The UN: We assess the security situation in Afghanistan hour by hour

The United Nations announced Friday that it is “assessing the security situation in (Afghan capital) Kabul hour by hour” and has contingency plans in place to deal with worst-case scenarios.

This came in a press conference held by the Spokesman for the Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, at the permanent headquarters of the International Organization in New York.

The spokesman said: “There is no evacuation of our staff from Afghanistan, we are assessing the security situation in Kabul and other areas hour by hour.

We have contingency plans prepared for the worst-case scenarios, and we are continuing to distribute our aid.”

“As an example of what is being done to civilians on the ground, many people are arriving in Kabul and other big cities trying to find safety for themselves and their families.

The humanitarian community-verified the presence of 10,350 displaced people who arrived in Kabul between July 1 and August 12, that is, until yesterday.

“Women and children make up about 80 percent of the nearly a quarter of a million Afghans who have been forced to flee since last May,” Dujarric said.

“Most of the displaced are either renting accommodation or hosted by friends or families, but unfortunately an increasing number are staying in the open,” he said.

As of yesterday, along with our partners, we provided food, health, household items, water, and sanitation to nearly 6,900 men, women, and children who were displaced in Kabul.”

He added: “In Kunar Province, eastern Afghanistan, tens of thousands of people have been displaced since July 25 due to the escalating conflict.

So far, around 14,000 IDPs from Kunar have been identified to receive assistance.”

Since last May, violence has escalated in Afghanistan with the expansion of the Taliban’s influence, coinciding with the start of the final stage of the withdrawal of US forces, which is scheduled to be completed by August 31.

Afghanistan has been suffering a war since 2001, when an international military coalition led by Washington overthrew the Taliban regime because it was linked at the time to Al-Qaeda, which adopted the September 11 attacks of the same year in the United States.