MAZAR - The United Nations has distributed humanitarian aid to 175 internally displaced families in the northern province of Balkh who were forced to leave their home due to ongoing drought and insecurity. The families from Tandorak village in the Charkent district are currently living in the Nasaji area of Mazar-e Sharif.

“We left our homes due to insecurity and unemployment and now we do labour work,” said Mohammad Akbar.

“The Taliban started infiltrating our villages and government forces conducted counterinsurgency operations, night raids, planes, bombs made us leave the area,” he added.

Many families in Charkent migrated to the cities abandoning their homes and families when their crops failed due to a lack of rain-fed farming last year. Some have been living in Mazar-e Sharif for nearly five months.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) together with its governmental counterpart – provincial department of repatriation and refuges, distributed yesterday aid donated by UNHCR, World Food Programme (WFP) and International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Each family package included blankets, plastic sheets, cooking supplies, gas cylinders, gas containers, soap, a metal bucket, beans, oil and salt.

“I am the only supporter of a family of seven members and I am thankful to the UN for this assistance,” said Amrullah, adding that he hoped for more aid. “I do labor work for 250 AFN (equivalent to USD 5 ) per day and it’s hard to manage supporting a seven-member family on that amount.”

UNHCR has assisted over 1000 IDP families with humanitarian aid since the beginning of this year in the north and northeastern provinces of Balkh, Jawzjan, Faryab and Kunduz and is planning to assist hundreds more vulnerable IDP families in coming weeks in the same region.

By UNAMA Mazar