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CrisisInSight Weekly Picks, 8 August 2019

Countries
Afghanistan
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Sources
ACAPS
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Afghanistan

On 7 August, a Taliban-claimed suicide attack outside police headquarters in Kabul killed at least 14 people and injured more than 140.

The latest attack marks a new round of talks between the Taliban and the US on a potential peace agreement as the Taliban is believed to step up attacks in an attempt to increase their leverage in these negotiations.

Civilian casualties have soared in July as the Taliban is increasingly targeting government structures in urban areas.

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Libya

An airstrike on a townhall in Murzuq, southwestern Libya, killed at least 42 people and wounded 60 more, 30 of whom are in critical condition.

The attack was carried out by forces allied to the Libyan National Army (LNA) who claim they had targeted Chadian opposition fighters.

LNA forces took control of Murzuq early this year during a military campaign in the southern region of Libya. However, since the offensive on Tripoli that started in April, most LNA forces have moved to the northwest of Libya. This created a power vacuum which has seemingly led to an increase in insecurity and instability in the region.

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Somalia

5,000 IDPs arrived in Baidoa, the capital of South West state, in the first two weeks of July. The number of displaced has continued to increase with an average of 1,000 new arrivals per week.

Baidoa already hosts over 323,000 IDPs (second highest after Mogadishu with 497,000 IDPs). Many of the IDPS, mainly agro-pastoral communities from Bay and Bakool regions, have fled drought and conflict. Some of the displaced have also indicated that their situation was compounded by escalating insecurity and taxation imposed by Al-Shabaab. A sizeable number of IDPs also fled due to forced recruitment of children by Al-Shabaab in a renewed recruitment drive. Somalia has one of the world's highest forced recruitment of children.

Shelter is needed as the majority of the new arrivals are children and women. A lack of privacy can expose girls and women to abuse and other protection challenges. Aid agencies and local authorities are concerned that the influx is compounding an already fragile humanitarian situation. Local authorities have called on aid agencies to scale up life-saving response in Baidao and surrounding areas. Some IDPs say they have not received any support from aid agencies.

Read more about Somalia