KABUL - The Minister of Refugees and Repatriation Sayed Alimi Balkhi on Sunday said that 20,000 families have been displaced in the Kunduz crisis.
"Our ministry has registered 20,000 families as having been displaced over the Kunduz battle," Balkhi said adding that this could amount to over 100,000 people in total.
Addressing a press conference, he said that the displaced people have gone to Baghlan, Takhar, Badakhshan, Mazar-e- Sharif and Kabul provinces.
In addition he said his ministry has no budget to help these families. He said they can only register them and try to get aid from government and NGOs.
On the Afghan refugee issue, he said that government is focusing on the repatriation of Afghan refugees and that the international community has agreed to help
"Today I will meet with European officials in Kabul to discuss migrant issue in their countries," Balkhi said.
Meanwhile, as the number of people fleeing Kunduz rises, and the need for aid increases, the World Food Program (WFP) on Sunday announced it was seriously concerned about the safety and food security of the people remaining behind in the battle-torn city.
"WFP is assessing the situation in coordination with other humanitarian partners, and we are ready to extend our assistance to Kunduz as soon as the security situation allows us access," Angelline Rudakubana, Deputy Country Director and Officer-in-Charge for WFP in Afghanistan, said in a statement.
In a press release, WFP said it has started distributing enough food for a month to more than 150 families who fled to the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, while food is being dispatched for nearly 950 families displaced to Taloqan city, the capital of neighboring Takhar province.
WFP is funded entirely by voluntary contributions and the crisis in Kunduz comes as the agency struggles with an existing budget shortfall in Afghanistan, according to the agency. Some $30 million USD is urgently required as winter approaches, WFP said.
This year, WFP Afghanistan plans to assist 3.9 million vulnerable Afghans in all 34 provinces of the country with food assistance through various projects, including assets creation, school meals, vocational skills training and nutrition support.
However, Sharif Amiry, TOLOnews's journalist who is reporting from Kunduz said on Sunday that the situation is slowly returning to normal and that people are starting to come out of their homes where possible.
He says that threats still remain in some parts of the city but that security forces have re-taken key areas from insurgents.
Officials have not however provided details about the casualties of the attack. (Tolonews)