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 produced in line with the EASO COI Report Methodology (2019) and the EASO COI Writing and Referencing Style Guide (2019).

The security situation in Afghanistan remains volatile. After the reduction in violence preceding the signing of the Doha agreement between the US and the Taliban on 29 February 2020, the Taliban resumed targeting government checkpoints and convoys. In terms of territorial control, the situation changes rapidly with the Taliban advancing in a growing number of Afghanistan's provincial districts. At the same time, civilians are continuously threatened by indiscriminate violence and targeted attacks.

This report provides information about relevant security trends in the period between 1 January 2020 and 31 May 2021.The first part of the report provides a general overview of the security situation in the country, including conflict background and actors involved and main security incidents and their impact on the civilian population. The second part holds a geographic subdivision, focusing in greater detail on the security situation in all 34 provinces and Kabul city, and provides a description of the armed actors, recent security incidents as well as data on civilian casualties and conflict-induced displacements.

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, Office for Foreigners, Country of Origin Information Division

The following departments and organisations have reviewed the report:

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

- Denmark, Danish Immigration Service (DIS)

- Hungary, National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing, Documentation Centre

- Norway, Landinfo, the Norwegian Country of Origin Information Centre

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

The drafting of this report was finalised on 31 May 2021. Any event taking place after this date is not included in this report.

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

Information about the asylum procedure, tailored to the asylum seeker, can be found at : asyluminbelgium.be.