Afghanistan's winter turns deadly, kills 78 amid worsening humanitarian crisis

At least 78 people have died in just over a week in Afghanistan amid inclement weather conditions as the war-ravaged country continues to grapple with a rapidly worsening humanitarian crisis, local officials said.

With temperatures plummeting to as low as -34 degrees Celsius (-29.2 degrees Fahrenheit), people in the country are struggling to make ends meet.

"The weather will get colder in the next few days, therefore it is necessary to consider humanitarian aid for affected people," Abdullah Ahmadi, the head of the operations center for emergency conditions at the Taliban-run ministry of disaster management was quoted as saying by Reuters. 

Described by officials as the harshest winter in 15 years, the cold wave has caused more than 75,000 livestock deaths, according to Shafiullah Rahimi, a spokesperson for the ministry of natural disaster management.

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said Thursday that bitterly cold weather in the South Asian country has reportedly killed thousands of livestock across the eastern, western and northern regions.

"Lost livelihoods and assets further endanger Afghan families at a time when 21.2 million people urgently need continued food and agricultural support," it said.

The ministry of disaster management has also hinted at incoming humanitarian aid for the people affected by the catastrophe.

During an emergency meeting, Mullah Mohammad Abbas Akhund, the minister for natural disaster management in the de-facto Taliban government, called for more foreign aid, adding that the number of fatalities is not precise as the government has little access to remote areas.

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“We are deeply saddened that our countrymen have lost their lives in some provinces due to the severe cold weather,” the Taliban government said in a statement, ordering relevant authorities and government officials to help affected families.

Taliban staged a stunning comeback on August 15, 2021, toppling the West-backed government led by Ashraf Ghani and forcing the US and its allies to abandon the South Asian country after years of futile military adventure.

More than a year since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the de-facto Taliban government in Kabul continues to struggle with the rapidly deteriorating
the humanitarian situation in the country amid crippling US sanctions and a shortage of funds.

Millions of Afghans are without work now, the banking system is virtually dysfunctional, medical facilities are lying in tatters and the worst humanitarian catastrophe in modern history is in the making.

Almost the entire Afghan population is living below the poverty line today, according to the UN Development Program.

Many Afghans have expressed resentment over the Biden administration's decision to withhold billions of dollars in frozen assets from the Afghan
central bank, distributing large parts to the families of the 9/11 victims.

Worse, the US sanctions have devastated the banking system and blocked global humanitarian organizations from delivering aid to Afghans.

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