"In response to the recent dramatic increase of Afghans returning home from neighbouring countries, as well as record levels of internal displacement, IOM is launching a new displacement tracking system in Afghanistan to better understand population movements and needs," the IOM said in a statement.
In 2016, over 600,000 Afghans returned to Afghanistan, while 623,000 were displaced due to conflict within the nation, the IOM said. The migration agency estimated that an additional one million Afghans will return home this year, and another 450,000 people will become internally displaced.
"There is an urgent need to know where people in vulnerable situations are living and what their needs are. With a system in place to clearly track these concerns, humanitarian actors and the Government of Afghanistan can deliver assistance and services to the families and communities that need it most," IOM Afghanistan Chief of Mission Laurence Hart was quoted as saying in the statement.
Afghanistan is experiencing political, social and security instability, in particular, due to the activity of the Taliban militant group. The crisis in the country prompted the emergence of local cells of other extremist organizations such as Islamic State (ISIL or Daesh), which is banned in many countries, including Russia.
As a result of this instability, many Afghans have fled to the neighboring countries of Pakistan and Iran.
