KABUL - UNAMA reiterates its call for a halt in cross-border clashes between Afghan de facto security forces and Pakistani security forces, which is worsening Afghanistan’s already grave humanitarian situation.
UNAMA also calls on all parties to comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, and to ensure the protection of civilians.
Amid the ongoing fighting, and in line with its Security Council mandate, UNAMA continues to document incidents of civilian casualties inside Afghanistan, while humanitarian agencies have warned of a worsening humanitarian impact on the Afghan people – including large-scale displacement and disruption to assistance work.
From the late evening 26 February to 2 March 2026, UNAMA recorded at least 146 civilian casualties in Afghanistan, with 42 people killed, and 104 injured, including women and children. These figures remain preliminary.
The civilian casualties include those caused by indirect fire in cross-border clashes, which impacted residential areas in Paktya, Paktika, Nangarhar, Kunar and Khost provinces in Afghanistan, as well as those caused by airstrikes in Paktika and Nangarhar provinces.
According to preliminary data compiled by OCHA, an estimated 16,400 households have been displaced across Paktya, Paktika, Nangarhar, Kunar and Khost provinces from areas impacted by the clashes. In addition, hundreds of families still displaced after the August 2025 Kunar earthquake, Afghanistan’s deadliest in nearly 30 years, have been advised to leave the area and return to their place of origin or stay with relatives as a precautionary measure.
Restrictions on movements in the border area due to the active conflict have reduced the capacity of humanitarian agencies and partners to deliver life-saving and other assistance in the most-affected areas, leaving Afghan returnees from Pakistan particularly vulnerable.
Humanitarian and medical facilities, including the emergency hospital at the Torkham border post and an IOM transit center, have also been damaged.
WFP has paused its activities in the affected areas, with approximately 160,000 people impacted by the suspension of food distributions. Several of the provinces affected by the fighting are experiencing critical levels of acute malnutrition.
On Afghanistan’s western border with Iran, a potential increase in numbers of Afghan returnees is also anticipated, further stretching humanitarian resources.
