UNHCR: Bombings at Kabul airport have exacerbated Afghanistan's humanitarian catastrophe

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has repeated its demand in a statement to all countries bordering Afghanistan to keep their borders open to people fleeing the rising catastrophe. After the Thursday suicide bombings, the organisation released a Regional Refugee Preparedness and Response Plan, which predicts 500,000 Afghan refugees landing in neighbouring countries by the end of the year.

UNHCR has requested $299 million

The UNHCR has requested $299 million in financing to assist it and other UN agencies and partners in stockpiling supplies and preparing for large-scale refugee departures.

Assistant High Commissioner Kelly Clements of the UNHCR underlined that large cross-border migrations have yet to occur and that the biggest needs remain within the country, where the conflict's effects have been exacerbated by a severe drought and the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the World Food Programme, with a third of the population currently facing food insecurity, demand is anticipated to rise as winter approaches.

Thursday bomb blast near Kabul airport

Over 100 Afghans and 13 US soldiers were killed and many more were injured in two suicide explosions near Kabul Airport on Thursday, further destabilising the country. According to one authority, up to 169 people may have died. Because they were not authorised to speak to the media, the officials spoke on the condition of anonymity. At least ten bodies have been discovered outside Kabul's Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital. According to Afghans, many of the bodies are unclaimed because relatives are travelling from other areas.

In an angry speech delivered Thursday night, US President Joe Biden lambasted the Islamic State's Afghanistan offshoot, which is far more radical than the Taliban soldiers who took control of the country less than two weeks ago in a fast march across the country. The strikes occurred as the United States and other Western countries rushed to evacuate their citizens and Afghan friends before a deadline was set for August 31. In the last two weeks, tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from the airport, but airlift operations are likely to end in the coming days, leaving Afghans with few alternative options for escaping the country.

(Inputs from AP News)

Image Credit: AP