The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)-backed health facilities have treated over 4,000 wounded persons in Afghanistan.
According to a statement by the organization, the number of patients treated in 15 ICRC-supported health facilities indicates that conflict in the country has intensified.
Eloi Fillion, ICRC’s head of delegation in Afghanistan reported that “we are seeing homes destroyed, medical staff and patients put at tremendous risk, and hospitals, electricity and water infrastructure damaged.”
According to the statement, street-to-street fighting in northern Kunduz and southern Lashkargah city of Helmand have injured hundreds of civilians, with thousands of civilians’ lives at risk.
Meanwhile, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) who provide health services to war patients in Afghanistan, said that there was an increasing demand for medical services, especially since the beginning of May when the conflict intensified as international forces started withdrawing.
Laura Bourjolly, MSF Afghanistan humanitarian affairs manager said “the situation in the country has deteriorated to a point that in some cities, like Lashkargah and Kunduz, the medical facilities are on the front lines.”
According to data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), at least 244,000 people have been internally displaced since the beginning of May.
This was when the militant Islamist Taliban began multiple offensives against the Kabul government, an increase of some 321 per cent on the same period in 2020.
