Returning Marjah IDPs promised help

IRIN – Hundreds of families who fled fighting in the Marjah area of Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan, in February have started returning home; conditions are difficult but steps are being taken to help them, government officials say.

Over 4,000 families were displaced by a major anti-Taliban offensive by NATO and Afghan forces which began on 13 February, according to the provincial authorities.

“Over 600 displaced families have returned to Nad Ali and Marjah [both towns in Nad Ali District] from Lashkargah over the past four days,” Ghulam Farooq Noorzai, director of Helmand’s refugee affairs department, told IRIN, adding that more people would return in the days ahead.

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