KUNDUZ - More than 100 families affected by the recent fighting in the Kunduz area received humanitarian assistance packages distributed with the support of the UN and its partners.

Carried out as part of the Afghan Civilian Assistance Programme (ACAP) – a countrywide project that provides humanitarian aid to people affected by conflict, mines and explosive remnants of war – the Kunduz families received a variety of food and non-food items, including water containers and bedding materials, from the UN Mine Action Centre for Afghanistan (UNMACA) which is supported by the UN Mine Action Service.

Since the Kunduz conflict, more than 500 affected families have received a variety of food and non-food assistance as part of ACAP, with further aid distribution planned in the province.

Between 28 September and 13 October, Kunduz city residents experienced the Taliban’s attack and temporary occupation of the city and the counter-offensive by pro-Government forces up to the point they regained control of the city. There was also conflict elsewhere in Kunduz province.

A special report released in December by UNAMA and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights documented civilian deaths and injuries during the period. The report provided a preliminary figure of 848 civilian casualties, consisting of 289 dead and 559 injured. Other sources point to thousands of people displaced from their homes.

Sayed Aghan Atiq, UNMACA Area Manager for the Northeast Region, said that, apart from aid packages, assistance includes long-term support to war-affected civilians through a physical rehabilitation service and vocational training center.

Abdul Matin, who lost one of his legs in the recent Kunduz conflict, said he was happy to receive help. “I’m in contact with the physical rehabilitation people to have a prosthesis leg made for myself,” he said, noting that people are tired of conflict and want the parties to stop the violence.

Mother-of-six, Parikhal, lost her husband in the recent conflict in Kunduz. Parikhal, who uses one name, said she is grateful to receive an aid package, although she expressed uncertainty as to how she will manage to support her family in the long term.

UNAMA is mandated under UN Security Council resolution 2210 (2015) “to monitor the situation of civilians, to coordinate efforts to ensure their protection, to promote accountability and to assist in the full implementation of the fundamental freedoms and human rights provisions of the Afghan Constitution and international treaties to which Afghanistan is a State party, in particular those regarding the full enjoyment by women of their human rights.”