The Takhar refugees were driven out of their homes by Taliban advances last year, many with only the clothes they stood up in. The situation is difficult even for those who are still in their homes. In the town of Dashti Qala in the far north of the province on the Tajikistan border, people are living right up against the front line despite occasional artillery exchanges . In Takhar there are few resources in the community to support the displaced. The province has been hit by drought and a Taliban economic blockade which has driven prices skywards.
Wheat costs five times as much as it did a year ago.
The head of the United Nations Refugee Agency, Ruud Lubbers, has called the situation insane . He wants both sides in the civil war to call a ceasefire so that Afghans can try to cope with the worst droughts in living memory.