The UNHCR chief says contingency plans will be prepared for more displaced civilians amid fears of renewed violence.

The United Nations is preparing for the planned displacement of more civilians in Afghanistan after troops from the United States and other countries leave the country in September, the head of the US news agency told Reuters. refugees from the world body.

Violence has escalated as foreign forces begin to withdraw and efforts to reach a peace deal between the Afghan government and the Taliban are slow.

The head of the UNHCR, Filippo Grandi, pointed to one deadly attack last week on an international demining organization in northern Afghanistan that killed ten people.

“This is a tragic indicator of the type of violence that can resurface in Afghanistan and, with the withdrawal of international troops, may or may not get worse,” Grandi said Monday.

“Therefore, we are doing contingency planning in the interior of the country for new displacements, in neighboring countries in case people can cross borders,” he said, without providing details of such plans.

There are currently about 2.5 million registered Afghan refugees worldwide, while another 4.8 million are internally displaced, according to UNHCR.

Twenty years after invading the country, the United States has begun withdrawing the remaining 2,500 troops and intends to leave Afghanistan completely on 9/11. There are also some 7,000 non-US forces coming mainly from NATO countries, along with Australia, New Zealand and Georgia planning to leave before that date.

U.S.-led forces overthrew the Taliban in late 2001 for refusing to surrender to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

Grandi said strong international support was needed for peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

“It is the political action that should replace the conflict, but of course there is the risk (of new displacements) and we need to be prepared,” he said.

“What is needed is a high level of financial support for humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan to maximize the chances of the Afghan authorities stabilizing the situation,” the aid chief told Reuters on Monday. UN, Mark Lowcock.

“There has been a very good and constructive outreach from the Biden administration, from the White House down, and we’ve actually had very productive discussions with them about it,” added Lowcock, who is stepping down from his role this month.

Earlier this month, the United States announced more than $ 266 million in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, bringing the total amount of aid it has provided since 2002 to nearly $ 3.9 billion.

Some 18.4 million people, nearly half the country’s population, need humanitarian aid, according to the UN, which has requested $ 1.3 billion in funding by 2021. To date, it has received only about $ 23 billion. %.

Lowcock said until a few years ago there was a lot of international attention in Afghanistan. This has “dissipated and weakened and this is a kind of problem when it comes to drawing attention to Afghanistan’s needs and gaining support.”