 March 2021
Khaama Press, Taliban Ambushes District Governor’s Residence, 15 September 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/taliban-ambushes-district-governors-residence-098765/, accessed 5 March 2021
Khaama Press, Taliban appoints first Shia Hazara as shadow district chief of the group, 28 April 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/taliban-appoints-first-shia-hazara-as-shadow-district-chief-of-the-group-04734/,
accessed 12 March 2021
Khaama Press, Taliban attacks repulsed in Faryab, at least 11 militants killed, wounded: Shaheen Corps, 5August 2020, https://www.khaama.com/taliban-attacks-repulsed-in-faryab-at-least-11-militants-killedwounded-shaheen-corps-09002/, accessed 12 March 2021
Khaama Press, Taliban Commander Busted in Kabul, 14 December 2020, https://www.khaama.com/talibancommander-busted-in-kabul-23432/, accessed 19 March 2021
Khaama Press, Taliban Commander Loses Both Legs in Premature Mortar Round Explosion in Kabul, 4 May
2020, https://www.khaama.com/taliban-commander-loses-both-legs-in-premature-mortar-round-explosionin-kabul-04773/, accessed 22 March 2021
Khaama Press, Taliban Damages Khandahar-Uruzgan Highway: MoD, 1 October 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/taliban-damages-kandahar-uruzgan-highway-mod-87655/, accessed 10 March
2021
Khaama Press, Taliban Destroys 600 Meters of Ghazni Highway, 9 November 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/taliban-destroys-600-meters-of-asphalt-on-ghazni-highway-987897/, accessed 10
March 2021
Khaama Press, Taliban Kill 3 Children in Daykundi, 31 August 2020, https://www.khaama.com/taliban-kills-3children-in-daykundi-3453/, accessed 10 March 2021
Khaama Press, Taliban Militants Kill 1 Civilian, Wound 3 Others in Kapisa Province, 20 April 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/taliban-militants-kill-1-civilian-wound-3-others-in-kapisa-province-04697/,
accessed 22 February 2021
Khaama Press, Taliban militants open fire on youths who were playing cricket, 15 April 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/taliban-militants-open-fire-on-youths-who-were-playing-cricket-04664/, accessed
15 March 2021
Khaama Press, Taliban militants suffer heavy casualties in Jawzjan province, 30 June 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/taliban-militants-suffer-heavy-casualties-in-jawzjan-province-08931/, accessed 5
March 2021
Khaama Press, Taliban militants suffer heavy casualties in preemptive airstrikes in Samangan, 30 April 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/taliban-militants-suffer-heavy-casualties-in-preemptive-airstrikes-in-samangan04746/, accessed 12 March 2021
Khaama Press, Taliban Offensive Claims 4 ANP in Logar Province, 10 November 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/taliban-offensive-claims-4-anp-in-logar-province-987987/, accessed 8 March 2021
Khaama Press, Taliban Suffer Heavy Loss in MoD Operations, 23 December 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/taliban-suffer-heavy-loss-in-mod-operations-55667744/, accessed 7 May 2021

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Khaama Press, Taliban takes over Darzab district of northern Jawzjan province, 31 December 2019,https://www.khaama.com/taliban-takes-over-darzab-district-of-jawzjan-90876/, accessed 12 March 2021
Khaama Press, Taliban’s ambush in Takhar kills 20 members of public uprising forces, 29 December 2019,https://www.khaama.com/taliban-ambush-in-takhar-kills-20-members-of-public-uprising-forces-8897/,
accessed 5 April 2021
Khaama Press, Taliban’s Claims Regarding the Deadly Mosque Attack in Parwan Province, 19 May 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/talibans-claims-regarding-the-deadly-mosque-attack-in-parwan-province-08847/,
accessed 26 February 2021
Khaama Press, Taliban’s Deputy Shadow Governor among 7 Killed in Wardak Province, 28 July 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/talibans-deputy-shadow-governor-among-7-killed-in-wardak-province-08990/,
accessed 12 March 2021
Khaama Press, Taliban's deputy military chief surrenders in Baghlan province, 12 August 2017,https://www.khaama.com/talibans-deputy-military-chief-surrenders-in-baghlan-province-03339/, accessed 5
April 2021
Khaama Press, Three Civilians Including A Child, Found Dead: Herat, 19 December 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/three-civilians-including-a-child-found-dead-herat-678886/, accessed 10 March
2021
Khaama Press, Top Member of ‘Taliban’s Quetta Shura’ Killed in NDSF Ambush, 15 October 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/paktika-top-member-of-talibans-quetta-shura-killed-in-a-ndsf-ambush-8786544/,
accessed 7 May 2021
Khaama Press, Traditional Dambora Musical Festival Organized in Bamyan Province, 30 June 2018,https://www.khaama.com/traditional-dambora-musical-festival-organized-in-bamyan-province-05461/,
accessed 7 May 2021
Khaama Press, Tribal Chief Killed in a Magnetic Bomb Blast, 5 October 2020, https://www.khaama.com/tribalchief-killed-in-a-magnetic-bomb-blast-987678/, accessed 7 May 2021
Khaama Press, Two Separate Attacks Claim Civil Society Activist, Tribal Leader, 1 January 2021,
https://www.khaama.com/two-separate-attacks-claim-civil-society-activist-tribal-leader-334433/, accessed 26
March 2021
Khaama Press, U.S. airstrike kills 7 ISIS militants in Kunar province of Afghanistan, 5 March 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/u-s-airstrike-kills-7-isis-militants-in-kunar-province-of-afghanistan-04474/ ,accessed 7 May 2021
Khaama Press, Unknown Gunmen Kills Governor Driver in Balkh, 5 October 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/unknown-gunmen-kills-driver-to-balkhs-governor-998545/, accessed 12 March
2021
Khaama Press, Video: Airstrike destroys key Taliban compound in Balkh province, 6 April 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/video-airstrike-destroys-key-taliban-compound-in-balkh-province-04615/, accessed
12 March 2021
Khamaa Press, Ghor Council Deputy Killed in IED Blast, 15 December 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/provincial-council-deputy-killed-in-ied-blast-ghor-6877778/, accessed 12 March
2021
Khamaa Press, Over 100 Taliban militants during a 16-day operation in Ghazni province, 11 May 2020,
https://www.khaama.com/over-100-taliban-militants-during-a-16-day-operation-in-ghazni-province-07799/,
accessed 7 May 2021
Khan P. and Ruttig, T., The 2018 Election Observed (1) in Zurmat, Paktia: Real voting only in the district centre,
AAN, 29 October 2018, https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/political-landscape/election-days-inzurmat-paktia-real-voting-only-in-the-district-centre/, accessed 7 May 2021
Kohistani, Ghazni Province, 2016, https://www.kohistani.com/afghanistan/provinces/ghazni/, accessed 7 May
2021

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Kohistani, Kandahar profile, 2016, https://www.kohistani.com/afghanistan/provinces/kandahar/, accessed 7
May 2021
Kohistani, Urozgan Province, 2016, https://www.kohistani.com/afghanistan/provinces/urozgan/, accessed 7
May 2021
KUNA, Taliban attacks kill 12 Security men in N. Afghanistan, 15 January 2021,
https://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2952782&language=en, accessed 5 April 2021
L’Express, Afghanistan: les Hazaras craignent le pire avec le départ des Américains , 28 January 2021,
https://www.lexpress.fr/actualites/1/monde/afghanistan-les-hazaras-craignent-le-pire-avec-le-depart-desamericains_2143687.html, accessed 7 May 2021
Larsson, K., A Provincial Survey of Balkh, Jowzjan, Samangan and Saripul, SIDA (Swedish International
Development Cooperation Agency), November 2008,
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February 2021
Latifi, A. M., Ehsan, E., Surviving Kunduz: Crime and violence swamp neglected Afghan city once hailed asmodel of governance, The New Arab, 2 August 2019, https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/indepth/2019/8/2/surviving-kunduz-crime-and-violence-swamp-neglected-afghan-city, accessed 10
March 2021
LCA (Logistics Capacity Assessment), Afghanistan Mazar-i-Sharif (Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi)
International Airport, September 2017, https://dlca.logcluster.org/pages/releaseview.action?pageId=4228515,
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LCA (Logistics Capacity Assessment), Afghanistan Road Network, 4 July 2018,https://dlca.logcluster.org/display/public/DLCA/2.3+Afghanistan+Road+Network, accessed 7 May 2021
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0C982403CE7FA7365F#id-2.3AfghanistanRoadNetwork-WesternRegion, accessed 5 April 2021
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0C982403CE7FA7365F, accessed 7 May 2021
Le Figaro, Afghanistan: à Taranak, l’alliance secrète des talibans et de l’armée contre l’État islamique [informaltranslation: ‘In Taranak, the Taliban and the army's secret alliance against the Islamic State’], 30 January 2020,
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2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 18 Taliban killed, 15 injured in Baghlan offensive, 29 October 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/en/2020/10/29/18-taliban-killed-15-injured-baghlan-offensive, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 bases fall 32 security personnel go missing, 28 March 2020,
https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2020/03/28/2-bases-fall-32-security-personnel-go-missing, accessed 5 April
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Chechen Fighters Killed in Logar Firefight: MoD, 21 December 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/12/21/2-chechen-fighters-killed-in-logar-firefight-mod/, accessed 9 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 children killed, 8 civilians wounded in Balkh blasts, 14 January 2020,
http://old.pajhwok.com/2020/01/14/2-children-killed-8-civilians-wounded-balkh-blasts/, accessed 30 March
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Children Killed, 8 Injured in Logar Mortar Shell Blast, 10 March 2020,
https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2020/03/10/2-children-killed-8-injured-logar-mortar-shell-blast, accessed 5
March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Civilians Killed as Bomb Explosion Rocks Kabul, 11 June 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/06/11/2-civilians-killed-bomb-explosion-rocks-kabul/, accessed 29 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 civilians, policeman gunned down in Balkh, 17 December 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/12/17/2-civilians-policeman-gunned-down-in-balkh/, accessed 30 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Doctors Abducted from Parwan Clinic, 29 December 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/12/29/2-doctors-abducted-from-parwan-clinic/, accessed 26 February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 injured as gunmen loyal to MPs clash in Balkh, 28 January 2018,https://old.pajhwok.com/2018/01/28/2-injured-gunmen-loyal-mps-clash-balkh/, accessed 30 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 injured in Gardez suicide bombing, 23 March 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/03/23/2-injured-gardez-suicide-bombing/, accessed 7 May 2021

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Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Intelligence Agents Killed, 4 Wounded in Parwan Blast, 8 February 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/02/08/2-intelligence-agents-killed-4-wounded-in-parwan-blast/, accessed 26
February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Intelligence Officials Gunned Down in Logar, 18 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/18/2-intelligence-officials-gunned-down-in-logar/, accessed 8 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Key Taliban Figures Arrested in Kabul’s Qarah Bagh, 26 June 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/en/2020/06/26/2-key-taliban-figures-arrested-kabul%E2%80%99s-qarahbagh#:~:text=Khwaja%20Mohammad%20Hanif%20Seddiqi%20told,held%20influence%20in%20the%20insurge
ncy, accessed 18 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Killed, 8 Injured in Kapisa Mortar Attack, 19 July 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/07/19/2-killed-8-injured-kapisa-mortar-attack/, accessed 22 February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Killed, as Many Wounded in Kabul Explosion, 13 December 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/12/13/2-killed-as-many-injured-in-kabul-blast/, accessed 29 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Media Workers Killed, Several Injured in Kabul Blast, 30 May 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/05/30/2-media-workers-killed-several-injured-kabul-blast/, accessed 29 March
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 NDS Agents Killed by Illegal Gunman in Kapisa, 21 June 2020,
https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2020/06/21/2-nds-agents-killed-illegal-gunman-kapisa, accessed 22 February
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 policemen killed in Jalalabad, doctor wounded in Khost, 16 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/16/2-policemen-killed-in-jalalabad-doctor-wounded-in-khost/, accessed 7 May
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Policemen Killed, As Many Wounded in Kapisa, 3 October 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/10/03/2-policemen-killed-many-wounded-kapisa/, accessed 22 February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Policewomen Injured in Kapisa Gun Attack, 22 November 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/11/22/2-policewomen-injured-in-kapisa-gun-attack/, accessed 22 February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Security Forces Killed, 5 Injured in Kapisa Clash, 22 June 2020,
https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2020/06/22/2-security-forces-killed-5-injured-kapisa-clash, accessed 19
February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Security Personnel Injured in Kabul Explosion, 3 November 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/11/03/2-security-personnel-injured-kabul-explosion/, accessed 29 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Women among 14 Taliban Killed in Kapisa, 21 February 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/02/21/2-women-among-14-taliban-killed-kapisa/, accessed 23 February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 women killed as mortar shell hits civilian house, 18 October 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/en/2020/10/18/2-women-killed-mortar-shell-hits-civilian-house, accessed 7 May
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2 Wounded in Kabul Magnetic Bomb Explosion, 4 July 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/07/04/2-wounded-kabul-magnetic-bomb-explosion/, accessed 29 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 20 militants killed in Logar, Paktia violence, 12 August 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/08/12/20-militants-killed-logar-paktia-violence/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 20 Taliban including shadow governor killed in Laghman airstrike, 27 December 2019,https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2019/12/27/%E2%80%9820-taliban-including-shadow-governor-killedlaghman-airstrike%E2%80%99, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 2017 Causalities: Nearly 25,000 People Killed, Wounded in Afghanistan, 14 January
2018, https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2018/01/14/2017-causalities-nearly-25000-people-killed-woundedafghanistan, accessed 7 May 2021

437

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Pajhwok Afghan News, 23 Taliban Killed in Maidan Wardak, Logar Clashes, 1 May 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/05/01/23-taliban-killed-maidan-wardak-logar-clashes/, accessed 11 March
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 26 insurgents killed in Balkh, Badakhshan, 7 November 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/11/07/26-insurgents-killed-balkh-badakhshan/, accessed 25 February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 26 Taliban killed in Ghazni, Paktika violence, 14 June 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/06/14/26-taliban-killed-ghazni-paktika-violence/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 27 Taliban killed in Badakhshan airstrikes: MoD, 11 April 2020,
https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2020/04/11/27-taliban-killed-badakhshan-airstrikes-mod, accessed 5 April
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 3 ANA Soldiers Killed in Kapesa Attack, 14 August 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/08/14/3-ana-soldiers-killed-kapesa-attack/, accessed 22 February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 3 Including a Hindu Killed in Kabul Explosions, 6 February 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/02/06/sikhs-among-6-wounded-in-kabul-explosion/, accessed 29 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 3 individuals gunned down in Jawzjan, 11 November 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/11/11/3-individuals-gunned-down-jawzjan/, accessed 25 February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 3 key Al-Qaeda members arrested in Nimroz, 6 December 2020 w:
https://pajhwok.com/2020/12/06/3-key-al-qaeda-members-arrested-in-nimroz/ , accessed: 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 3 police killed in Aibak gun attack, 17 July 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/07/17/3-police-killed-aibak-gun-attack/, accessed 25 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 3 Policemen Killed in Parwan Roadside Bombing, 17 October 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/10/17/3-policemen-killed-parwan-roadside-bombing/, accessed 26 February
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 3 policemen killed, 8 wounded in Jawzjan firefight, 28 January 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/en/2020/01/28/3-policemen-killed-8-wounded-jawzjan-firefight, accessed 22
February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 3 Taliban killed, 3 security men wounded in Nimroz clash, 21 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/21/3-taliban-killed-3-security-men-wounded-in-nimroz-clash/, accessed: 7 May
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 3 Taliban militants killed in Samangan operation, 29 August 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/08/29/3-taliban-militants-killed-samangan-operation/, accessed 25 February
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 3 uprising members killed in Jawzjan clashes, 3 March 2020,
http://old.pajhwok.com/2020/03/03/3-uprising-members-killed-jawzjan-clashes/, accessed 30 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 4 ANA soldiers, 6 Taliban killed in Faryab, 24 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/24/in-faryab-18-people-were-killed-and-wounded/, accessed 30 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 4 civilians killed in Nangarhar blast, 13 December 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/12/13/4-civilians-killed-in-nangarhar-blast/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 4 Injured as Magnetic Bomb Blast Rocks Kabul, 30 March 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/03/30/4-injured-magnetic-bomb-blast-rocks-kabul/, accessed 29 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 4 Injured as Magnetic Bomb Blast Rocks Kabul, 30 March 2020, 4 injured as magnetic
bomb blast rocks in Kabul, https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/03/30/4-injured-magnetic-bomb-blast-rocks-kabul/,
accessed 29 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 4 Injured in Kabul Magnetic Bomb Explosion, 11 July 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/07/11/4-injured-kabul-magnetic-bomb-explosion/, accessed 29 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 4 Injured in Parwan Sticky Bomb Blast, 12 February 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/02/12/4-injured-in-parwan-sticky-bomb-blast/, accessed 26 February 2021

438

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Pajhwok Afghan News, 4 of a family killed, 6 wounded in Faryab blitz, 19 August 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/08/19/4-family-killed-6-wounded-faryab-blitz/, accessed 30 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 4 Police Killed, 8 Injured in Daikundi Clash, 29 March 2020,
https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2020/03/29/4-police-killed-8-injured-daikundi-clash, accessed 29 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 4 security personnel killed in Faryab bombing, 10 November 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/11/10/4-security-personnel-killed-faryab-bombing/, accessed 30 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 45 suspects captured in connection with criminal offenses in Balkh, 13 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/13/45-suspects-captured-in-connection-with-criminal-offenses-in-balkh/,
accessed 5 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 45 Taliban killed, 75 injured in Faryab airstrikes, 4 September 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/09/04/45-taliban-killed-75-injured-faryab-airstrikes/, accessed 30 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 5 Haqqani network members arrested in Paktika, 11 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/11/nds-detains-five-haqqani-network-members-in-paktika/, accessed 7 May
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 5 Insurgent Killed in Kapisa Airstrike, Says MoD, 28 October 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/10/28/5-insurgent-killed-kapisa-airstrike-says-mod/, accessed 23 February
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 5 killed, 34 injured in Gardez truck bombing, 14 May
2020, https://pajhwok.com/2020/05/14/5-killed-34-injured-gardez-truck-bombing/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 5 killed, 6 wounded in Jawzjan firefight, 26 December 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/12/26/5-killed-6-wounded-in-jawzjan-firefight/, accessed 25 February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 5 Killed, Top Kapisa Cleric among 9 Injured in Blast, 3 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/03/5-killed-top-kapisa-cleric-among-9-injured-in-blast/, accessed 22 February
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 5 people killed in Uruzgan blasts, 1 August 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/en/2020/08/01/5-people-killed-urzgan-blasts, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 5 Taliban Killed, 25 Detained in Kabul Operations, 17 August 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/08/17/5-taliban-killed-25-detained-kabul-operations/, accessed 19 March
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 50-bed hospital completes in Nangarhar’s Rodat district, 30 December 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/12/30/50-bed-hospital-completes-in-nangarhars-rodat-district/, accessed 10
March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 6 Badakhshan districts may fall to Taliban: Senators, 22 November 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/11/22/6-badakhshan-districts-may-fall-to-taliban-senators/, accessed 5 April 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 6 Govt Forces Killed in Logar Attack, 17 July 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/07/17/6-govt-forces-killed-logar-attack/, accessed 8 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 6 Haqqani Network members detained in Paktika, 31 December 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/12/31/6-haqqani-network-members-detained-in-paktika/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 6 months on, Ghazni-Paktika highway remains closed, 13 December 2018,https://pajhwok.com/2018/12/13/6-months-ghazni-paktika-highway-remains-closed/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 6 of a family massacred in Paktika, 8 July 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/07/08/6-family-massacred-paktika/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 6 of a family shot dead in Faryab; Taliban deny involvement, 19 January 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/01/19/6-family-shot-dead-faryab-taliban-deny-involvement/, accessed 30
March 2021

439

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Pajhwok Afghan News, 6 soldiers, as many Taliban killed in Laghman firefight, 11 May 2020,
https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2020/05/11/6-soldiers-many-taliban-killed-laghmanfirefight?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 6-Member Taliban Group Detained in Parwan, 2 November 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/11/02/6-member-taliban-group-detained-parwan/, accessed 1 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 7 die in clash over land dispute in Paktia, 30 June 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/06/30/7-die-clash-over-land-dispute-paktia/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 7 of a family killed in Balkh airstrike, residents claim, 26 January 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/en/2020/01/26/7-family-killed-balkh-airstrike-residents-claim, accessed 30 March
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 7 people wounded in Tirinkot blast, 19 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/19/uruzgan-blast-injures-seven/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 7 Security Personnel, 3 Militants Killed in Kapisa Clash, 21 March 2020,
https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2020/03/21/7-security-personnel-3-militants-killed-kapisa-clash, accessed 22
February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 7 Taliban killed, 11 injured in Jawzjan clashes, 19 August 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/08/19/7-taliban-killed-11-injured-jawzjan-clashes/, accessed 26 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 7 Terror Suspects among 15 Held in Parwan, 30 December 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/12/30/7-terror-suspects-among-15-held-in-parwan/, accessed 26 February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 8 highway police personnel killed in Balkh assault, 1 January 2020,
http://old.pajhwok.com/2020/01/01/8-highway-police-personnel-killed-balkh-assault/, accessed 30 March
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 8 of a family injured in Baghlan mortar strike, 21 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/20/eight-people-were-injured-when-a-mortar-shell-hit-a-house-in-baghlan/,accessed 5 April 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 9 ANA personnel wounded in Balkh clash, 24 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/24/9-ana-personnel-wounded-in-balkh-clash/, accessed 25 February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, 90pc of Faryab areas under Taliban’s control, 19 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/19/90pc-of-faryab-areas-under-talibans-control/, accessed 12 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, AAF Airstrike Hits Undetonated Car Bomb in Maidan Wardak, 11 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/11/aaf-airstrike-hits-undetonated-car-bomb-in-maidan-wardak/, accessed 11
March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Afghan forces arrest ISIS leader for South and Far East Asia, 2 senior ISIS leaders, 11
May 2020, https://www.khaama.com/afghan-forces-arrest-isis-leader-for-south-and-far-east-asia-2-seniorisis-leaders-07803/, accessed 15 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Af-Pak trade via Ghulam Khan route set to resume, 5 March 2018,https://pajhwok.com/2018/03/05/af-pak-trade-ghulam-khan-route-set-resume/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, After 11 years, road to Hesarak reopens, 26 March 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/03/26/after-11-years-road-to-hesarak-reopens/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, AIC Official’s Driver Killed in Kabul Explosion, 4 October 2020,
https://web.archive.org/web/20201113152234/https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2020/10/04/aicofficial%E2%80%99s-driver-killed-kabul-explosion, accessed 29 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Airstrikes Kill 13 Daesh Rebels in Kapisa, Kunar, 21 February 2020,
https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2020/02/21/airstrikes-kill-13-daesh-rebels-kapisa-kunar, accessed 19 February
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Alipour’s Men Abduct, Beat Policemen in Maidan Wardak, 6 September 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/09/06/alipours-men-abduct-beat-policemen-maidan-wardak/, accessed 12 March
2021

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Pajhwok Afghan News, Al-Qaeda member, Taliban commander killed in Paktika raid: NDS, 30 March 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/03/30/al-qaeda-member-taliban-commander-killed-in-paktia-raid-nds/, accessed 7
May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, ANA Base in Wardak Comes under Bomb Attack, 15 October 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/10/15/ana-base-wardak-comes-under-bomb-attack/, accessed 12 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Around 58,000 Sar-i-Pul children to miss polio drops, 27 January 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/01/27/around-58000-sar-i-pul-children-miss-polio-drops/, accessed 30 March
2020
Pajhwok Afghan News, Atmar’s Secretary Shot Injured in Kabul, 15 May 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/05/15/atmars-secretary-shot-injured-kabul/, accessed 25 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Background profile Faryab province, n.d.,
http://www.elections.pajhwok.com/en/content/background-profile-faryab-province, accessed 26 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Background profile of Badakhshan province, n.d.,
http://elections.pajhwok.com/en/content/background-profile-badakhshan-province, accessed 5 April 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Background Profile of Balkh, n.d.,
https://elections.pajhwok.com/en/content/background-profile-balkh, accessed 26 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Background Profile of Farah, n.d.,
http://elections.pajhwok.com/en/content/background-profile-farah, accessed 26 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Background profile of Herat province, n.d.,
https://elections.pajhwok.com/en/content/background-profile-herat-province-1, accessed 26 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Background profile of Laghman province, n.d.,
http://elections.pajhwok.com/en/content/background-profile-laghman-province, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Background profile of Nimroz, n.d.,
http://elections.pajhwok.com/en/content/background-profile-nimroz, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Background Profile of Nuristan, n.d.,
http://elections.pajhwok.com/en/content/background-profile-nuristan, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Background Profile of Paktika, n.d., http://elections.pajhwok.com/en/content/background-profile-paktika, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Background profile of Takhar province, n.d.,
http://elections.pajhwok.com/en/content/background-profile-takhar-province, accessed 5 April 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Background profile of Zabul, n.d.,
http://elections.pajhwok.com/en/content/background-profile-zabul, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Badakhshan: ‘Hundreds of aliens fight in Taliban ranks’, 9 December 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/12/09/badakhshan-hundreds-of-aliens-fight-in-taliban-ranks/, accessed 5 April
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Baghlan administrative units, n.d., http://elections.pajhwok.com/en/content/baghlanadministrative-units, accessed 5 April 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Baghlan explosion leaves 3 people dead, 5 injured, 9 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/09/baghlan-explosion-leaves-3-people-dead-5-injured/, accessed 5 April 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Balkh governor’s driver shot dead; vehicle snatched, 5 October 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/en/2020/10/05/balkh-governor%E2%80%99s-driver-shot-dead-vehicle-snatched,accessed 5 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Balkh Human Rights Commissioner’s son killed, 14 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/14/balkh-human-rights-commissioners-son-killed/, accessed 26 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Balkh police record over 800 crimes in six months, 7 February 2020,
http://old.pajhwok.com/2020/02/17/balkh-police-record-over-800-crimes-six-months/, accessed 30 March
2021

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Pajhwok Afghan News, Balkh truck bombing damages homes, causes casualties, 25 August 2020,
http://old.pajhwok.com/2020/08/25/balkh-truck-bombing-damages-homes-causes-casualties/, accessed 25
February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Balkh: 2 tanks torched in Dawlatabad firefight, 20 March 2020,
http://old.pajhwok.com/2020/03/20/balkh-2-tanks-torched-dawlatabad-firefight/, accessed 30 Marc 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Balkh: Taliban kill 7 policemen in captivity, 9 December 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/12/09/taliban-kill-7-policemen-after-being-arrested-in-balkh/, accessed 30 March
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Balkhis express mixed reaction to Security Charter, 5 December 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/12/05/balkhis-express-mixed-reaction-to-security-charter/, accessed 15 March
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Barmal residents demand befitting response to Pakistan artillery shelling, 21 August
2020, https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/08/21/barmal-residents-demand-befitting-response-pakistan-artilleryshelling/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Bombarded Taliban in Maidan Wardak: US forces, 26 October 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/10/26/bombarded-taliban-maidan-wardak-us-forces/, accessed 11 March
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Boy rescued, 5 kidnappers detained in Nangarhar, 17 December 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/12/17/boy-rescued-5-kidnappers-detained-in-nangarhar/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Bride among 20 wounded in Paktika blast, 20 September 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/09/20/bride-among-20-wounded-paktika-blast/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Bridge linking 4 Nangarhar districts blown up, 18 October 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/10/18/bridge-linking-4-nangarhar-districts-blown/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Brief introduction of Uruzgan province, n.d.,
http://elections.pajhwok.com/en/content/brief-introduction-uruzgan-province, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Calls to turn Angoor Adda road into transit route, 14 September 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/09/14/calls-turn-angoor-adda-road-transit-route/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Car Bomb Hits Afghan Special Forces in Wardak, 31 December 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/12/31/car-bomb-hits-afghan-special-forces-in-wardak/, accessed 12 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Chak District Police Chief Killed in Taliban Attack, 23 May 2020,
https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2020/05/23/%E2%80%98chak-district-police-chief-killed-talibanattack%E2%80%99, accessed 11 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Civilian Killed in Paghman Suicide Attack, 21 December 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/12/21/civilian-killed-in-paghman-suicide-attack/, accessed 18 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Civilians, Civil Society Activists gunned Down in Pul-i-Alam, 29 March 2020,
https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2020/03/29/civil-society-activists-gunned-down-pul-i-alam, accessed 5 March
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Civilians, Policeman Killed in Kapesa Mortar Shell Attack, 25 March 2020,
https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2020/03/25/civilians-policeman-killed-kapesa-mortar-shell-attack, accessed 22
February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Crimes at peak in Mazar-i-Sharif, complain residents, 20 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/20/crimes-at-peak-in-mazar-i-sharif-complainresidents/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter, accessed 19 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Current Salang tunnel insufficient, says President Ghani, 15 October 2018,https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2018/10/15/current-salang-tunnel-insufficient-says-president-ghani, accessed
5 April 2021

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Pajhwok Afghan News, Daesh recruitment head detained in Jalalabad, 28 December 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/12/28/daesh-recruitment-head-detained-in-jalalabad/, accessed 7 May 2021,
accessed 29 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Daikundi Blast: 7 People Killed, 4 Injured, 10 May 2019,https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2019/05/10/daikundi-blast-7-people-killed-4-injured, accessed 25 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Daikundi residents concerned about Daesh in neighborhood, 3 June 2018,https://pajhwok.com/2018/06/03/daikundi-residents-concerned-about-daesh-neighborhood/, accessed 29
March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Daikundi: 80pc of Pato Residents without Tazkira, 6 May 2018,https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2018/05/06/daikundi-80pc-pato-residents-without-tazkira, accessed 29 March
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Decrees on $100m loan for 2 projects approved, 6 January 2020,
https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2020/01/06/decrees-100m-loan-2-projectsapproved?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter, accessed 15 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Dilapidated Kandahar road gives passengers bumpy ride, 14 November 2018,https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2018/11/14/dilapidated-kandahar-road-gives-passengers-bumpy-ride,
accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Displaced by war, dozens of Faryab people contracted Covid-19, 22 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/22/displaced-by-war-dozens-of-faryab-people-contracted-covid-19/, accessed
19 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, District Police Chief, Security Guard Shot Dead, 17 November 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/11/17/district-police-chief-security-guard-shot-dead/, accessed 26 February
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Education Ministry Official Killed in Kabul Blast, 19 August 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/08/19/education-ministry-official-killed-kabul-blast/, accessed 29 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Election 2019, Ghor administrative units, n.d.,
https://elections.pajhwok.com/en/content/ghowr-administrative-unites, accessed 4 April 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Elections 2019, Introduction of Ghor Province, n.d,
https://elections.pajhwok.com/en/content/introduction-ghowr-province, accessed 5 April 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Elections 2019: Bamyan Province Background Profile, n.d.,
http://elections.pajhwok.com/en/content/background-profile-bamyan-province, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Elections 2019: Daykundi Province Background Profile, n.d.,
http://www.elections.pajhwok.com/en/content/daikundi-province-background-profile, accessed 29 March
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Elections 2019: Kabul Province Background Profile, n.d.,
https://www.elections.pajhwok.com/en/content/kabul-province-background-profile, accessed 17 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Elections 2019: Logar Province Background Profile, n.d.,
http://elections.pajhwok.com/en/content/background-profile-logar, accessed 4 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Elections 2019: Panjsher Province Background Profile, n.d.,
https://web.archive.org/web/20201026104115/http://www.elections.pajhwok.com/en/content/panjsherbackground-profile, accessed 2 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Elections 2019: Parwan Province Background Profile, n.d.,
https://web.archive.org/web/20201025005252/http://elections.pajhwok.com/en/content/backgroundprofile-parwan, accessed 25 February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Engineer Gunned Down in Logar, 28 February 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/02/28/engineer-gunned-down-in-logar/, accessed 5 April 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Ex-ALP Leader among 3 Killed in Logar, 3 October 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/10/03/ex-alp-leader-among-3-killed-logar/, accessed 5 March 2021

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Pajhwok Afghan News, Farah: police officer among 3 killed in insurgent attack, 20 March 2020,
https://www.pajhwok.com/en/subscription-required?redirect_from=568205, accessed 15 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Faryab violence leaves 22 dead & wounded, 27 October 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/10/27/faryab-violence-leaves-22-dead-wounded/, accessed 25 February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Former jihadi commander killed in Balkh, 4 January 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/04/former-jihadi-commander-killed-in-balkh-2/, accessed 5 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Former police chief joins Taliban in Farah, 10 May 2020,
https://www.pajhwok.com/en/subscription-required?redirect_from=571666, accessed 15 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Former Police Official Gunned Down in Kabul, 21 October 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/10/21/former-police-official-gunned-down-kabul/, accessed 25 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Gardez-Dand-i-Patan road being rebuilt in Paktia, 9 March 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/03/09/gardez-dand-i-patan-road-being-rebuilt-in-paktia/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Ghani Stresses Coordination among Security Forces, 1 July 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/07/01/ghani-stresses-coordination-among-security-forces/, accessed 8 March
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Girl Rescued, 2 Suspected Abductors Held in Kabul, 14 June 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/06/14/girl-rescued-2-suspected-abductors-held-kabul/, accessed 31 March
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt retakes control of Ghazni’s Jaghato district, 22 September 2019,https://pajhwok.com/2019/09/22/govt-retakes-control-ghaznis-jaghato-district/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Govt, Taliban Make Exaggerated Claims of Territory They Control, 12 February 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/02/12/govt-taliban-make-exaggerated-claims-of-territory-they-control/, accessed
29 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Growing presence of illegal gunmen worries Mazar residents, 26 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/26/growing-presence-of-illegal-gunmen-worries-mazar-residents/, accessed 25
February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Hajigak Pass Reopens for Traffic, 26 April 2015,
https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2015/04/26/hajigak-pass-reopens-traffic, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Head of Extortionist Gang Arrested in Parwan, 20 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/20/head-of-extortionist-gang-arrested-in-parwan/, accessed 1 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, HIA Chief for Wardak Killed Along with 3 Others, 6 June 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/06/06/hia-chief-wardak-killed-along-3-others/, accessed 12 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, I can expose Balkh child’s kidnappers if govt wants so: Qaisari, 21 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/21/i-can-expose-balkh-childs-kidnappers-if-govt-wants-so-qaisari/, accessed 30
March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Illegal armed men threaten Mazar-i-Sharif security, 22 May 2018,https://old.pajhwok.com/2018/05/22/illegal-armed-men-threaten-mazar-i-sharif-security/, accessed 19 March
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, In 10 years, only 40pc work done on Kabul-Jalalabad road, 4 November 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/11/04/10-years-only-40pc-work-done-kabul-jalalabad-road/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, In 3 months, 134 crime suspects arrested in Herat, 2 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/02/in-3-months-134-crime-suspects-arrested-in-herat/, accessed 10 March
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Inconvenience as ANA Forces Close District Road in Kapisa, 6 October 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/10/06/inconvenience-ana-forces-close-district-road-kapisa/, accessed 18 February
2021

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Pajhwok Afghan News, Increasing crime incidents worry Balkh dwellers, 26 October 2019,https://old.pajhwok.com/2019/10/26/increasing-crime-incidents-worry-balkh-dwellers/, accessed 30 March
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Initial work on Nangarhar civil airport to begin soon, 2 January 2017,https://pajhwok.com/2017/01/02/initial-work-nangarhar-civil-airport-begin-soon/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Insecurity growing on Kabul-Gardez highway, 18 July 2018,https://pajhwok.com/2018/07/18/insecurity-growing-kabul-gardez-highway/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Insurgents kidnap district chief in Samangan, 2 February 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/02/24/insurgents-kidnap-district-chief-samangan/, accessed 30 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Intelligence Agent Gunned Down in Parwan, 5 September 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/09/05/intelligence-agent-gunned-down-parwan/, accessed 26 February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Journalist’s assassination prevented in Khost, 3 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/fa/2021/01/03/the-assassination-of-a-journalist-in-khost-was-prevented/, accessed 7
May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Kabul Blast Leaves 3 Dead, 10 Wounded, 27 October 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/10/27/kabul-blast-leaves-3-dead-10-wounded/, accessed 29 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Kajran district may fall to Taliban, residents warn, 25 March 2015,
https://pajhwok.com/2015/03/25/kajran-district-may-fall-taliban-residents-warn/, accessed 10 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Kapisa: 5 Policemen Killed in Taliban Attack, 13 September 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/09/13/kapisa-5-policemen-killed-taliban-attack/, accessed 22 February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Kapisa: District Intelligence Chief Killed in Taliban Ambush, 30 January 2020,
https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2020/01/30/kapisa-district-intelligence-chief-killed-taliban-ambush, accessed
22 February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Key Daesh member arrested in Nangarhar, 12 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/12/key-daesh-member-arrested-in-nangarhar/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Khost market unaffected by closure of Pakistan border, 8 July 2016,
https://pajhwok.com/2016/07/08/khost-market-unaffected-closure-pakistan-border/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Kidnapped Tribal Elder Found Dead in Wardak, 6 April 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/04/06/kidnapped-tribal-elder-found-dead-wardak/, accessed 11 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Koh-i-Safi District Chief Injured in Kabul Attack, 29 November 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/11/29/koh-i-safi-district-chief-injured-in-kabul-attack/, accessed 18 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Kunar’s Nawapas road reopens after 5-year closure, 7 September 2019,https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2019/09/07/kunar%E2%80%99s-nawapas-road-reopens-after-5-year-closure,accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Kunduz airport gets new terminal worth $1.4m, 22 February 2017,https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2017/02/22/kunduz-airport-gets-new-terminal-worth-14m, accessed 5 April
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Landmine blast leaves 8 civilians wounded in Khost, 23 December 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/12/23/landmine-blast-leaves-8-civilians-wounded-in-khost/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Lecturer among 5 passengers killed on Uruzgan-Kandahar highway, 25 April 2018,https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2018/04/25/lecturer-among-5-passengers-killed-uruzgan-kandahar-highway,
accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Local army graduates to guard Jalalabad airport, 3 districts, 17 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/17/local-army-graduates-to-guard-jalalabad-airport-3-districts/, accessed 7
May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Logar PC chief, Secretary Survive Gun Attack, 10 September 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/09/10/logar-pc-chief-secretary-survive-gun-attack/, accessed 5 March 2021

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Pajhwok Afghan News, Logar Province: Illegal Extraction of Logar Chromites Goes On, 6 October 2015,
http://elections.pajhwok.com/en/2015/10/06/illegal-extraction-logar-chromites-goes, accessed 4 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Logar: 1 Killed, 25 Injured in Baraki Barak Explosion, 11 February 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/02/11/5-injured-in-logar-blast/, accessed 8 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Logar: 13 Uprising Members Killed in Taliban Raid, 12 September 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/09/12/logar-13-uprising-members-killed-taliban-raid/, accessed 8 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Logar’s Azra District on the Verge of Collapse, 25 June 2019,https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2019/06/25/logar%E2%80%99s-azra-district-verge-collapse, accessed 9 March
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Major US Airbase Comes under Rocket Attack, 19 December 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/12/19/major-us-airbase-comes-under-rocket-attack/, accessed 26 February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Man Killed as Bomb Hits Police Vehicle in Kabul, 8 July 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/07/08/man-killed-bomb-hits-police-vehicle-kabul/, accessed 29 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Mayor Ghafari Survives Another Attempt on Her Life, 3 October 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/10/03/mayor-ghafari-survives-another-attempt-her-life/, accessed 25 March
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Mazar-i-Sharif garrison failing to bar illegal gunmen: Residents, 7 March 2018,https://old.pajhwok.com/2018/03/07/mazar-i-sharif-garrison-failing-bar-illegal-gunmen-residents/, accessed
30 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Medical supplies to Paktia clinics yet to resume, 30 January 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/en/2020/01/30/medical-supplies-paktia-clinics-yet-resume, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Militants close Herat-Farah highway for traffic, 19 March 2020,
https://www.pajhwok.com/en/subscription-required?redirect_from=568127, accessed 15 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Military Officer Gunned down in Kabul, 8 November 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/11/08/military-officer-gunned-down-kabul/, accessed 26 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Mobile Phone Tower Torched in Kapesa, 7 August 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/08/07/mobile-phone-tower-torched-kapesa/, accessed 23 February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, MoD Official Shot Dead along with Guard in Kabul, 22 August 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/08/22/mod-official-shot-dead-along-guard-kabul/, accessed 25 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Nangarhar: 103 people suffer casualties in a month, 16 February 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/02/16/nangarhar-103-people-suffer-casualties-in-a-month/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Nearly a Dozen Taliban Killed in Logar Raid, 11 May 2020,
https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2020/05/11/nearly-dozen-taliban-killed-logar-raid, accessed 5 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, No Casualties as Bomb Blast Hits Police Vehicle, 12 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/12/no-casualties-as-bomb-blast-hits-police-vehicle/, accessed 29 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Our pastures grabbed, livestock under threat: Nangarhar nomads, 17 December 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/12/17/our-pastures-grabbed-livestock-under-threat-nangarhar-nomads/, accessed
7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Over a dozen pro-govt forces killed in Herat attack, 16 January 2021
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/16/over-a-dozen-pro-govt-forces-killed-in-herat-attack/, accessed 10 March
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Pakistani forces resume fencing in Momandara district, 22 September 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/09/22/pakistani-forces-resume-fencing-momandara-district/, accessed 7 May
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Paktia protestors ask govt to explain murder of 2 locals, 6 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/06/paktia-protestors-ask-govt-to-explain-murder-of-2-locals/, accessed 7 May
2021

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Pajhwok Afghan News, Paktia: Taliban drop bombs from drone cameras, 5 November 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/11/05/paktia-taliban-drop-bombs-drone-cameras/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Paktia-Paktika road reopens after 5 months, 14 December 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/12/14/paktia-paktika-road-reopens-after-5-months/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Paktika border police commander accused of atrocities, 7 February 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/02/07/some-people-are-oppressing-the-commander-of-the-third-division-ofwarmami-district/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Paktika-Paktia highway security ensured after 10 years, 3 November 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/11/03/paktika-paktia-highway-security-ensured-after-10-years/, accessed 7 May
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Parwan Attorney Escapes Unhurt in Explosion, 29 December 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/12/29/parwan-attorney-escapes-unhurt-in-explosion/, accessed 26 February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Parwan Highway Police Commander Survives Blast, 27 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/27/parwan-highway-police-commander-survives-blast/, accessed 26 February
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Parwan: Taliban’s District Intelligence Head Killed, 28 April 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/04/28/parwan-talibans-district-intelligence-head-killed/, accessed 26 February
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Peace Negotiator Kofi Injured in Armed Attack, 15 August 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/08/15/peace-negotiator-kofi-injured-armed-attack/, accessed 18 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Police officer accused of torture, extortion, 19 March 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/03/19/police-officer-accused-torture-extortion/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Police officer among 8 killed in Faryab clashes, 18 November 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/11/18/police-officer-among-8-killed-faryab-clashes/, accessed 30 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Political Parties Seen As a Source of Insecurity in Daikundi, 14 April 2019,https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2019/04/14/political-parties-seen-source-insecurity-daikundi, accessed 10
March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Prayer Leader Gunned Down in Kabul, Say Police, 10 May 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/05/10/prayer-leader-gunned-down-kabul-say-police/, accessed 25 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Prayer leader gunned down in Kandahar capital, 3 February 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/02/03/prayer-leader-gunned-down-in-kandahar-capital/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Pro-government commander killed by Taliban in Balkh, 9 February 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/02/09/pro-government-commander-killed-by-taliban-in-balkh/, accessed 25
February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Prominent Cleric Killed in Kabul Mosque Bombing, 2 June 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/06/02/prominent-cleric-killed-kabul-mosque-bombing/, accessed 29 March
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Qarabagh District Chief Survives Armed Attack, Security Guard Killed, 20 August 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/08/20/qarabagh-district-chief-survives-armed-attack-security-guard-killed/,
accessed 22 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Rebels Storm Security Check-Post in Panjsher, 22 September 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/09/22/rebels-storm-security-check-post-panjsher/, accessed 2 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Recognition of southern Helmand province, n.d.,
https://elections.pajhwok.com/en/content/recognition-southern-helmand-province, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Reconstructed Gardez-Khost highway inaugurated, 15 December 2015,
https://pajhwok.com/2015/12/15/reconstructed-gardez-khost-highway-inaugurated/, accessed 7 May 2021

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Pajhwok Afghan News, Rehabilitation work on Nuristan-Kunar road kicks off, 20 May 2019,https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2019/05/20/rehabilitation-work-nuristan-kunar-road-kicks, accessed 7 May
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, religious scholar gunned down in Farah, 10 April 2020,
https://baztab.news/article/1311692, accessed 15 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Religious Scholar Gunned Down in Parwan, 25 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/25/religious-scholar-gunned-down-in-parwan/, accessed 26 February 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Religious Scholar Shot Dead in Kabul, 21 March 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/en/2020/03/21/religious-scholar-shot-dead-kabul, accessed 25 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Religious Scholar, Former Cop Killed in Kabul, 10 December 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/12/10/a-religious-scholar-and-a-retired-police-officer-have-been-killed-in-kabul/,
accessed 26 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Rising targeted killings spark concerns in Gardez, 16 June 2019,https://pajhwok.com/2019/06/16/rising-targeted-killings-spark-concerns-gardez/, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Road connecting 2 districts with Paroon being built, 24 June 2019,https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2019/06/24/road-connecting-2-districts-paroon-being-built, accessed 7 May
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Rockets Fired at Presidential Palace during Ghani Speech, 9 March 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/en/2020/03/09/rockets-fired-presidential-palace-during-ghani-speech, accessed 25
March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Russian Embassy Staffers Hurt in Kabul IED Blast, 2 December 2020,
https://pajhwok.com/2020/12/02/russian-embassy-staffers-hurt-in-kabul-ied-blast/, accessed 29 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Samangan governor seeks offensive against Taliban, 24 January 2021,
https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/24/samangan-governor-seeks-offensive-against-taliban/, accessed 12 March
2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Sar-i-Pul province, 16 January 2020, https://old.pajhwok.com/en/node/564157,
accessed 30 March 2020
Pajhwok Afghan News, Security forces retake control of Baghlan’s Guzarga Noor district, 30 January 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/en/2020/01/30/security-forces-retake-control-baghlan%E2%80%99s-guzarga-noordistrict, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Senior Afghan Telecom Official Killed in Blast, 1 November 2020,
https://old.pajhwok.com/2020/11/01/senior-afghan-telecom-official-killed-blast/, accessed 18 March 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Senior figure among 30 IS rebels surrender in Laghman, 19 March 2020,
https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2020/03/19/senior-figure-among-30-rebels-surrenderlaghman?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter, accessed 7 May 2021
Pajhwok Afghan News, Shaheen Corps: 3 Taliban killed, 5 wounded, 31 January 2021,
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Pajhwok Afghan News, Takhar: 2 uprising members killed in Taliban attack, 15 January 2020,
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Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban Not Allowing Us to Buy Food: Daikundi Residents, 30 March 2019,https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2019/03/30/taliban-not-allowing-us-buy-food-daikundi-residents, accessed 19
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450

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Reporterly, ‘Taliban’ Abduct 7 Employees Of Construction Company In Balkh, 24 October 2020,
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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situationsectarian-fears-idUSKCN1N80FC?fbclid=IwAR1mCNCvaJU_GOYiTW8QTS42XxlkOLIfav3wT_VycGi7p6xVzdDZxsRLJ8, accessed 7 May 2021
Reuters, Afghanistan begins COVID-19 vaccination drive amid rising violence, 23 February 2021,
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Reuters, Exclusive: Afghan lawmakers say 45 migrants drowned after Iranian guards forced them into river, 7
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Reuters, Ghani named winner of disputed Afghan poll, rival also claims victory, 18 February 2020,
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Reuters, Gunmen Kill Two Female Supreme Court Judges in Afghanistan: Police, 17 January 2021,
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Reuters, Islamic State claims killing of female TV presenter in Afghanistan, 10 December 2020,
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Reuters, Kabul to Install Surveillance Cameras to Combat Crime, 6 January 2021,
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Reuters, Life in Kabul’s Squatter Camps Highlights Challenge for Any Afghan Peace, 15 February 2019,https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-aid/life-in-kabuls-squatter-camps-highlights-challenge-forany-afghan-peace-idUSKCN1Q40XB, accessed 24 March 2021
Reuters, Roadside Bomb Attack Misses Afghan Vice President, but Kills 10, 9 September 2020,
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Reuters, Taliban announce three-day ceasefire in Afghanistan for Eid al-Adha, starting Friday, 28 July 2020,
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Reuters, Taliban Kill Four Survivors of Afghanistan Flash Floods, 27 August 2020,
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Reuters, Taliban Suicide Attack Kills Eight Afghan Troops, Wounds Nine, 21 July 2020,
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Reuters, Taliban suicide bomber kills three as violence rises despite peace push, 8 July 2020,
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Reuters, Taliban threaten oil fields in northern Afghanistan, 4 January 2019,https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-afghanistan-taliban/taliban-threaten-oil-fields-in-northern-afghanistanidUKKCN1OY156?edition-redirect=uk, accessed 30 March 2021
Reuters, Taliban Truck Bombing Kills At Least Five At Afghan Military Center, 4 May 2020,
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Reuters, 'The fear is Intense': Afghan 'Sticky Bombs', Used by Taliban, On the Rise, 17 December 2020,
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Reuters, U.N. convoy in Afghanistan attacked by gunmen, five Afghan security force members killed, 11
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Reuters, U.N. Decries Attacks on Afghan Media at Time when Dialogue Needed Most, 15 February 2021,
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Reuters, U.S. Forces conduct airstrikes on Taliban in Afghanistan, 5 June 2020,
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Reuters, United States Says It Launched Airstrike against Taliban in Central Afghanistan, 26 October 2020,
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Reuters, West reluctant for 'dangerous' Taliban prisoners to be freed: sources, 18 June 2020,
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-afghanistan-taliban-prisoners/reluctance-to-free-most-dangeroustaliban-prisoners-slows-afghan-peace-talks-sources-idUSKBN23P3A9, accessed 15 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Afghan Authorities Release Militia Leader after Violent
Demonstrations, 26 November 2018, https://www.rferl.org/a/supporters-of-hazara-militia-leader-protest-inkabul-for-second-day/29621253.html, accessed 15 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Afghan Forces Capture Key Figures From Islamic State's South Asia
Branch, 11 May 2020, https://www.rferl.org/a/afghan-forces-capture-key-figures-from-islamic-state-s-southasia-branch/30606322.html, accessed 18 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Afghan government releases 100 ‘dangerous’ Taliban prisoners’, 1
September 2020, https://www.rferl.org/a/afghan-government-releases-100-dangerous-talibanprisoners/30815295.html, accessed 5 April 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Afghan Loya Jirga Aimed At Discussing Peace Talks Delayed, 3 March
2019, https://www.rferl.org/a/afghan-loya-jirga-aimed-at-discussing-peace-talks-delayed/29801048.html,
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RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Afghan Migrants Could Face ‘Shocking’ Punishments in Iran Under
Draft Law, 1 December 2020, https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-migrants-shocking-punishments-iran-draftlaw/30978559.html, accessed 26 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Afghan Officials Say Four Children, Three Women Killed In Air
Strikes, 26 January 2020, https://www.rferl.org/a/afghan-officials-say-four-children-three-women-killed-in-airstrikes/30397937.html, accessed 15 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Afghan President Says Taliban Prisoner Release To Be Completed
Soon, 11 June 2020, https://www.rferl.org/a/afghan-president-says-taliban-prisoner-release-to-be-completedsoon/30665861.html, accessed 15 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Afghan Taliban Ends Partial Truce As Deadly Bombing Hits Near
Soccer Ground, 2 March 2020, https://www.rferl.org/a/bomb-blast-near-afghan-football-ground-kills-threecivilians/30464612.html, accessed 7 May 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Afghan Taliban Wants What It Hasn't Been Able to Hold: Hazara
Regions, 13 November 2018, https://www.rferl.org/a/afghan-taliban-wants-what-it-hasn-t-been-able-to-holdhazara-regions/29598848.html, accessed 7 May 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Afghanistan Suicide Bombing Kills at least Three, Wounds 15, 29
April 2020, https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-suicide-bombing-kills-at-least-three-wounds15/30582627.html, accessed 18 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Afghanistan‘s New Northern Flash Points, n.d.,
https://www.rferl.org/a/27013992.html, accessed 25 February 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Afghans Claim Foreign Combatants Fighting Alongside Taliban In
Violation Of Peace Deal, 29 April 2020, https://www.rferl.org/a/afghans-claim-foreign-combatants-fightingalongside-taliban-in-violation-of-peace-deal/30583552.html, accessed 5 April 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Afghans Say Taliban Attacks Kill At Least 17 Military Personnel In
Northern Provinces, 17 June 2020, https://www.rferl.org/a/predawn-raid-by-taliban-on-checkpoint-kills-atleast-12-afghan-soldiers/30675560.html, accessed 25 February 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), At Least Six Killed In Afghanistan Despite 'Reduction Of Violence'
Deal, 24 February 2020, https://www.rferl.org/a/attacks-in-afghanistan-despite-reduction-of-violencedeal/30452041.html, accessed 15 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Blast Rocks Funeral Services for Sikhs Killed in Kabul Attack, 26
March 2020, https://www.rferl.org/a/blast-rocks-funeral-services-for-25-sikhs-killed-in-kabul-attack-noinjuries/30511069.html, accessed 29 March 2021

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RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Detention of Ethnic Pashtun Activist Triggers Protests in Pakistan,
Afghanistan, 28 January 2020, https://www.rferl.org/a/detention-of-ethnic-pashtun-activist-triggers-protestsin-pakistan-afghanistan/30402294.html, accessed 4 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Dozens Killed in Kabul Attack Claimed by Islamic State, 6 March
2020, https://www.rferl.org/a/several-wounded-in-kabul-attack-abdullah-escapes-unharmed/30471867.html,
accessed 26 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Dushanbe Reinforces Border After Tajik Militants Appear In Video
Fighting In Afghanistan, 17 December 2020, https://www.rferl.org/a/tajikistan-reinforces-border-militantsafghanistan-video-islamic-state/31005499.html, accessed 5 April 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Eight Afghan Civilians Killed In Air Strike [Source: AFP and Reuters],
15 February 2020, https://www.rferl.org/a/eight-afghan-civilians-killed-in-air-strike/30436220.html, accessed
7 May 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Fear Grows Over Afghan Civilians 'Trapped' In Helmand's Capital, 15
October 2020, https://www.rferl.org/a/fear-grows-over-afghan-civilians-trapped-in-helmand-scapital/30894578.html , accessed 7 May 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Female Afghan Governor Won't Back Down Amid Threats,
Controversy, 19 October 2015, https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-ghor-province-female-governor-deaththrats/27314931.html, accessed 15 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), 'From One Grave To Another': Afghan Hazara Fleeing Taliban Find
Little Solace In Escape 15 November 2018 w: https://www.rferl.org/a/afghan-hazara-fleeing-taliban-find-littlesolace-in-escape/29603040.html, accessed 7 May 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Gunmen Kill Six Local Contractors near Main U.S. Base in
Afghanistan, 17 April 2020, https://www.rferl.org/a/gunmen-kill-six-local-contractors-near-main-u-s-base-inafghanistan/30561176.html, accessed 26 February 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Gunmen Shoot Dead Afghan Presidential Guard on Kabul Outskirts,
4 April 2020, https://www.rferl.org/a/gunmen-shoot-dead-afghan-presidential-guard-on-kabuloutskirts/30529868.html, accessed 18 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), 'Hopeful Moment': How An 'Afghan-Led, Afghan-Owned' Peace
Process Might Look, 29 January 2019, https://www.rferl.org/a/interview-what-an-afghan-led-afghan-ownedpeace-process-might-entail/29740150.html, accessed 15 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), In The Dark: Tajik Border Residents Live Not Knowing What Lies
Beyond, 22 November 2018, https://www.rferl.org/a/tajik-border-residents-live-not-knowing-what-liesbeyond/29615744.html, accessed 5 April 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), 'Intra-Afghan' Talks Under Way In Moscow Amid Continuing
Violence, 5 February 2019, https://www.rferl.org/a/afghan-taliban-moscow-talks/29751787.html, accessed 15
March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Loya Jirga -- An Afghan Tradition Explained, 20 November 2013,https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-loya-jirga-explainer/25174483.html, accessed 30 May 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), New Security Plan in Kabul after Deadly Attacks, 7 February 2018,https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-kabul-security-plan-deadly-attacks/29025895.html, accessed 23 March
2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), No Casualties in Rocket Attack on Largest U.S. Afghan Base, 9 April
2020, https://www.rferl.org/a/no-casualties-in-rocket-attack-on-largest-u-s-afghan-base/30543708.html,
accessed 26 February 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Officials: 25 elite commandos killed in clashes with Taliban, 17 July
2019, https://www.rferl.org/a/official-25-elite-afghan-commandos-killed-in-clashes-withtaliban/30060461.html, accessed 15 March 2021

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RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Paktia Provincial Councilor Shot Dead In Southeastern Afghanistan,
19 September 2020, https://www.rferl.org/a/paktia-provincial-councilor-shot-dead-in-southeasternafghanistan/30846975.html, accessed 7 May 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Poisoning, assassination, and a coup: the secret Soviet invasion of
Afghanistan, 27 December 2019, https://www.rferl.org/a/poisonings-assassination-and-a-coup-the-secretsoviet-invasion-of-afghanistan/30347141.html, accessed 15 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Powerful Afghan Governor Resigns, Ending Standoff With Ghani, 22
March 2018, https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-powerful-governor-resigns-noor-ghani/29115699.html,
accessed 15 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Reported Attack In Tajikistan Could Have Broad Implications For
Central Asia, 6 November 2019, https://www.rferl.org/a/reported-attack-in-tajikistan-could-have-broadimplications-for-central-asia/30256653.html, accessed 5 April 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Rival Police Clash In North Afghan City In Spat Between President,
Ex-Governor, 14 March 2019, https://www.rferl.org/a/north-afghan-city-shut-down-amid-spat-betweenpowerful-ex-governor-president/29820887.html, accessed 15 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Secret Afghan Force Mimics, Infiltrates Taliban, 15 February 2018,https://RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)/Gandhara.rferl.org/a/Afghanistan-helmand-provincesangorian-Taliban/29042081.html, accessed 7 May 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Son of Afghanistan's 'Lion of Panjshir' Takes up Father's Fightagainst Taliban, 10 September 2019, https://www.rferl.org/a/ahmad-masud-profileafghanistan/30157121.html, accessed 3 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Tajikistan/Afghanistan: Road Bridge Opens With Aim Of
Strengthening Trade, 26 August 2007, https://www.rferl.org/a/1078359.html, accessed 5 April 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Taliban courts seek to undermine Afghan judiciary,
https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/taliban-courts-ghor-justice-afghanistan/31000489.html, accessed 15 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Taliban Kills Nine Afghan Soldiers in Attack on Army Post, 16 April
2020, https://www.rferl.org/a/taliban-kill-nine-afghan-soldiers-in-attack-on-army-post/30559251.html,
accessed 5 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Taliban Takes District Headquarters, Says It Will Not Negotiate With
Afghan Government Team, 28 March 2020, https://www.rferl.org/a/taliban-takes-district-headquarters-saysit-will-not-negotiate-with-afghan-government-team/30514790.html, accessed 5 April 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), The Forgotten Afghan Province That Is A Key Taliban Stronghold, 16
December 2018, https://www.rferl.org/a/the-forgotten-afghan-province-that-became-talibancountry/29659327.html, accessed 7 May 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), The Taliban, The Government, And Islamic State: Who Controls
What In Afghanistan, 31 May 2020, https://www.rferl.org/a/taliban-government-islamic-state-who-controlswhat-in-afghanistan-/30644646.html, accessed 15 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), What happened when the Taliban visited Turkmenistan, 11
February 2021, https://www.rferl.org/a/taliban-turkmenistan/31098344.html, accessed 15 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), With Schools Shut, Afghan Children Work The Poppy Fields, 14 July
2020, https://www.rferl.org/a/with-schools-shut-afghan-children-work-the-poppy-fields/30726008.html,
accessed 5 April 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)/Gandgara, Afghan police accused of using drug addicts as free labor,
21 January 2021, https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/afghan-police-accused-of-using-drug-addicts-as-freelabor/31062002.html, accessed 15 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)/Gandhara Taliban Constitution offers glimpse into militant group’s
vision for Afghanistan, 27 April 2020, https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/taliban-constitution-offers-glimpse-intomilitant-group-s-vision-for-afghanistan/30578541.html, accessed 15 March 2021

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RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)/Gandhara, Afghan Female Politician Wounded in Attack, 6 July 2020,
https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/afghan-female-politician-wounded-in-attack/30709474.html, accessed 8 March
2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)/Gandhara, Afghan Forces Report Capture of 'Mastermind' behind
Deadly Attack on Kabul University, 14 November 2020, https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/afghan-forces-reportcapture-of-mastermind-behind-deadly-attack-on-kabul-university/30949819.html, accessed 25 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)/Gandhara, Afghan Forces Capture Key Figures from Islamic State’s
South Asia Branch, 12 May 2020, https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/afghan-forces-capture-key-figures-from-islamicstate-s-south-asia-branch/30607182.html, accessed 15 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)/Gandhara, Afghan Forces Reportedly Kill 65 Taliban Fighters In
Fierce Battle, 25 September 2020, https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/afghan-government-forces-kill-65-talibanfighters-in-fierce-battle-amid-peace-talks/30857153.html, accessed 7 May 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)/Gandhara, Afghan Governor Accuses Iran Of Supporting Taliban, 31
July 2017, https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-iran-taliban-support/28651070.html, accessed 15 March
2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)/Gandhara, Afghan Industry Ministry To Revive Industrial Park In
North, 13 July 2020, https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/30724169.html, accessed 4 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)/Gandhara, Afghan Lawmaker Survives Deadly Car Bombing in Kabul,
20 December 2020, https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-kabul-car-bomb-kills-eight/31009887.html,
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RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)/Gandhara, Afghan Mosque Attacks Kill 13 Worshippers Breaking
Fast, 20 May 2020, https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/afghan-mosque-attacks-kill-13-worshippers-breakingfast/30622106.html, accessed 7 May 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)/Gandhara, Afghan Operation Fails to Nab Ex-Soccer Chief Accused of
Sexual Abuse, 24 August 2020, https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/afghan-operation-fails-to-nab-ex-soccer-chiefaccused-of-sexual-abuse/30800580.html, accessed 3 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)/Gandhara, Afghan Police Seize Four Tonnes Of Bomb-Making
Chemical, 29 September 2020, https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/afghan-police-seize-four-tonnes-of-bomb-makingchemical/30863906.html, accessed 7 May 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)/Gandhara, Afghan Police Raid Heroin Labs In 'Dangerous'
Badakhshan Province, 1 July 2020, https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/afghan-police-raid-heroin-labs-in-dangerousbadakhshan-province/30699945.html, accessed 5 April 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)/Gandhara, Afghan Security Forces Hit by Surge of Taliban Suicide Car
Bombings, 9 December 2021, https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/taliban-suicide-car-bombingsafghanistan/30992099.html, accessed 1 April 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)/Gandhara, Afghan Spy Agency Says ‘IS-Haqqani’ Cell Busted in Kabul,
6 May 2020, https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/afghan-spy-agency-says-is-haqqani-cell-busted-inkabul/30597488.html, accessed 15 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)/Gandhara, Afghan Vice President Takes Charge of Capital Amid Risein Crime, 17 October 2020, https:gandhara.rferl.org/a/afghan-vice-president-takes-charge-of-capital-amidrise-in-crime/30898628.html, accessed 31 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)/Gandhara, Afghanistan Hit by Surge of Targeted Killings,
Assassinations, 13 November 2020, https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-hit-by-surge-of-targeted-killingsassassinations/30949043.html, accessed 30 March 2021
RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)/Gandhara, Afghanistan still facing aftershocks of 1978 communist
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Tolonews, “Key” Taliban member arrested in Herat by NDS, 23 May 2020,
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Tolonews, 1 Taliban Killed, 2 Wounded in Kabul Clashes: MoD, 8 September 2020,
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Tolonews, 1 Taliban Killed, 4 Arrested in Police Operation in Kabul, 21 July 2020,
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Tolonews, 11 Afghan Local Police Killed in Badakhshan Blast: Official, 6 June 2020,
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Tolonews, 12 Haqqani Network Commanders Killed In Khost, 11 June 2019,https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/12-haqqani-network-commanders-killed-khost, accessed 7 May 2021
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Tolonews, 14 Border Forces Killed in ‘Taliban Attack’ Despite Ceasefire, 30 May 2020,
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Tolonews, '17 Taliban Killed' in Parwan Attack: Official, 30 June 2020, https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/17taliban-killed-parwan-attack-official, accessed 26 February 2021
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Tolonews, 23 Civilians Killed in Rocket Attacks in Helmand 29 June 2020,
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475

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Tolonews, 25 Killed in Attack at Dharamshala, Sikh Temple in Kabul, 25 March 2020,
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Tolonews, 270 people killed in Afghanistan in the past month, 1 March 2021,
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Tolonews, 3 Civilians Killed, 1 Wounded in Nangarhar IED Blast, 3 September 2020,
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Tolonews, 3 Civilians Killed, 23 Wounded in Zabul Suicide Attack 29 November 2020,
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Tolonews, 3 Killed, 16 Wounded in Kabul Rocket Attacks, 19 August 2020,
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Tolonews, 3 Civilians Killed in Kapisa Roadside Blast, 7 October 2020, https://tolonews.com/afghanistan166868, accessed 22 February 2021
Tolonews, 3 Police Killed in Herat Roadside Mine Blast, 5 July 2020,
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Tolonews, '35 Taliban Killed' in Clashes with Security Forces: Officials, 27 September 2020,
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Tolonews, 4 Members of One Family Killed in Kabul, 19 January 2020, https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/fourmembers-one-family-killed-kabul, accessed 31 March 2021
Tolonews, 4 People Killed, 4 Wounded by Violent Crime in Kabul Since Sunday, 15 February 2021,
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Tolonews, 4 Public Uprising Forces, 11 Taliban Killed in Kapisa: Official, 15 June 2020,
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Tolonews, 4 Security Force Members Killed in Kapisa, 21 March 2020, https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/4security-force-members-killed-kapisa, accessed 19 February 2021
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Tolonews, 5 Family Members Killed in 'Taliban Ambush' in Badakhshan, 24 September 2020,
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Tolonews, 5 Killed in Kapisa Blast, Local Ulema Head Wounded, 3 January 2021,
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476

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Tolonews, 5 Security Personnel Killed in Attack while Escorting UN Convoy, 11 February 2021,
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Tolonews, 6 civilians killed in Jawzjan landmine explosion, 24 June 2020,
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Tolonews, 7 Afghan Forces Killed in Taliban Attack in Logar: Tribal Elders, 26 April 2020,
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Tolonews, 7 Civilians, 2 ANA Soldiers Killed in Faryab, Khost, 22 December 2020,
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Tolonews, 7 Employees of Construction Company Kidnapped in Balkh, 23 October 2020,
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Tolonews, 8 Civilians Killed in Pakistani Mortar Attack on Kunar: Officials, 16 July 2020,
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2021
Tolonews, 8 Soldiers Killed in Maidan Wardak, 20 July 2020, https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/8-soldierskilled-maidan-wardak, accessed 12 March 2021
Tolonews, 80 Civilians Killed in Last Seven Days: Govt Data, 10 August 2020,
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Tolonews, 9 Public Uprising Force Members Killed in Logar Attack, 23 February 2021,
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Tolonews, Abdullah-Loyal governor installed in Sar-e Pul, 22 February 2020,
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Tolonews, Afghan Forces Launch Operation in Taliban-Held District in Logar, 22 April 2020,
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Tolonews, Afghan Forces Pilot, Security Officer Killed in Kabul, 7 January 2021,
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Tolonews, Afghan Forces Raid Daesh Hideout North of Kabul, 6 May 2020,
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Tolonews, Afghan Govt welcomes NATO’s decision on Afghanistan, 19 February 2021,
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Tolonews, Afghan Govt’s security policy for journalists questioned, 2 January 2021,
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Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Tolonews, Afghan Writer Walwalji Loses 4 Family Members in IED Blast, 20 June 2020,
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Tolonews, Afghanistan Violence: 9 Civilians Killed in Latest Incidents, 11 July 2020,
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2021
Tolonews, After ceasefire, Taliban average “30 attacks per day”: sources, 4 June 2020,
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Tolonews, Al Qaeda Training Taliban in Helmand: Local Officials, 30 July 2020,
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Tolonews, Al Qaeda, Jaish-e-Mohammad Align With Taliban in East: Officials, 11 May 2020,
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2021
Tolonews, Alipoor Says He Is 'Ready to Hand Over All Weapons', 27 November 2018,https://tolonews.com/index.php/afghanistan/alipoor-says-he-%E2%80%98ready-hand-over-all-weaponsofficially, accessed 15 March 2021
Tolonews, Alipoor Supporters Protest for the Second Day in Kabul, 26 November 2018,https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/alipoor%C2%A0supporters%C2%A0protest-second-day-kabul, accessed 15
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Tolonews, Al-Qaeda Recruiting Disaffected Taliban: Kunar Officials, 12 March 2020,
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2021
Tolonews, ANDSF Fighting Taliban in 15 Provinces Amid Peace Efforts, 26 June 2020,
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2021
Tolonews, ANDSF Repels Scores of Taliban Attacks in Past 24 Hours: MoD, 4 May 2020,
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2021
Tolonews, Angry Protestors in Balkh Call for Rescue of Abducted Child, 5 December 2020,
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Tolonews, Armed Robberies Persist, Kabul Residents Demand Action, 5 January 2021,
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Tolonews, At Least 7 Afghan Forces Killed in 'Taliban' Attack in Parwan, 28 May 2020,
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2021
Tolonews, Attack in Samangan Ends, 3 Attackers and 10 Others Killed, 13 July 2020,
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Tolonews, Attack on Police Special Unit in Khost Ends, Gunmen Killed, 27 October 2020,
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Tolonews, Badakhshan Governor Claims Taliban Has Ties with Foreign Fighters, 10 April 2020,
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April 2021
Tolonews, Baghlan Civil Society Activist Killed in Kabul: Police, 1 January 2021 (edited 2 January 2021),
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Tolonews, Balkh Residents Want Action Against Increased Armed Robberies, 12 January 2020,
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Tolonews, Bamiyan Tourism Takes a Knock due to Security Threats on Roads, 28 June 2017,https://tolonews.com/business/security-threats-roads-bamiyan-impacting-tourism, accessed 7 May 2021
Tolonews, Blast hits police vehicle in Kabul city, 8 July 2020,
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Tolonews, Blast in Daikundi Kills 14 Civilians: Interior Ministry, 29 September 2020,
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Tolonews, Blast in Khost Kills Three Civilians: MoI, 2 March 2020, https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/blastkhost-kills-three-civilians-official, accessed 7 May 2021
Tolonews, Blast Targets Govt Employees’ Bus in Kabul, 28 December 2020, https://tolonews.com/afghanistan168820, accessed 29 March 2021
Tolonews, Blasts in Kabul, Baghlan Kill Three Police Force Members, 16 January 2021,
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Tolonews, Bodies of 3 Captured, Tortured, Executed ANA Soldiers Found, 13 August 2020,
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Tolonews, Burial Held for Imam Killed by Blast, Public Outcry Continues, 4 June 2020,
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2021
Tolonews, Calls Mounts for Rescue of Kidnapped Boy, 1 December 2020, https://tolonews.com/afghanistan168160, accessed 18 March 2021
Tolonews, Car Bomb Hits Security Checkpoint in Maidan Wardak, 9 July 2020,
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2021
Tolonews, Car Bomb Targets Army Unit in Balkh, Four Dead, 25 August 2020,
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2021
Tolonews, Civilians Killed in Maidan Wardak Blast: Official, 20 October 2020,
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Tolonews, Clashes in Lashkargah Continue on 5th Day of Helmand Fighting, 14 October 2020,
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Tolonews, Clashes in Maidan Wardak Leave Nine Dead: MoI, 30 January 2021,
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Tolonews, Clashes Reported in Dasht-e-Archi District, Reinforcements Sent, 16 November 2020,
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Tolonews, Concerns Remain Months after US Leaves Base in Nangarhar, 15 January 2021,
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Tolonews, Construction Work Resumes on Gardez-Zurmat Road, 21 August 2020,
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Tolonews, Crime Rate in Kabul Rising Despite Govt’s Assurances: Residents, 8 March 2020,
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Tolonews, Crime Remains High in Kabul City, Ex-Police Official Killed, 21 October 2020,
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Tolonews, Crimes in Kabul's 'Most Secure Areas' Alarm Residents, 24 May 2020,
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Tolonews, Criminal Networks Have Political Support: Andarabi, 12 June 2020,
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2021
Tolonews, Daesh, Affiliated Groups on Rise in Badakhshan: Officials, 21 April 2020,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/daesh-affiliated-groups-rise-badakshan-officials, accessed 5 April 2021
Tolonews, Daikundi Secure but Lacks Development: Residents, 6 April 2018,https://www.tolonews.com/afghanistan/daikundi-secure-lacks-development-residents, accessed 18 March
2021
Tolonews, Death Toll of Kabul’s Attack on MP Rises to 10, 21 December 2020,
https://tolonews.com/index.php/afghanistan-168661, accessed 25 March 2021
Tolonews, Defense Ministry: Charkh District under Govt Forces Control, 22 March 2021,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-170887, accessed 23 March 2021
Tolonews, District Governor in Khost Killed in Ambush, 20 October 2020, https://tolonews.com/afghanistan167185, accessed 8 March 2021
Tolonews, District-Level NDS Head in Kapisa Killed by Unknown Gunmen, 25 September 2020,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-166572, accessed 22 February 2021
Tolonews, Dostum, Al-Qaeda footprint seen in North of Afghanistan, 17 February 2021,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-170085, accessed 15 March 2021
Tolonews, Dozens Flee Homes as Taliban Increases Presence North of Kabul, 21 August 2020,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/dozens-flee-homes-taliban-increases-presence-north-kabul, accessed 22
March 2021
Tolonews, Dozens of Afghan Forces Killed In North, 10 September 2018,https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/afghan-forces-suffer-huge-casualty-toll-%C2%A0north, accessed 5 April
2021
Tolonews, Drivers Divert Route Over Insecurity in Kabul-Ghazni Highway, 24 October 2020,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-167288, accessed 18 March 2021
Tolonews, Drivers Outraged Over Extortion on Highways, 17 January 2020,
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Tolonews, Durand Line Fencing Splits Afghan Families, 31 March 2019,https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/durand-line-fencing-splits-afghan-families, accessed 7 May 2021
Tolonews, Efforts Underway to Clear 5 Helmand Districts of Insurgents, 10 January 2020,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/efforts-underway-clear-5-helmand-districts-insurgents, accessed 7 May
2021
Tolonews, Farah officials claim civilians were killed in airstrike, 9 February 2020,
https://tolonews.com/index.php/afghanistan/farah-officials-claim-civilians-were-killed-airstrike, accessed 15
March 2021
Tolonews, Faryab Residents Fear Clashes Will Intensify as Spring Nears, 26 February 2021,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-170298, accessed 25 March 2021
Tolonews, Fierce, Widespread Fighting Surges to Control Afghan Highways, 7 July 2020,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/fierce-widespread-fighting-surges-control-afghan-highways, accessed 9
March 2021
Tolonews, Five Bases Closed in Afghanistan: US Official, 14 July 2020, https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/fivebases-closed-afghanistan-us-official, accessed 7 May 2021
Tolonews, Five DABS Employees Killed In Zabul Blast, 17 January 2020, https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/fivedabs-employees-killed-zabul-blast, accessed 7 May 2021

480

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Tolonews, Four Army Soldiers Killed in Car Bomb Attack in Paghman: MoD, 13 November 2020,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-167728, accessed 18 March 2021
Tolonews, Four Govt Employees Killed in Kabul, 9 February 2021, https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-169879,
accessed 26 March 2021
Tolonews, Four Killed in Mosque Blast in Western Kabul, Including Imam, 12 June 2020 (edited 13 June 2020),
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/four-killed-mosque-blast-western-kabul-including-imam, accessed 29
March 2021
Tolonews, Four Security Force Members Killed in Attacks in Kabul: Police, 11 November 2020,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-167673, accessed 26 March 2021
Tolonews, Ghani and Abdullah Sign Agreement to Break Political Deadloc, 17 May 2020,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/ghani-and-abdullah-sign-agreement-break-political-deadlock, accessed 15
March 2021
Tolonews, Ghani Orders Formation of New 443-Strong Security Unit in Bamyan Province, 10 November 2018,https://www.khaama.com/ghani-orders-formation-of-the-new-443-strong-security-unit-in-bamyan-province02716/, accessed 7 May 2021
Tolonews, Ghani, Fired at During Logar Visit, Pledges Increased Security, 1 July 2020,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/ghani-fired-during-logar-visit-pledges-increased-security, accessed 5 March
2021
Tolonews, Ghazni Elections Could Be Held With Presidential Elections, 27 October 2018,https://www.tolonews.com/elections-2018/ghazni-elections%C2%A0could%C2%A0be-held-presidentialelections, accessed 15 March 2021
Tolonews, Govt Criticized for Delay in Doshi-Bamiyan Road Project, 15 September 2020,
https://tolonews.com/business-166334, accessed 7 May 2021
Tolonews, Govt Official's Vehicle Hit by Magnetic Bomb in Kabul, 18 January 2021,
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Tolonews, Govt Plans to Build Intl Airport in Logar: Aviation Officials, 11 February 2021,
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Tolonews, Govt Reports Back on New Salang Tunnel Progress, 18 June 2018,https://tolonews.com/business/govt-reports-back-new-salang-tunnel-progress, accessed 25 February 2021
Tolonews, Govt Team Probes Prolonged Violent Feuding in Wardak, 8 July 2020,
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2021
Tolonews, Gunmen Kill Policeman, Wound 2 More in Kabul, 22 June 2020,
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Tolonews, Gunmen Shoot and Kill Judge in Kapisa, 23 June 2020, https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/gunmenshoot-and-kill-judge-kapisa, accessed 22 February 2021
Tolonews, Haqqani Network increases presence in Afghanistan: Nabil, 4 February 2021,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-169754, accessed 15 March 2021
Tolonews, Head of Kapisa Traffic Dept. Killed by Unknown Gunmen, 1 June 2020,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/head-kapisa-traffic-dept-killed-unknown-gunmen, accessed 22 February
2021
Tolonews, Herat-Badghis highway cleaned of Taliban, 5 September 2020,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/herat-badghis-highway-cleared-taliban, accessed 15 March 2021
Tolonews, Illegal Armed Men ‘A Big Challenge For Balkh Residents’, 12 January 2018,https://www.tolonews.com/afghanistan/illegal-armed-men-‘-big-challenge-balkh’, accessed 15 March 2021
Tolonews, Imam of the masque killed by “Taliban”: official, 14 December 2020,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-168484, accessed 15 March 2021

481

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Tolonews, Import ban affects business in Farah Port, 21 September 2018,https://www.tolonews.com/business/import-ban-affects-business-farah-port, accessed 15 March 2021
Tolonews, Imran Khan arrives in Kabul to meet Afghan leaders, 19 November 2020,
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Tolonews, Insecurity Hardens Access to Logar’s Azra District, 30 June 2019,https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/insecurity-hardens-access-logar%E2%80%99s-azra-district, accessed 4
March 2021
Tolonews, Insurgents Attack Security Checkpoints in Kabul, 6 July 2020,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/insurgents-attack-security-checkpoints-kabul, accessed 18 March 2021
Tolonews, Interior Ministry Pledges Crackdown on Drug Dealers, 7 February 2020,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/nterior-ministry-pledges-crackdown-drug-dealers, accessed 31 March 2021
Tolonews, Jawzjan Security Needs More Attention: Official, 5 August 2019,https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/jawzjan-security-needs-more-attention-official, accessed 25 February 2021
Tolonews, Kabul Attacks: 3 Security Force Members Killed in Past 24 Hours, 13 October 2020,
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Tolonews, Kabul lecturer, one other killed in IED blast, 19 March 2021, https://tolonews.com/afghanistan170097, accessed 15 March 2021
Tolonews, Kabul Residents Call on Security Forces to Crackdown on Crime, 22 February 2020,
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2021
Tolonews, Kabul Residents Carry on Despite Daily Blasts, 21 February 2021, https://tolonews.com/afghanistan170180, accessed 30 March 2021
Tolonews, Kabul to be Covered by Security Cameras: Saleh, 6 January 2021 (edited 7 January 2021),
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Tolonews, Kabul: 1 Killed, Another Wounded in Criminal Incidents, 7 March 2021,
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Tolonews, Kabul: Calls for Security Mount as Violence Continues, 19 January 2021,
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Tolonews, Kabul-Kunduz Flights Resumed After 10 Years, 29 September 2020, https://tolonews.com/business166684, accessed 5 April 2021
Tolonews, Kandahar may fall to Taliban because of poor leadership: MPs, 17 February 2021,
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Tolonews, 'Key' Daesh Leaders Arrested in Kabul: NDS, 11 May 2020, https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/keydaesh-leaders-arrested-kabul-nds, accessed 18 March 2021
Tolonews, Key Taliban Commander Killed in Afghan Forces Operation, 18 September 2020,
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Tolonews, Khost Mother Calls on NDS to Release her Journalist Son, 9 September 2020,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/khost-mother-calls-nds-release-her-journalist-son, accessed 7 May 2021
Tolonews, Kidnapped for Ransom, Kabul Man Shares Ordeal, 10 March 2021,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-170591, accessed 18 March 2021
Tolonews, Laghman: ANDSF retreat from besieged center of Dawlat Shah, 20 May 2021,
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Tolonews, Large-scale Military Operation To Launch in North: Dostum, 5 December 2019,https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/large-scale-military-operation-launch-north-dostum, accessed 15 march
2021

482

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Tolonews, Latest: At least 30 Killed in Saturday's Blast in Western Kabul, 25 October 2020,
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Tolonews, Local Council Deputy Killed from Blast Injuries in Kunduz, 26 January 2021,
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Tolonews, Local Forces Mobilize to Purge Taliban Threats in Panjshir, 2 August 2019,https://tolonews.com/index.php/afghanistan/local-forces-mobilize-purge-taliban-threats-panjshir, accessed 3
March 2021
Tolonews, Logar Provincial Council Member Shot, Wounded, 6 July 2020,
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2021
Tolonews, Logar Residents Call for Security Days after Ghani Visit, 18 July 2020,
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Tolonews, Logar Security ‘Improves’ after More Forces Deployed, 4 May 2019,https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/logar-security-improves-after-more-forces-deployed, accessed 4 March
2021
Tolonews, Maidan Wardak Faces Imminent Threat as Taliban Expands Presence, 26 June 2020,
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accessed 16 March 2021
Tolonews, Maidan Wardak Police Chief Suspended over Behsud Incident, 8 February 2021,
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Tolonews, Mazar Man Killed For His Motorcycle, 22 July 2018, https://www.tolonews.com/afghanistan/mazarman-killed-his-motorcycle, accessed 22 March 2021
Tolonews, Militia Armed in Kapisa’s Nejrab District: Local Officials, 8 September 2020,
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23 February 2021
Tolonews, More Than 1,000 Daesh Fighters Active In Kunar: Governor, 8 January 2020,
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Tolonews, Nangarhar: ANDSF Clears Road to District Cut Off for 12 Years, 25 March 2021,
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Tolonews, NDS Arrests Daesh Leader Who 'Planned Killings of Kabul Imams', 10 September 2020,
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March 2021
Tolonews, NDS Chief Says Claims against Alipoor Will Be Investigated, 27 November 2018,https://tolonews.com/index.php/afghanistan/nds-chief%C2%A0says-claims-against-alipoor-will-beinvestigated, accessed 15 March 2021
Tolonews, NDS Prevents Attacks Targeting Media Outlet, Hospital in Kabul, 7 July 2020,
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March 2021
Tolonews, Nearly 340,000 Afghans Repatriated from Iran Since January: IOM, 23 June 2020,
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2021
Tolonews, New Security forces become active : Minister, 4 January 2021, https://tolonews.com/afghanistan168984, accessed 15 March 2021
Tolonews, Nimroz Airstrike Kills 18 Civilians: Local Council Head, 10 January 2021,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-169137, accessed 7 May 2021
Tolonews, Nimroz Identified As Key Human Trafficking Route, 13 September 2018,https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/nimroz-identified-key-human-trafficking-route, accessed 7 May 2021

483

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Tolonews, Nine Men ‘Mysteriously’ Killed in Kabul, 16 February 2020, https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/ninemen-%E2%80%98mysteriously%E2%80%99-killed-kabul, accessed 18 March 2021
Tolonews, Nine Civilians Killed in Kandahar Roadside Mine Blast, 3 June 2020,
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2021
Tolonews, Officials: Govt retakes Ghor’s Murghab district from Taliban, 18 August 2020,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/taliban-takes-ghor%E2%80%99s-murghab-district-govt-forces-respond,
accessed 15 March 2021
Tolonews, Opium Poppy Farming Ongoing in Nangarhar District, 23 February 2021,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-170231, accessed 7 May 2021
Tolonews, Pakistan Opens Two Crossings to Afghan Goods, 14 July 2020,
https://tolonews.com/business/pakistan-opens-two-crossings-afghan-goods, accessed 7 May 2021
Tolonews, Police Attacked by Gunmen in Bagrami, Kabul, 1 Dead, 15 December 2020,
https://tolonews.com/index.php/afghanistan-168507, accessed 26 March 2021
Tolonews, Police Target Paghman Gang Accused of Robbing Kabul Residents, 17 July 2020,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/police-target-paghman-gang-accused-robbing-kabul-residents, accessed 31
March 2021
Tolonews, Policewoman Killed by Unknown Gunmen in Kandahar, 05 February 2020,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/policewoman-killed-%C2%A0unknown%C2%A0gunmen-kandahar,
accessed 10 March 2021
Tolonews, Prosecutor Killed by Unknown Gunmen in Kabul, 13 December 2020,
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Tolonews, Provincial Profile: Kapisa, n.d., https://elections.tolonews.com/kapisa, accessed 18 February 2021
Tolonews, Public Protection Force Spokesman Killed in Kabul IED Blast, 10 January 2021,
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Tolonews, Qaisari in Kabul to Meet With Govt Officials, 1 September 2020,
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Tolonews, Qataris eye more investment in Farah : minister, 25 January 2021, https://tolonews.com/business169501, accessed 15 March 2021
Tolonews, Report Shows Illegal Mining in Nangarhar, 28 March 2020, https://tolonews.com/business/reportshows-illegal-mining-nangarhar, accessed 7 May 2021
Tolonews, Researchers blame Pakistan’s ISI for the death of ex-president, 19 October 2016,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/researchers-blame-pakistans-isi-death-ex-president-najibullah, accessed 15
March 2021
Tolonews, Residents West of Kabul City Report Rise in Taliban Activity, 15 July 2020,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/residents-west-kabul-city-report-rise-taliban-activity, accessed 22 March
2021
Tolonews, Road Works Underway on Salang Pass, 1 September 2018, https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/roadworks-underway-salang-pass-road, accessed 25 February 2021
Tolonews, Rockets Landed in Various Parts of Kabul; 1 Killed, 12 December 2020,
https://tolonews.com/index.php/afghanistan-168432, accessed 25 March 2021
Tolonews, Saleh calls an end to Hizb ut-Tahrir activity in Afghanistan, 28 February 2021,
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Tolonews, Seven Die In Kandahar-Herat Highway Accident, 14 March 2018,https://www.tolonews.com/index.php/afghanistan/seven-die-kandahar-herat-highway-accident, accessed 7
May 2021

484

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Tolonews, Six Civilians Killed in Mine Blast in Jawzjan, 24 June 2020, https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/sixcivilians-killed-mine-blast-jawzjan, accessed 18 March 2021
Tolonews, Special Forces Attempt Arrest of Ex-AFF President, 24 August 2020,
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Tolonews, Taliban Abducts 19 Bus Passengers and Police On Uruzgan Highway, 28 February 2018,https://www.tolonews.com/index.php/afghanistan/ ‫ربودند‬-‫ارزگان‬-‫کندهار‬-‫شاهراه‬-‫از‬-‫را‬-‫مسافر‬۱۹-‫طالبان‬, accessed 7
May 2021
Tolonews, 'Taliban' Attack ANP Convoy in Bagram, 1 ANP Killed, 7 March 2020,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/taliban-attack-anp-convoy-bagram-1-anp-killed, accessed 26 February 2021
Tolonews, Taliban Attack Security Forces Base in Kunduz, 24 August 2020,
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Tolonews, Taliban Attacks Afghan Forces Outpost in Nuristan, 24 February 2021,
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Tolonews, Taliban Attacks Panjshir Border, Hostages Taken: Official, 8 September 2020,
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March 2021
Tolonews, Taliban Attacks Stop Traffic on Northern Highway: Sources, 6 July 2020,
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Tolonews, Taliban Attacks Stop Traffic on Northern Highway: Sources, 6 July 2020,
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2021
Tolonews, Taliban Benefits from Coal Mine Business in Samangan: Official, 12 November 2020,
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Tolonews, Taliban Capture Center of Almar District in Faryab, 11 March 2021,
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Tolonews, Taliban Closes Health Centers In Nangarhar Districts, 21 January 2020,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/taliban-closes-health-centers-nangarhar-districts, accessed 7 May 2021
Tolonews, Taliban control Herat-Badghis highway: locals, 19 August 2020,
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Tolonews, Taliban Increase Presence in Areas Left by ANDSF, 3 March 2021,
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Tolonews, 'Taliban' Kill 4 Members of Family in Wardak: Officials, 7 June 2020,
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Tolonews, Taliban Overrun Strategic District in Badakhshan, 19 November 2020,
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Tolonews, Taliban Planning To Disrupt Balkh Security: Police Chief, 22 August 2019,https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/taliban-planning-disrupt-balkh-security-police-chief, accessed 26 March
2021
Tolonews, Taliban Reshuffles Key Posts as New Fighting Season Nears, 6 March 2021,
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Tolonews, Taliban Unit Leader Arrested in Kabul Operation, 23 August 2020,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/taliban-unit%C2%A0leader-arrested-kabul-operation, accessed 19 March
2021
Tolonews, Taliban violence remains high in Afghanistan, says Sopko, 17 March 2021,
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Tolonews, Team to Investigate Maidan Wardak Clashes, 25 June 2020,
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485

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

Tolonews, Three Policemen killed in Herat Blast, 1 November 2020, https://tolonews.com/afghanistan167453, accessed 18 March 2021
Tolonews, Three Wounded in Faryab Car Bomb Explosion: Official, 17 November 2020,
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Tolonews, Tourists flock to Nuristan, 18 August 2020, https://tolonews.com/arts-culture/tourists-flocknuristan, accessed 7 May 2021
Tolonews, Tribal Elder Killed in Attack by Unknown Gunmen in Parwan, 11 June 2020,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/tribal-elder-killed-attack-unknown-gunmen-parwan, accessed 26 February
2021
Tolonews, Two Explosions in Mazar-e-Sharif, One Civilian Killed, 1 July 2020,
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/two-explosions-mazar-e-sharif-one-civilian-killed, accessed 25 February
2021
Tolonews, Two Human Rights Workers Killed in Kabul, 27 June 2020 (edited 28 June 2020),
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/two-human-rights-workers-killed-kabul, accessed 29 March 2021
Tolonews, Two Women Killed by Unknown Gunmen In Herat City, 11 August 2020,
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Tolonews, University Professor Wounded as Armed Robbery Increases in Kabul, 8 January 2020,
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Tolonews, Unknown gunmen kill head of a primary court in Herat, 18 February 2020,
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March 2021
Tolonews, US Forces Exit 2 Bases in Nangarhar: Local Officials, 22 July 2020,
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Tolonews, US Leaves Logar's 'FOB Shank,' Once Home to 18K Troops, 4 January 2021,
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Tolonews, Warring sides prepare for offensive spring despite peace efforts, 16 February 2021,
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Tolonews, Woman Killed in Balkh Blast, Five More Wounded, 19 September 2020,
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Tolonews; Eight-Year-Old Boy Abducted, Killed in Kabul, 16 March 2020,
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506

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1

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province’], 4 May 2020, https://shahamat1.com/?p=170124, accessed 15 March 2021
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508

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Annex 2: Terms of Reference
The goal of this report is to provide security-related information relevant for international protection
status determination.
An important goal of this report is to provide details on a regional, provincial or even district level.
The reporting period for incidents and events illustrating the general trends of the conflict is
1 January 2020 until 28 February 2021.
The content of the report should contain information on the following topics:••

General description of the security situation-

Conflict background▪ Overview of recent conflicts in Afghanistan▪ Political landscape▪ Peace talks▪ International context-

Actors in the conflict▪ Pro-government forces• Tasks/roles/numbers• Components• Civilian casualties’ attribution▪ Anti-government elements• Level of organisation• Civilian casualties’ attribution-

Recent security trends and armed confrontations▪ Trends, nature of violence and methods primarily used-

Impact of the violence on the civilian population▪ Civilian casualties▪ State ability to secure law and order▪ Socio-economic situation▪ Refugees, IDPs, returnees▪ Children-

Geographical overview▪ Broad regional differences▪ Insurgent control▪ Conflict severity-

Mobility▪ security aspects of travelling (roads, flights)

Regional description: per province-

General description (districts, population, geography, economy)
Conflict background (description on presence and general activity of actors, Taliban
control/presence)
doi:

513

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation-

Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population▪ Civilian casualties▪ Conflict severity▪ Incident numbers▪ Description of representative incidents▪ Displacement514

Country of origin information report | Afghanistan: Security situation

doi: 10.2847/530308

515