The United Nations Migration Agency has warned that increasing violence along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border risks further displacement.
Published on 4 March 2026
About 66,000 people have been displaced in Afghanistan as heavy shelling and explosions hit the country’s border with Pakistan in the seventh day of fighting, the United Nations said.
The UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Wednesday warned of “cross-border hostilities between Afghanistan and Pakistan and their growing humanitarian impact on civilians and people on the move”.
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“The ongoing military confrontation along the Durand Line has reportedly resulted in civilian casualties, damage to critical infrastructure, and the displacement of nearly 66,000 people in eastern and southeastern Afghanistan,” the agency said in a statement.
“These developments risk further displacement, accelerating returns and exacerbating vulnerability in already overstretched and under-resourced communities.”
Neighboring countries are suffering It was their worst fight in years since Afghan Taliban officials last week launched an operation against the Pakistani military along the 2,640km (1,640-mile) Durand Line that separates the two nations.
The Taliban said the operation was in response to a deadly airstrike by Pakistan in late February.
Pakistani officials said the strikes were aimed at preventing armed fighters from using Afghan territory to attack the country after weeks of violence and heightened tensions between the two sides.
Rana Sanaullah, political adviser to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, told Geo TV that Islamabad had achieved most of its goals, but operations continued.
“Most of the training centers have been removed,” he said, adding that Pakistan wanted “verifiable proof” that it would not use Afghan soil for attacks.
Fighting along the Afghan-Pakistani border has ebbed and flowed for a week, with both sides claiming heavy losses and territorial gains.
The two countries reported heavy fire on Wednesday, with Taliban forces shooting down a Pakistani drone and capturing seven border posts, Afghanistan’s defense ministry said.
The ministry said 110 civilians, including 65 women and children, have been killed and 123 injured since the fighting began. The UN’s aid mission in Afghanistan reported 42 deaths.
Pakistan has not commented on the casualties of Afghan civilians.
A spokesman for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense estimated Pakistani casualties at around 150 soldiers, while Pakistan said more than 430 Afghan soldiers were killed.
Al Jazeera was unable to verify the accident claims from either side.
Meanwhile, the UN’s World Food Program (WFP) warned earlier this week that residents of more than 46 districts across Afghanistan face “severe food insecurity” ahead of intense fighting.
“Across these provinces, WFP has been forced to temporarily suspend emergency, social protection, school feeding and livelihood activities,” the agency said on Tuesday. “Approximately 160,000 people are affected by the suspension of emergency food distribution.”
In Kunar province in the country’s northeast, a 30-year-old worker told the AFP news agency that the violence was preventing people from coming to the market.
“Thousands of families have left the village” of Sirkanai, said Asadullah, who gave only one name.
“In some houses, only one person has stayed to guard the house, and the rest have left,” he said. “The village is empty.”
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