UN: More than 200,000 people displaced due to conflict in Afghanistan

More than 200,000 people have been displaced in Afghanistan since the beginning of the year due to conflict, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has said.

A total of 206,615 people were displaced between 1 January and 2 September, according to a report published late on Tuesday. The figure is up by at least 44,000 since journalists reported on displacements just over a month ago.

The number includes more than 30,000 people who were temporarily displaced during the fighting in Ghazni city that took place in mid-August. More than 445,000 people were displaced due to conflict in the country in 2017.

The Afghan security forces are stretched thin throughout the country fighting the Taliban while also battling Islamic State in the east of the country. At least 13.8 percent of Afghanistan's approximately 400 districts are fully controlled by the Taliban, while 30 percent are contested, according to the country's military in July.

Other sources speak of much higher figures.    (dpa)