The Afghanistan NGO Safety Office Issue: 25 May 1st to 15th 2009 ANSO and our donors accept no liability for the results of any activity conducted or omitted on the basis of this report. THE ANSO REPORT -Not for copy or sale- Inside this Issue COUNTRY SUMMARY Central Region 2-3 Recent events in the East and AOG Initiated Attacks per Region per Month - 2009 Northern Region 4-6 Western Regions dominated CENTRAL EAST WEST SOUTH NORTH NORTH EAST 6-9 Eastern Region the reporting period. 250 Western Region 9-11 The large scale complex at- 200 tack against GoA facilities 150 Southern Region 11-14 within Khost City; the dy- 100 ANSO Info Page 15 namic occupation by AOG of an IMF/ANSF FOB in 50 Kunar, along with 3 separate 0 significant NGO incidents JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC YOU NEED TO KNOW (also in Khost) clearly indi- attack. cate the depth, scope, and ken prior to the airstrike. • High volume civilian casu- capacity of the AOG pres- The civilian casualty toll Kunduz continues to be alties in Farah ence within this Region. from IMF air strikes follow- the most volatile province ing an AOG operation in • Complex attack in Khost The attack within Khost City within the North, and will Farah Province marks the City appears to have been a clearly likely remain the AOG largest yet recorded (est. targeted attack against the centre of gravity for same. • High NGO incident vol- 140) from a single incident. GoA, (with multiple BBIED umes in Eastern Region While the air strike was the The recent escalation in being utilized) with the secu- direct cause of the casual- events within Baghlan indi- • Sustained AOG activity rity force response; success ties, the AOG occupation cate that the expected levels in Kunduz of the attack; as well as the of a civilian centre facili- AOG effort to influence size of the affected city re- tated the event. It should be the northern MSR is taking sponsible for the escalated noted, however, that the shape, with Pul-E-Khumri significance of what was ulti- as the focal point. ANSO is supported by engagement had been bro- mately a standard complex NGO DATA & TRENDS The Eastern Region con- COMBINED (ACG/AOG) DIRECT NGO INCIDENTS Searches tinues to record the high- Arson Armed Attacks 6% 6% 15% est levels of NGO inci- Armed Robbery dents countrywide. Khost 15% Abduction was the loci this period 19% (Kunar last period) with 3 separate NGO incident recorded. These events IED/Explosives have the hallmark of 12% Beatings AOG ‘shaping opera- 4% Threats tions’ in which influential 23% civilian/GoA ‘soft’ targets are attacked/intimidated to further their influence within the civil population. THE ANSO REPORT Page 2 NGO Incidents KABUL KABUL Year to Date 5 35 This Report Period 0 30 As has been the trend since the 25 opening of 2009, criminality has ment of an IO national staff 20 been the predominant issue within member in a store robbery re- 15 cently, as well as the physical as- 10 this province, with a particular 5 focus in Kabul City. Criminal sault of a second staff member 0 events have been trending almost also during this period. on par with AOG attributed activ- In relation to this, criminal kid- ity. With ANSF focus shifted nappings continue to remain a key AOG ACG from conflict related efforts in the element of criminal activity, as city and it’s environs, they have witnessed by the recent high- officer of Chahar Asyab District suspected of concomitantly been able to con- profile arrests of kidnapping involvement in this incident. Furthermore, centrate efforts on basic policing. groups. However, the involve- ANP also arrested four ANA officers to be The criminal threat was high- ment of these same security forces linked to a previous abduction. lighted by the collateral involve- in recent cases also serve to com- In the conflict realm, AOG focus remains in plicate this issue, as a recent kid- the southern and eastern districts of the prov- KEY THREATS & CONCERNS napping of a local businessman by ince, with the northern areas relatively unaf- !"Criminality a group wearing ANP uniforms fected. !"Suicide attacks on board an ANP vehicle was !"IED followed by the arrest of an ANP NGO Incidents WARDAK WARDAK Year to Date 0 40 This Report Period 0 Despite the increase of IMF (and 30 assessment period of AOG fol- the APPF) within this province, 20 AOG have begun to assert their lowing the “surge” and now that presence with greater authority. the environment has stabilised, 10 Incident levels, which had been they are seeking to re-consolidate 0 relatively stable during the open- the gains made during the sum- ing months of 2009, have begun mer months of 2008. to increase with this period being Thus far AOG incidents have AOG ACG no exception. It is likely that been relatively consistent with there was an initial displacement/ past efforts and included attacks threatened the local population. Of note, this on IMF convoys and DAC, IED, incident occurred in the premier deployment KEY THREATS & CONCERNS as well as attacks against road con- site of the APPF. !"AOG intimidation efforts struction elements. The most The result of increased IMF in the province !"Abduction/kidnapping troubling development this period also manifested itself, with 2 separate Force !"IED was the reported blockage of the Protection shootings being reported during main road in Jalrez in which AOG this period. Please Note: Monthly graphs provided in this report are inclusive as of 13 May 2009. THE ANSO REPORT Page 3 NGO Incidents KAPISA KAPISA Year to Date 1 20 This Report Period 1 An NGO national staff member 15 (female) received a direct threat limited in number and scope, gen- 10 letter detailing her to cease em- erally restricted to attacks against 5 ployment with NGO or any other security forces. It is unclear at such “foreign” related organisa- this time if this event will indicate 0 tion. The marks the first NGO a greater effort on intimidation related incident reported in tactics, though this is fairly stan- Kapisa this year and is also a de- dard, particularly in areas where AOG ACG parture from the standard AOG they are short on tactical capacity. actions reported which is fairly In addition, the recent poisoning As part of the recent increase of IMF within incident at a school (similar in the province, there are ongoing military opera- KEY THREATS & CONCERNS nature to that of the Parwan inci- tions (joint IMF/ANSF) within the districts of !"Ongoing military operations dent) also suggests an increased Tagab, Nijrab, and Alasay all of which are typi- !"AOG intimidation efforts will to engage in intimidation cal operational areas for AOG elements in this measures. province. NGO Incidents PARWAN PARWAN Year to Date 1 10 This Report Period 0 8 There have been few overt ex- 6 pressions of AOG presence attack against the Kohi Safi DAC within this province thus far, indicates that there remains an 4 though the recent IED attack active, albeit limited, AOG pres- 2 against IMF, as well as the RPG ence. This presence is most often 0 noted in intimidation efforts against GoA affiliated institutions, KEY THREATS & CONCERNS as seen in the IED attack against a AOG ACG !"IED school, as well as the mysterious !"Attacks in vicinity of Bagram Air- poisoning incident at another. base NGO Incidents DAYKONDI DAYKUNDI Year to Date 1 10 This Report Period 1 8 Following expressed intent to ab- duct IO and GoA staff members, this commander was responsible 6 the same local commander (along for the abduction of NGO expat 4 with 2 guards) visited an INGO staff in 2008 and has been re- 2 cently attempting to solidify his field site in order to question the 0 staff. While no staff was available, involvement with AOG elements. he did question the guard in re- While the initial threat of abduc- gards to the NGO’s activities as tion did not expressly include AOG ACG well as the number of expat staff NGO, considering the opportun- in location. It is worth noting that istic nature of group in question, within Nili and as such NGO should review this threat should be accorded to staffing/travel plans to this province in order KEY THREATS & CONCERNS include NGO. to limit the exposure of international staff to !"Abduction/kidnapping this ongoing threat. As well, this group has been able !"AOG infiltration/influence to operate with relative impunity THE ANSO REPORT Page 4 NGO Incidents FARYAB FARYAB Year to Date 2 This Report Period 1 12 On 3 May in Kohistan District, an 10 unknown person tossed a grenade may inflame the situation in the 8 into an INGO compound, caus- province. Additionally, if NGO’s 6 ing no casualties. While the exact continue to monitor the ANSO 4 actor remains unknown, the attack Weekly Incident List, they may 2 note continual ANSF confisca- 0 is believed to be resultant from a JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC personal or professional grievance tions of communications gear and with the said INGO. NGO’s weapons, which lend credence to AOG ACG should remain diligent, however, the postulation that AOG activity because of possible AOG bleed will continue to increase in the gets. Besides the abovementioned incident, over from Badghis Province and province. Qaysar District proved to be the most discon- ethnic tensions or migrations that Moreover, if NGO’s are perceived certing area during the period, with AOG at- as colluding with any local parties tacks on ANP checkpoints.