KABUL - The US government’s Special Inspector General for Afghanistan released his quarterly report to Congress on Thursday, saying the Afghan government’s control or influence over the population has slightly declined.
The report comes amid increased efforts by the US to pull the American troops from Afghanistan and reach a peace deal with the Taliban.
Here are the key points from the report:
-- The Afghan government's control or influence over the population declined this quarter. According to RS, as of October 31, 2018, 63.5% of the population lived in areas under Afghan government control or influence, down 1.7% from the previous quarter. The insurgency slightly increased its control or influence over areas where 10.8% of the population lives. The population living in contested areas increased to 25.6% of the population.
-- According to Resolute Support, as of October 31, 2018, the Afghan government controlled or influenced 53.8% of the total number of districts. This represents a decrease of seven government-controlled or influenced districts compared to last quarter and eight since the same period of 2017. 12.3% of Afghanistan's districts are now reportedly under insurgent control or influence. 33.9% of districts are contested.
-- USFOR-A reported that the assigned (actual) personnel strength of the ANDSF as October 31, 2018, was 308,693 personnel - or 87.7% strength. ANDSF strength decreased by 3,635 personnel since last quarter and is at the lowest it has been since the RS mission began in January 2015.
-- USFOR-A declassified information on female personnel in the ANDSF this quarter. The information reveals that the ANDSF had 4,735 female personnel in its ranks - less than 2% of its current assigned strength. The number of women in the ANDSF increased by about 200 since last quarter and 101 personnel since the same period in 2017.
-- According to U.S. Air Forces Central Command (AFCENT), U.S. air assets in Afghanistan dropped 6,823 munitions in the first 11 months of 2018. This year's figure was already 56% higher than the total number of munitions released in 2017 (4,361), and is more than five times the total in 2016.
-- The number of attacks claimed by IS-K, the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan, decreased this quarter. According to ACLED, the group claimed three attacks in Afghanistan this quarter that killed 20 people, compared to 14 claimed attacks last quarter that killed 96 people. However, there were 74 attacks this quarter conducted by unidentified armed groups-some of which could have been IS-K-that killed 220 people.
-- The Department of Justice (DOJ) reports that the Afghan government has made insufficient progress to investigate and prosecute corruption cases. DOJ also reported that the Afghan government has not yet demonstrated sufficient motivation or action to deter future corrupt actors, or to convince the Afghan people that the government is serious about combatting corruption.
-- Narcotics trafficking remains a widespread problem, with CSTC-A observing senior Afghan security force leaders and civilian provincial authorities often controlling narcotics trafficking networks in the western, southwestern, and northern regions.
-- Despite interdictions, arrests, prosecutions and narcotic seizures, the cumulative opium seizures for the past decade are equivalent to merely 7.5% of 2018's total opium production as reported by UNODC.
-- As of December 22, the International Organization on Migration reported that 757,292 undocumented Afghans returned from Iran in 2018. DOD says that 96% of the Afghan returnees from Iran are unskilled or semiskilled single male laborers under age 30, a population that could be vulnerable to recruitment into extremist groups or the illicit economy.
-- The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) reported that Afghanistan is experiencing a major livelihood crisis due to a prolonged drought. IPC anticipated that 10.6 million people would face severe food insecurity due to the drought. According to the UN, the drought affected 229 of 401 districts and displaced approximately 260,000 people.
-- New SIGAR analysis shows that the Afghan government's aggregate domestic revenues grew by more than 9% year-on-year, while sustainable domestic revenues grew by 14%.
-- Afghanistan jumped 16 spots in the World Bank's Doing Business rankings from 183rd to 167th among the 190 economies measured. According to the Bank, the jump in the rankings was due to improvements to Afghanistan's legal framework for businesses. (Pajhwok)