10,350 internally displaced Afghans have taken shelter in capital Kabul as fight

The UN also expressed alarm over the possibility of the Taliban taking over the capital city of Kabul and its impact on the population there

Afghans displaced internally after the Taliban captured their cities have been streaming into big cities like Kabul, the United Nations (UN) said during a press conference on Friday. "Due to the conflict that we're seeing across the country, many people are arriving in Kabul and other large cities, trying to seek safety for themselves and for their families," said Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The UN and its humanitarian partners have verified that a total of 10,350 internally displaced people arrived in Kabul between July 1 and August 12 as fighting rages on.

The UN and its humanitarian partners have verified that a total of 10,350 internally displaced people arrived in Kabul between July 1 and August 12 (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP) (AFP)

"We are not blind to the suffering of the civilians who are caught in the crossfire in urban environments,” Secretary General’s Personal Envoy on Afghanistan and Regional Issues Jean Arnault told reporters, adding that the UN is continuing to engage with the Taliban in Doha to bring about a “political solution” to the violence. “We are continuing to engage with the Taliban in Doha. We are continuing to believe that there is a political solution that can be had. This doesn’t mean that we are also blind to what is going on on the ground," Arnault said.

The UN has about 3,000 or so national staff and about 300 international staff engaged in humanitarian assistance programmes in war-torn Afghanistan, however the ongoing conflict and the resultant security challenges are proving difficult to overcome, Dujarric informed reporters. ”The United Nations stands ready to contribute to such a settlement and remains focused on providing assistance to the increasing number of Afghans in need,” he added.

Dujarric expressed his alarm over the possibility of the Taliban taking over the capital city of Kabul and its impact on the population there. “It is clear that urban fighting in the city the size of Kabul would have a catastrophic impact on civilians, and we very much hope that this does not happen,” he told reporters on Thursday, adding that the UN is especially concerned “about the shift of fighting to urban areas, where the potential for civilian harm is even greater,”.

The Taliban meanwhile continued to push closer to Kabul, capturing a town south of the capital that is one of the gateways to the city. The insurgent group also said they are close to capturing Maidan Shahr, another town close to Kabul on the main highway to the southern hub of Kandahar, a day after they took control of the second and third largest cities in the country.