KABUL: A UN report reveals that around 390,000 people have been displaced in 2021 due violent confrontations between the Taliban and Afghan security forces, which recently reached provincial capitals.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said there has been a “huge spike” in displacements since May with about 5,800 Internally-Displaced Persons (IDPs) arriving in Kabul between July 1 and August 5 “seeking safety from the conflict and other threats” with most staying with family and friends, but some living in the open.

“Humanitarian agencies are staying and delivering to those in need, reaching 7.8 million people in the first six months of this year,” Dujarric told reporters at the UN’s New York headquarters.

He said, “So far, ten teams have been dispatched to Afghanistan to examine the status of those living in open spaces in Kabul, they have identified about 4,500 men, women, and children in need of shelter, food, sanitation, and drinking water.”

Violence has escalated across Afghanistan as US-led foreign forces have almost withdrawn after 20 years of military operations.

The Taliban have rapidly took control of numerous districts and are now focusing seizing control of provincial capitals. In only six days, they have taken 10 provincial centers from government forces.