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Half a million more may flee Afghanistan, says UNHCR
Refugees evacuated from Kabul wait to board to a bus that will take them to a refugee processing centre in Dulles, Virginia. — AFP
Geneva - The number would add to the 2.2 million Afghans who already are registered as refugees abroad
The UN refugee agency is gearing up for as many as half a million people or more to flee from Afghanistan in a “worse-case scenario” in the coming months.
The UNHCR said the situation in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover last week “remains uncertain and may evolve rapidly,” with up to 515,000 new refugees fleeing.
The agency said that would add to the 2.2 million Afghans who already are registered as refugees abroad — nearly all of them in Pakistan and Iran.
“The upsurge of violence across the country and the fall of the elected government may have a serious impact on civilians and cause further displacement,” the UNHCR said.
The agency cited estimates that 558,000 people have been internally displaced within Afghanistan due to armed conflict this year alone — four in five of them women and children. “The UNHCR estimates that the number of displaced will rise, both internally and across border,” it said.
Najeeba Wazedafost, CEO of the Asia Pacific Refugee Network, in an online UNHCR news conference on Friday, warned of “coming darkness” in Afghanistan amid a “tragically intertwined series of crises”.
The UN agency is seeking nearly $300 million for its response plan for inter-agency requirements.
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