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Drought compounds humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan as conflict intensifies
Millions of Afghans are struggling to put food on the table as prolonged drought disrupts supplies in a country reeling from a surge in violence as U.S.-led foreign troops complete their withdrawal.
Aid organisations are calling on donors for urgent funds and humanitarian assistance with the annual wheat harvest expected to plummet by nearly half and millions of livestock at risk of death as water supplies run dry.
“It’s a multiple shock,” said Necephor Mghendi, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Afghanistan.
“Generally, there has been an impact on availability and distribution of food … and the conflict is causing internal displacement, which means increased demand for resources in certain regions.”
The entire country is facing moderate to severe drought, President Ashraf Ghani said in late June, acknowledging that the national disaster management budget was not enough to cover what experts say is one of the worst droughts in decades in terms of geographic scale.
“We … will not allow the country to face famine,” Ghani said in a statement. “Our effort is to address all districts, even those under the Taliban control.”
The Islamist insurgents have stepped up their campaign to defeat Ghani’s U.S.-backed government as foreign forces leave after 20 years of conflict and have swept into numerous rural districts across the country.
With very little functioning irrigation, Afghanistan relies on snow melting in its mountains to keep its rivers flowing and fields watered during the summer and snowfall last winter was again very low.
Fahad Saeed, a climate scientist at Climate Analytics, said a La Niña phenomenon and a weakening jet stream moving weather systems more slowly across the planet could be factors behind Afghanistan‘s extremely dry weather.
While it is difficult to link individual events to climate change, scientists agree that global warming driven by greenhouse gas emissions is contributing to extreme weather around the world.
“Afghanistan is a good example of climate injustice. It has historically no role in the climate change mess but they are bearing the brunt of it,” Saeed said.
Afghanistan was one of 23 countries the United Nations identified as “hunger hotspots” in a report last month, with at least 12 million people out of a population estimated at 36 million facing a food security crisis of not knowing when or where their next meal will come from.
The IFRC is trying to raise US$16.5 million but has managed less than half of that, Mghendi said.
“It’s a dire humanitarian situation that requires as much support as possible to get the very basics,” Mghendi said.
Nooruddin Azizi, Minister of Industry and Commerce of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, met on Thursday with Sadin Ayyıldız, Chargé d’Affaires of the Turkish Embassy in Kabul. During the meeting, Ayyıldız invited the Minister of Industry and Commerce to participate in Turkey’s Antalya Diplomacy Forum.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Industry, the meeting also emphasized the economic, trade, and historical relations between Kabul and Ankara, as well as the export of Afghan goods to Turkey.
The two sides discussed increasing trade volume between the two countries, strengthening economic relations, facilitating and enhancing commercial activities, cooperation in road transport along various routes, activating the Lapis Lazuli Corridor, and regional cooperation.
Azizi, while thanking Turkey for inviting the Islamic Emirate to the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, introduced the Ministry’s technical team to ensure better coordination and planning.
The Antalya Diplomacy Forum is an international conference held annually in Turkey, aimed at examining global challenges and finding joint solutions through dialogue and diplomacy. It hosts representatives from more than 100 countries, including presidents, leaders, high-ranking officials, international organizations, analysts, and media from various countries.
Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, Prime Minister of the Islamic Emirate, in a telephone conversation initiated by Mohammad Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia, discussed regional developments, particularly the recent situation between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, said in a statement that Hassan Akhund stated during the call that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s principled position is clear and that it believes in resolving issues through mutual understanding and cooperation.
Hassan Akhund added that during Eid al-Fitr, at the request of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar, the Islamic Emirate demonstrated its goodwill by respecting a pause in defensive operations.
He stated that violence benefits no party and that actions that increase tensions should be avoided, emphasizing that wisdom and rationality must guide efforts to resolve problems.
He also expressed concern over rising regional tensions following the US and Israeli attacks on Iran.
The Malaysian Prime Minister also expressed concern about the regional situation and hoped that the temporary halt in hostilities between Afghanistan and Pakistan would continue, and that existing problems could be resolved through sincere negotiations and understanding.
He added that Malaysia aims to play a positive role in facilitating understanding between both parties.
Israel’s defence minister says that an Israeli air strike has killed Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ navy.
The killing was carried out “last night, in a precise and lethal operation” and targeted other “senior officers of the naval command”, said Israel Katz, in a video statement.
“The man who was directly responsible for the terrorist operation of mining and blocking the Strait of Hormuz to shipping was blown up and eliminated,” he claimed.
Since the start of the joint US-Israeli war on Iran on February 28, Israel has announced the assassination of several top Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Republic ‘s powerful security chief, Ali Larijani.
Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, reporting from Tehran, said there was no official Iranian confirmation yet of Tangsiri’s killing.
“But if it’s true it’s going to be another major blow for a country that has already experienced a lot of military commanders being killed” since the war began, he said.
The head of the Basij paramilitary forces, Brigadier General Gholamreza Soleimani, and Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib were also assassinated in Israeli attacks.
Moreover, in recent days, Israeli forces have carried out several strikes targeting the naval assets of Iran.
Last week, Israeli airstrikes hit several Iranian naval ships in the Caspian Sea, including ones equipped with missile systems, support vessels, and patrol craft.
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