The Afghan Tragedy

 As politicians exchange recriminations about the chaos caused by the US withdrawal there is another story not being highlighted in the media. 

U.N. agencies warned of an impending humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan as tens of thousands of people flee from their homes amid spreading hunger.

"We fear the worst is yet to come and the larger tide of hunger is fast approaching... The situation has all the hallmarks of a humanitarian catastrophe," the World Food Programme's Thomson Phiri explained.

More than 250,000 people have been forced from their homes since May, 80 percent of them women and children, the U.N. refugee agency's Shabia Mantoo said. 

Other UN officials reported even more dire data.

The U.N. resident coordinator in Afghanistan, Ramiz Alakbarov,  told The Associated Press on Monday that the recent fighting had displaced some 600,000 people, and that because of the fluidity of the situation, humanitarian teams are not able to help everywhere.

"They are sleeping in the open, in parks and public spaces," Jens Laerke, spokesman of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. "A major concern right now is simply finding shelter for them."

A World Health Organization official expressed concerns about shortages of medical supplies.

Afghanistan on brink of 'humanitarian catastrophe': U.N. (trust.org)