EASO COI Report. Security situation

English

This report aims to provide information on the security situation in Afghanistan, which is relevant for the assessment of international protection status determination, including refugee status and subsidiary protection.

This report is an update of the EASO COI report Afghanistan Security Situation first published in January 2015 and updated annually.

This report is the last one of a series of COI reports on Afghanistan published by EASO between July and September 2020.

This report is not meant to be read as a whole. The first part of the report provides a general overview of the security situation in Afghanistan, including conflict background and actors involved, main security incidents and their impact on the civilian population. The second part holds a geographic subdivision (Kabul city, plus 34 provinces), focusing in greater detail on the security situation in Kabul city and in each province, including a description of the armed actors active, recent security incidents, data on civilian casualties, and conflict-induced displacements.

The security situation in Afghanistan remained volatile during the reference period (1 March 2019 – 30 June 2020), while the conflict continued to be described as one of the deadliest in the world for civilians. On 29 February 2020, after more than 18 years of conflict, the US and the Taliban signed in Doha an 'agreement for bringing peace' to Afghanistan. Despite significant fluctuations in violence during the peace talks and periods of reduction in violence following the Doha agreement, several sources reported a spike in violence during the first six months of 2020, with an increase in the number of civilian casualties, particularly in the northern and north-eastern regions. After the agreement, the Taliban issued a statement declaring that fighting will continue regardless of the deal with the US; in some areas of the country, the group has reportedly intensified attacks against the Afghan National Security Forces.

The following national asylum and migration departments are the co-drafters of this report:

- Belgium, Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons, Cedoca (Centre for Documentation and Research)

- France, Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless persons (OFPRA), Information, Documentation and Research Division (DIDR)

- Poland, Department of Refugee and Asylum Proceedings

The following national asylum and migration departments reviewed this report:

- Germany, Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF)

- Slovakia, Migration Office, Department of Documentation and Foreign Cooperation

The following external organisation reviewed parts of this report:

- ACCORD – Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation

The drafting process (including reviewing) for this report was finalised on 31 July 2020. Any event taking place after this period is not included in this report.

This report was written according to the EASO COI Report Methodology (2019).

Policy

The general security situation in Afghanistan is largely determined by a long-term, ongoing, internal armed conflict which has resulted in many Afghans being uprooted or seeking refuge in another country. In order to assess the need for international protection, the Commissioner General takes into account the fact that there are fundamental differences between the regions of Afghanistan when it comes to the security situation, the nature and intensity of the violence.

Land: 
Afghanistan