The UN’s top official for refugees said on Tuesday that if the Afghan peace process collapses and violence continues, there will be a humanitarian disaster as thousands of displaced people struggle to survive the pandemic amid the harsh winter.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi told The Associated Press at the end of a four-day visit to Afghanistan that if the fighting continues, there will be more internal displacement.
“If this peace effort collapses then we could see a big humanitarian disaster in the country that is for sure, I hope it won’t,” he said.
Violence and chaos have increased in Afghanistan in recent months even as government negotiators and the Taliban are meeting in Qatar to find an end to decades of relentless war. The two sides have made little progress.
“I think we need to be ready for everything here, we need to be ready for more humanitarian issues,” Grandi said.