ICRC to expand activities in Afghanistan: visiting president

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will step up its relief operations in Afghanistan to address the needs of war-affected communities in the Asian country, visiting ICRC President said on Friday.

"There are more displaced people, more war-wounded and more disabled people. Humanitarian concerns are growing, yet international attention is dwindling. It seems that the more the Afghan people suffer, the less attention there is on them," Peter Maurer told reporters at a press briefing on the last day of his five-day visit Friday.

The international humanitarian organization will increase its budget for Afghanistan by 10 percent this year, according to Maurer.

"We have increased our budget for Afghanistan for 2016, recognizing the scale of the problem. We will explore the possibilities of further expanding our activities, including the evacuation of wounded people," he said.

Maurer arrived in Kabul on Monday. During his visit he met with Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah besides making field trips to provinces to meet displaced people, detainees and visit orthopedic centers. He also met with some representatives of armed opposition groups, according to ICRC.

Maurer also expressed concerns over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the conflict-ridden country.

"Every indicator shows that the humanitarian situation is in a downward spiral," he said while drawing attention to the recent increase in attacks on health facilities in Afghanistan.

Violence has been on the rise since the drawdown of U.S. and NATO forces over the past two years as the Afghan security forces struggle against a surge in attacks by Taliban and other anti-government fighters.

More than 3,540 civilians were killed and over 7,450 injured in across the country last year, according to a report released by the UN mission in the country last month.

The report has attributed 62 percent of the casualties to the Taliban and other insurgent groups, 17 percent were attributed to security forces while the rest 21 percent of civilian casualties were unattributed or caused by explosive remnants of war.

"In the last year, attacks against health facilities and personnel have gone up by 50 percent. Every bombed out hospital and every doctor or nurse who is forced to flee, means thousands of people cannot get immediate medical treatment when necessary," Maurer noted while calling on parties of the conflict to respect and protect civilians and medical missions.

"Afghans are the second largest group of arriving in Europe today. This shows that the chronic violence and insecurity, and the permanent unpredictability of the war, has pushed people beyond their limits," Maurer added.

The ICRC has had a permanent presence in Afghanistan since 1987, which is the aid agency's largest operation in the world in terms of staff numbers. Enditem