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dpa
Kabul
More than 108,000 people have been displaced in Afghanistan since the beginning of the year due to conflict and natural disasters, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has said.
A total of 108,440 people were displaced between January 1 and May 13, up by more than 22,000 people compared to the previous week, according to a report published on Tuesday.
The highest number were in eastern Ghazni with 10,000 displacements, followed by northern Baghlan with more than 4,000. More than 10,000 people were displaced temporarily due to the Taliban taking over parts of Farah city last Tuesday.~
In Farah last week, the Taliban were for the first time since 2015 able to storm and hold parts of the city, sending shock waves through the Afghan government and their international allies who were adamant about the Taliban not having the ability or capability to mount such a large-scale attack.
More than 445,000 people were displaced due to conflict in the country in 2017. The report comes as the Taliban ramps up attacks on Afghan government facilities, administrative centres and at least one provincial capital since the announcement of their annual spring offensive.~
The military is battling a Taliban insurgency while also fighting the Islamic State group's gradual expansion in the country's north and its regular attacks in the capital Kabul.
In February, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani offered a comprehensive peace deal to the Taliban. Slightly more than 14 per cent of Afghanistan's approximately 400 districts are fully controlled by the Taliban, while 30 per cent are contested, according to the country's military
