Afghanistan

From BBC online: “Landlocked and mountainous, Afghanistan has suffered from such chronic instability and conflict during its modern history that its economy and infrastructure are in ruins, and many of its people are refugees.

After the fall of the Taleban administration in 2001, adherents of the hardline Islamic movement have re-grouped and are now a resurgent force, particularly in the south and east. A fledgling democratic government faces the challenges of extending its authority beyond the capital and of forging national unity.”
BBC, 16th September 2006

Refugees**

• Refugees and asylum seekers: 1,922,087
• Number of internally dispaced persons: 1425,05
• Total: 2,064,592
• Number of asylum applications to the UK (June05-June06): 1985

Current situation

From UNHCR: “UNHCR is concerned about the increasing number of people internally displaced in southern Afghanistan as a result of recent hostilities between government forces, NATO and insurgents. Since July, an estimated 15,000 families have been displaced in the southern provinces of Kandahar, Uruzgan and Helmand. This fresh displacement adds new hardship to a population already hosting 116,400 people earlier uprooted by conflict and drought”
UNHCR, 6 October 2006

From Human Rights Watch: “An explosive combination of resurgent Taliban forces, record-high drug production, ineffective local governance, and re-armed warlords is threatening the well-being and rights of hundreds of thousands of ordinary people in Afghanistan and, increasingly, across the border in Pakistan.

‘The recent assassination of Safia Amajan, a staunch defender of women’s rights in Kandahar, is another terrible reminder of the violence and insecurity now strangling life in southern Afghanistan,’ said Sam Zarifi, Asia research director for Human Rights Watch”
Human Rights Watch, 27 September 2006

From Amnesty Iternational: “Four years after the fall of the Taliban, violence continues to plague Afghanistan. Amnesty International is particularly concerned about reports of attacks on civilians by anti-government forces, especially in southern Afghanistan in recent months. During the election process in September 2005. armed anti-government insurgents killed officials who registered women to vote, and confiscated voting cards forcibly. Women in Afghanistan continue to face severe violence both within and outside the home.”
Amnesty International, September 2006

* This information is taken from the BBC's country profiles
**These numbers were taken from UNHCR figures published June 2nd 2006 and Home Office figures June 2005 - June 2006