Badghis

displacement since March 2020’ in three north-eastern provinces, including Badakhshan.⁷³⁴ No conflict-induced displacement was registered from over half of Badakhshan’s districts, including Fayzabad.⁷³⁵

UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 March 2019 – 30 June 2020, reporting 32 277 persons displaced by conflict to Badakhshan province, all displaced within the province. While in Warduj and Jorm, displacement occurred within the respective districts, Fayzabad hosted 22 % and Baharak 19 % IDPs from various districts within Badakhshan province.⁷³⁶

Qala-i Naw.⁷⁴⁰ The district of Ghormach reportedly became part of Faryab in 2017.⁷⁴¹ In August 2018, the Peshawar-based daily newspaper, the Frontier Post reported that Ghormach’s administrative affairs would be shifted back to Badghis due to security reasons.⁷⁴² The administrative status of the district seems to be disputed. AAN cited sources claiming that the central government had already transferred Ghormach to Faryab ‘temporarily’ in 2007, while the governor of Faryab did not consider Ghormach to be part of Faryab in 2010.⁷⁴³ NSIA estimated the population of Badghis province for 2020-21 at 549 583.⁷⁴⁴ According to the Office of the President of Afghanistan, Badghis is inhabited mainly by Tajiks, Pashtuns, Uzbeks, and Turkmens.⁷⁴⁵

The roads of Badghis have been reported to be in bad condition and mostly unsafe because of insurgent and criminal activity.⁷⁴⁶ In January 2020, Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of the Afghan Parliament), approved two presidential decrees on obtaining USD 100 million loan for the construction of two roads: Kabul ring road, which will cost USD 70 million and the Armak-Qala-i Naw road in Badghis that will cost USD 30 million.⁷⁴⁷ The population relies entirely on rainfall for agriculture and drinking water and the food insecurity reached a crisis level. Drought⁷⁴⁸ and natural disasters made people in Badghis province vulnerable to recruitment by insurgents and militants due to the famine.⁷⁴⁹

According to the UNODC Opium Survey, in 2018, opium poppy cultivation in Badghis province decreased by more than two thirds compared to 2017, mainly driven by drought⁷⁵⁰, but also because UNODC counted the district Ghormach, which is a major poppy cultivating district, as part of Faryab in 2018.⁷⁵¹ According to AAN, in 2019, opium-poppy cultivation in the four western provinces including in Badghis has decreased by 23 % compared to 2018.⁷⁵² On 23 June 2019, Afghan security forces reportedly seized a Taliban related truck loaded with drugs on the Herat-Torghondi Highway, which came from Bala Murghab district of Badghis province.⁷⁵³

2.3.2 Conflict background and actors in Badghis

According to the provincial profile of Badghis by AAN, Badghis was the first province of northern Afghanistan to be seized by the Taliban in late 1996.⁷⁵⁴ After the fall of the Taliban, several influential warlords ruled Badghis, among them Abdul Malik, Rashid Dostum, Juma Khan, and Ismail Khan.⁷⁵⁵ An EU-funded Emergency Response Mechanism (ERM) household assessment report of November 2018 indicated that the security situation has worsened in Badghis in 2018 due to fighting between

740 Afghanistan, IEC, Afghanistan 2019 Presidential Elections – Final results by Polling Stations: Province Badghis, 2020, url;

Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan 2020-21, 1 June 2020, url, p. 41

741 Ali, O., Ruttig, T., Battle for Faryab: Fighting intensifies on one of Afghanistan’s major frontlines, AAN, 12 March 2018, url; UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2018, November 2018, url, p. 15

742 Frontier Post (The), Ghormach falls to Taliban as ANA troops move to Maimana, 28 August 2018, url

743 Bjelica, J., How Neglect and Remoteness Bred Insurgency and a Poppy Boom: The story of Badghis, AAN, 22 February 2017, url

744 Afghanistan, NSIA, Estimated population of Afghanistan 2020-21, d.n., url, p. 5

745 Afghanistan, Office of the President, Provincial Profile Badghis, 1 February 2017, url

746 AREU, The Political Economy of Education and Health Service Delivery in Afghanistan, January 2016, url, pp. 44-46;

Bjelica, J., How Neglect and Remoteness Bred Insurgency and a Poppy Boom: The story of Badghis, AAN, 22 February 2017, url

747 Pajhwok Afghan News, Decrees on $100m loan for 2 projects approved, 6 January 2020, url

748 In 2019, Badghis was a drought-hit province (see: EEAS, Contribution from the European Union enhances resilience in Badghis Province, 28 October 2019, url), which made people vulnerable to AGEs recruitment (see: National Geographic, In Afghanistan, climate change complicates prospects for peace, 3 February 2020, url)

749 National Geographic, In Afghanistan, climate change complicates prospects for peace, 3 February 2020, url

750 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2018, November 2018, url, p. 16

751 UNODC and Afghanistan, MCN, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2018, November 2018, url, p. 17

752 AAN, New world drug report: opium production in Afghanistan remained the same in 2019, 25 June 2020, url

753 Salaam Times, Afghan border forces, police block Taliban drug trafficking route in Herat, 5 July 2019, url

754 Bjelica, J., How Neglect and Remoteness Bred Insurgency and a Poppy Boom: The story of Badghis, AAN, 22 February 2017, url

755 US, Naval Postgraduate School, Badghis Provincial Overview, n.d., url

insurgents and government forces in Jawand and Qadis.⁷⁵⁶ Since 2014, Badghis province has been a hotbed of fighting between the Taliban, IMU and ANDSF.⁷⁵⁷ Since 2016, Badghis was amongst the western provinces witnessing clashes between Taliban factions each loyal to a different commander.⁷⁵⁸ In July 2019, Khaama Press reported that Badghis province was one of the ‘relatively volatile’ north-western provinces of Afghanistan.⁷⁵⁹

In October 2019, UNAMA, indicated that the four western provinces of Afghanistan including Badghis, in the recent years have experienced a growing number of insurgent activities.⁷⁶⁰ According to Etilaatroz, since March 2019, Taliban fighters continued their attacks on Bala Murghab district and extended their presence into Jawand, Ab Kamari, Muqur and Qadis districts, where intense clashes continued between the group and Afghan forces. The source quoted Ziaulhaq Ferozkohi, political activist in Badghis province, stating that [informal translation] the ‘Taliban control major territory in Badghis province including and entirely Bala Murghab District and its capital. Residents left the district, and only military outposts remained. The government control only the capitals of Qadis, Ab Kamari and Muqur Districts.’ According to the source, a security in-charge for Badghis, who did not want to be named, stated that [informal translation] ‘Taliban have been collecting 500 AFG (around 5 Euros) per month per family, and the group monopolised the pistachio farms’. The source also quoted Sharifullah Chamtoo, Badghis chief police, stating [informal translation] ‘all districts of Badghis province are under the government control.’⁷⁶¹ While according to information contained in a LWJ map, Muqur and Bala Murghab districts of Badghis province were under the Taliban control, and Ab Kamari, Qala-i Naw, Qadis and Jawand districts were contested.⁷⁶²

In December 2019, Taliban issued a statement claiming that they have taken the control of Bala Murghab district capital⁷⁶³ and in March 2020, a local news quoted Najmulddin Burhani the spokesman for Badghis Governor stating that Rubat area of Qadis district was under the Taliban control.⁷⁶⁴ On 4 May 2020, Taliban reported that several of Mujahidin (Taliban fighters) were graduated from Saad Ben Abi Weqaas military training camp in Badghis province. They claim that these fighters got trained on military warfare in using light and heavy weapons including laser weapons. The group posted several photos of the alleged fighters during the training.⁷⁶⁵

The International Public Policy (IPP) Review stated in January 2019, that the Islamic State of Khorasan has cultivated its presence among other provinces of northern Afghanistan also in Badghis.⁷⁶⁶

Regarding the presence of ANDSF in Badghis province, the 3^rd Regiment of Zafar 207^th Corps of ANA (which is responsible for the western provinces of Afghanistan), is based in Badghis.⁷⁶⁷ As part of the

756 ERM, Household Assessment Report, 1 November 2018, url, p. 1

757 RFE/RL, Afghanistan's New Northern Flash Points, n.d., url

758 Strategy Page, Afghanistan: Perpetual Pressure On Pakistan, 13 March 2018, url

759 Khaama Press, Airstrike kills 8 Taliban militants in Bala Murghab district of Badghis Province, 4 July 2019, url

760 UNAMA, Badghis leaders strategize on stronger measures to protect children in armed conflict, 5 October 2019, url

761 Etilaatroz, هورگ نیا نیگنس تافلت ات نابلاط تاکرحت شیازفا زا ؛روشک برغ یتینما عاضوا یسررب [informal translation: ‘security assessment of the west of the country; from the increase of Taliban’s mobility to heavy losses of the group’], 30 August 2019, url

762 LWJ, Several Districts Change Hands as Fighting Rages in Northern Afghanistan, 6 July 2020, url; however the source does not specify when and which information of the aforementioned map was last updated

763 Voice of Jihad, هنتک هدنلغځ هت وتاحوتف لاک رېت د [informal translation: ‘a quick look at last year’s victories’], 31 December 2019, url

764 SubheKabul, سیغداب تیلاو رد ناوج رتخد کی یشکدوخ [informal translation: ‘a young girl committed suicide in Badghis Province’], 3 March 2020, url

765 Voice of Jihad, لوش غراف هن رکسعم هل صاقو يبا نب دعس د نیدهاجم هنوګسل ېک : سیغداب [informal translation’

Badghis: tens of Mujahidin (fighters) were graduated from Saad Ben Abi Weqaas military training camp in Badghis province’], 4 May 2020, url

766 IPP Review, The Islamic State of Khorasan Expands in Afghanistan, 3 January 2019, url

767 Afghanistan, MoD, 207 Zafar Corps, n.d., url; USDoD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, 1 July 2020, url, pp. 58 - 59

RS (Resolute Support) mission, Italian forces provide ‘functionality-based’ security assistance to ANA 207^th Corps and ANP in the west of Afghanistan including Badghis.⁷⁶⁸

2.3.3 Recent security trends and impact on the civilian population

2.3.3.1 General

In 2019, UNAMA documented 161 civilian casualties, including 77 killed and 84 injured in Badghis province, which represents 104 % increase compared to 2018. The leading causes of casualties were ground engagements, air strikes and non-suicide IEDs.⁷⁶⁹ According to SIGAR, RS recorded between 26 and 50 civilian casualties in Badghis province during the first quarter of 2020⁷⁷⁰, and the mentioned source recorded between 0 and 25 civilian casualties during the second quarter of 2020.⁷⁷¹

According to ACLED data, between 1 March 2019 and 30 June 2020 there were 388 security incidents recorded in Badghis province, of which 241 were coded as battles, 133 remote violence and 14 incidents of violence against civilians.

Figure 5. Badghis - Evolution of security events coded battles, explosions/remote violence and violence against civilians from 1 March 2019 to 30 June 2020, based on ACLED data⁷⁷²

According to Etilaatroz, since August 2019, Badghis province continued to be besieged where all supplying roads were shut down due to the continued armed clashes between the Taliban fighters and the Afghan security forces.⁷⁷³ UNOCHA indicated in December 2019 that since one year AGEs blocked main roads to Jawand district, which interrupted the transportation of essential needs to civilians living in the area.⁷⁷⁴ In November 2019, another source reported that all roads to Jawand district have been mined by the Taliban, which resulted in severe food and supply shortages in the area.⁷⁷⁵ In January 2020, a local news reported on the presence of the Taliban’s prison in Badghis province from which the Afghan government forces rescued 55 ANA soldiers, four commandos, one police and two border police personnel.⁷⁷⁶ In April 2020, NYT reported on the presence of a Taliban checkpoint established in the village of Laman in Qala-i Naw City, the provincial capital, where the group shot and killed one civilian driver who refused to stop his car at Taliban’s order.⁷⁷⁷ During the same period, Taliban militants blocked the highway of Qadis-Qala-i Naw to carry out an attack against the Afghan forces.⁷⁷⁸

768 USDoD, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan, June 2020, 1 July 2020, url, p. 14

769 UNAMA, Afghanistan Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict Annual Report 2019, 22 February 2020, url, p. 94

770 SIGAR, Quarterly Report To The United States Congress, 30 April 2020 , url, p. 69

771 SIGAR, Quarterly Report To The United States Congress, 30 July 2020, url, p. 72

772 Filters applied: Central Asia & the Caucasus; Afghanistan; Badghis; Event types: Battles; Explosions/Remote Violence;

Violence against Civilians; 1 March 2019 - 30 June 2020, url

773 Etilaatroz, هورگ نیا نیگنس تافلت ات نابلاط تاکرحت شیازفا زا ؛روشک برغ یتینما عاضوا یسررب [informal translation: ‘security assessment of the west of the country; from the increase of Taliban’s mobility to heavy losses of the group’,], 30 August 2019, url

774 UNOCHA, Afghanistan weekly humanitarian updated 25 November to 1 December 2019, 4 December 2019, url

775 Tolonews, Badghis: District with mined roads faces food shortage crisis, 14 November 2019, url

776 Salaam Times, Rescued Afghan soldiers speak of appalling torture, brutality in Taliban prison, 31 January 2020, url

777 NYT, Afghan War Casualty Report: April 2020, 30 April 2020, url

778 Afghanistan Times, At least 12 Taliban rebels killed in Badghis, 13 April 2020, url

On 20 May 2020, Salaam Times report that the Taliban blocked roads to the districts of Badghis and prevented local people, government and health workers to enter Bala Murghab, Jawand and Qadis districts. The source also indicated that Taliban in Badghis province restarted to impose restrictions on private telecommunication companies, telecom which is used by 70 % of Badghis population to maintain the system only between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. in Badghis province and shut it down during the night.⁷⁷⁹

Recent incidents that caused civilian casualties in Badghis province in 2019 and 2020 include: three civilians killed, (including one woman) and three others injured (including two women and a girl) during ground engagement between the Taliban and ANA in Ab Kamari district on 17 July 2019⁷⁸⁰; three civilians killed on 19 July 2019 by an air strike hitting a house in the Du Juee area of Bala Murghab district⁷⁸¹; on 23 July 2019, a high school teacher was killed, and two other civilians wounded after a rocket fired from an Afghan helicopter struck their shop in the Joy-e Ganj area of Bala Murghab district⁷⁸²; on 20 July 2019, an Afghan air forces’ air strike, which hit a family’s house, killed five civilians, all members of a single family, in the Akazi area of Bala Murghab district, which was reportedly controlled by the Taliban⁷⁸³; on 27 July 2019 an air strike reportedly killed four civilians including a tribal leader, following their meeting with the Taliban officials in Regi village of Jawand district⁷⁸⁴; on 30 October 2019, a civilian driver was killed by the Taliban attack on a convoy of local officials in the village of Qarchaghay in Qala-i Naw district⁷⁸⁵; on 7 November 2019, six civilians were killed including three women and three children when the house of a Taliban commander was bombed by an air strike in the village of Maidah Qol in Aa Kamari district⁷⁸⁶; on 3 January 2020, one child was killed in a roadside bomb explosion when he was looking for his sheep in the village of Na-Khod-Amodah in Qadis district⁷⁸⁷; on 25 April 2020, a woman was killed, and a child was wounded after a Taliban alleged mortar hit their house in the village of Kamengi Oliya in Qadis district⁷⁸⁸; on 25 May 2020, three children were killed after a bomb planted by the Taliban exploded in Chashma-Dozdak village of Muqur district⁷⁸⁹; on 1 May 2020, the Taliban destroyed, in an explosion, a school in Qadis district that was recently constructed.⁷⁹⁰

2.3.3.2 Displacement

UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 March 2019 – 30 June 2020, reporting 29 359 persons displaced from Badghis province, with 84 % displaced within the province itself (mainly in Bala Murghab and Qala-i Naw districts), 14 % were displaced into Herat province and the remaining 2 % were displaced into Faryab and Ghor provinces.⁷⁹¹

UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 March 2019 – 30 June 2020, reporting 24 593 persons displaced to Badghis province, with almost 99 % coming from within the province itself.⁷⁹²

Between 6 – 12 January 2020, the conflict reportedly continued between ANSF and AGEs in Badghis and an estimated number of 17 335 conflict affected IDPs were identified in ‘hard-to-reach’ areas in Badghis province.⁷⁹³ According to

779 Salaam Times, Taliban’s blockade of districts in Badghis endangers thousands of lives, 20 May 2020, url

780 UNAMA, Afghanistan Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict Annual Report 2019, 22 February 2020, url, p. 72

781 NYT, Afghan War Casualty Report: July 19-25, 25 July 2019, url

782 NYT, Afghan War Casualty Report: July 19-25, 25 July 2019, url

783 NYT, Afghan War Casualty Report: July 19-25, 25 July 2019, url

784 NYT, Afghan War Casualty Report: July 25-1 Aug. 1, 1 August 2019, url

785 NYT, Afghan War Casualty Report: October 2019, 31 October 2019, url

786 NYT, Afghan War Casualty Report: November 2019, 2 December 2019, url

787 NYT, Afghan Casualty Report: January 2020, (sic) 2 January 2020, url

788 NYT, Afghan War Casualty Report, April 2020, 30 April 2020, url

789 NYT, Afghan War Casualty Report, May 2020, 28 May 2020, url

790 Salaam Times, Enemies of education: Taliban blow up newly constructed school in Badghis, 13 May 2020, url

791 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2019, last updated: 3 March 2020, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, last updated: 12 July 2020, url

792 UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2019, last updated: 3 March 2020, url; UNOCHA, Afghanistan Conflict Displacement 2020, last updated: 12 July 2020, url

793 UNOCHA, Afghanistan, Weekly humanitarian update, 6 - 12 January 2020, url

UNOCHA, during the period between 28 April and 4 May 2020, security situation in Badghis remained unstable and the ongoing conflict displaced 400 families (around 2 800 individuals) in Badghis and Ghor provinces. During the same period, in Badghis province, 294 people affected by flash flood received humanitarian assistance.⁷⁹⁴