1,327,474 Afghans displaced last year: IOM

In a report, the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that a total of 1,327,474 people were displaced in Afghanistan last year after the country fell to the Taliban, as well as due to natural disasters.

The IOM made the revelation in its Baseline Mobility Assessment Round 14 conducted in 401 districts of the country's 34 provinces in November-December 2021.

According to the Assessment, 5, 832,454 Afghans were displaced between 2012 and 2021 and continue remain in displacement.

"Over one fifth of those individuals (1,327,474 or 23 per cent) (were) displaced in 2021 as a result of conflict and natural disasters."

According to the assessment, 1.3 million Afghans fled their homes as internally displaced persons (IDP) in 2021 of which 62 per cent were displaced because of the country's changing political situation.

As a result of the conflict, Afghanistan also witnessed saw a significant surge in out-migrants -- Afghans who have moved or fled abroad from the assessed location -- increasing by 122 per cent in 2021 compared to the previous year.