More than half of Afghanistan’s 38 million people are expected to face hunger this winter. (File)
New York:
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi warned of a surge in Afghan refugees amid fears of economic fallout in the war-torn country and called for urgent economic aid.
Grandi told reporters via video link from Geneva: “We had a risk of an explosion, which would certainly cause an influx of people within the country but at that time also outside the country looking for better conditions for life”.
The United Nations has repeatedly warned that Afghanistan is on the brink of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
According to aid groups, more than half of Afghanistan’s 38 million people are expected to face famine this winter, as the economy teeters on the brink of collapse after the Taliban return to power and International aid remains frozen.
Grandi says the crisis is still avoidable, but it requires faster action in deploying systems to ensure Afghanistan’s economy can function, services continue and money flows into the country. will continue.
He added that he will travel to Tehran in the next few days to discuss the matter with Iran’s leaders.
Iran has been a top destination for Afghan refugees fleeing war and economic troubles for decades.
Despite the risk of famine in Afghanistan, Iran recently deported tens of thousands of Afghans every week, including those who have long lived there.
According to UNHCR, there are 3.4 million Afghans in Iran, including nearly two million undocumented migrants and 800,000 refugees.
Furthermore, some 3.5 million Afghans have been displaced within their country, many of them before the Taliban took power in August, according to United Nations estimates.
Grandi would not say how many people have been displaced since the Taliban takeover and how many new refugees is expected because he does not have those numbers yet.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from an aggregated feed.)
