Helmand offensive triggers exodus

The imminent US-led attack in southern Afghanistan forces hundreds of families from their homes, amid growing concerns of a developing humanitarian crisis.

Preparations for Operation Moshtarak have been building for weeks now, with US and British troops readying for a major assault.

KABUL // An imminent US-led offensive in southern Afghanistan has forced hundreds of families from their homes, amid growing concern that a significant humanitarian crisis is developing. Preparations for Operation Moshtarak have been building for weeks now, with US and British troops readying for a major assault on the town of Marjah in Helmand province.

Nato's decision to warn locals of the attack has already triggered a large exodus. With heavy fighting potentially about to begin at any moment, many Afghans fear the situation could soon become desperate. Nasima Niazi, an MP for Helmand, said, "We do not have the facilities to cope with war. The plans are good, but the civilians are farmers and we cannot keep their lives safe or protect their agriculture and fields, and we cannot care for the refugees or those who stay inside Marjah."

Speaking from the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah, Ms Niazi added: "I am very sad indeed because the word 'operation' is easy to say for people sitting in Kabul but the experience is very difficult for people living in Helmand." Although no date has been publicly announced for the assault, all the signs are that it is fast approaching. Marjah is a stronghold of the Taliban and a key regional hub for the drugs trade, so the mission has been billed as a game-changing moment for Nato troops in the province.

Helmand has consistently seen some of the fiercest fighting of the entire conflict since British soldiers first arrived there in 2006 and the impact on the population has been devastating. Other major military operations have brought with them promises of peace and reconstruction, without winning over local people. Many families from the province have been displaced for years and are now resigned to the fact they may never be able to go back.

Ahmad Nader Nadery, a commissioner for Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, said the mistakes of the past must not be repeated this time around and people from Marjah should be allowed to return home quickly. "The consequences of an operation are not just civilians killed, it has a long-term effect that includes the displacement of the population," he said. Hundreds of refugees from southern Afghanistan already inhabit a squalid camp on the outskirts of Kabul. They often accuse both the Taliban and foreign troops of showing little regard for civilian life and complain that nothing has been done to improve their miserable living conditions.

Mr Nadery said the failure to help them and other displaced families provided "very important lessons". "They are painful lessons but they are lessons that both the military and the Afghan government need to learn and they have assured us that they have, that they will make sure that as soon as they have cleaned that area it is prepared for the population to return back. We shall wait and see how that is carried out," he said.

Operation Moshtarak - meaning "together" - is the first major assault since US President Barack Obama announced an increase of 30,000 troops in December. It comes at a time when Washington is clearly determined to show it is making important gains in a war that killed record numbers of foreign soldiers and civilians last year. Gen Stanley McChrystal, the commander of Nato and US forces in Afghanistan, recently said he was confident there would be "serious progress" in 2010.

Not everyone is convinced. Haji Mohammed Isah, from Helmand's Sangin district, lives with his family amid the mud and piles of rubbish that make up the camp on Kabul's outskirts. He fears the displaced of Marjah will meet the same fate. "We came here as refugees because there was a lot of fighting in our village, but no one cares about our lives. I am very worried about them. If they come here or go to any other place, what will happen to their lives?" he said

The provincial governor's spokesman sought to downplay some of these concerns. Speaking via telephone, Daoud Ahmadi acknowledged that civilians could suffer in the short-term. "It's a war, and war is war," he said. However, he added that those fleeing Operation Moshtarak would be offered adequate temporary shelter and would benefit in the long run. "We will have some fighting, but we will bring opportunities and chances to the people of Marjah with our reconstruction programs."