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The outer walls of the barracks in Belgrade were covered in colourful graffiti, giving the place a surreal feel. The squat, which is now being demolished, housed around a thousand migrants – mainly Afghans and Pakistanis, all men. Belgrade, April 2017. Photo: Martine van Bijlert

The Aftermath of an Exodus: Afghans stuck in Serbia still trying to ‘hit the game’

For more than six months, the dilapidated barracks behind Belgrade’s main bus station housed over a thousand men and boys – most of them Afghans. Conditions, despite better weather and increased assistance, remained dire and the migrants continued to live under the looming threat of eviction. In May 2017, the authorities finally moved in, vacated […]

Martine van Bijlert • Jelena Bjelica • Migration

This evening: AAN in Potsdam (Germany) on Afghan migration

“Protection for Afghan Refugees in Brandenburg? Perspektives, not deportation into war”. AAN co-director Thomas Ruttig speaks about the security situation in Afghanistan in the context of Germany’s deportations of rejected Afghan asylum seekers. Organised by the Brandenburg Refugees Council In German and Dari   where: Urania-Verein, Gutenbergstr. 71/72, Potsdam when: 30 May 2017, 7-9pm   More […]

Thomas Ruttig • Events

Afghanistan’s Foreign Security Detainees: How many are there and what to do with them?

Afghanistan remains an attractive place for international jihadists to come and fight, despite the competing appeal of Syria, Iraq and elsewhere. Since the post-2001 insurgency broke out, foreign fighters have come from Pakistan, Central Asia and the Arab world, some bringing their families. An unknown number have ended up in Afghan detention. More information about […]

Kate Clark • Rights and Freedoms

Looking at the ‘Nicholson plan’: A bid to tilt the Afghan war in the government’s favour

The United States is reviewing its military strategy towards Afghanistan, as part of an overall strategic review. Nothing is certain until President Trump makes a final decision, but proposals, drawn up with the Afghan government, are circulating. We already know what the commander of US and international forces in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, would like […]

Kate Clark • International Engagement

Anti-migration graffiti on the wall of the Ministry of Telecommunication in Kabul, Afghanistan. The caption on the left reads: "There is no rest in flight.” The caption on the right reads: "The real face of a smuggler” – whatever picture had been stencilled on the wall below looks to have been scrubbed out. (Photo: Fazal Muzhary, AAN 2017)

Voluntary and Forced Returns to Afghanistan in 2016/17: Trends, statistics and experiences

While hundreds of thousands of Afghans sought protection in Europe throughout 2015/16, an increasing number have been returning to Afghanistan, both voluntarily and involuntarily. The number of voluntary returnees from Europe picked up significantly throughout 2016, with additional returns in the first four months of 2017, reaching a total figure of over 8,000. By contrast, […]

Thomas Ruttig • Jelena Bjelica • Migration

Hekmatyar’s Return to Kabul: Background reading by AAN

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the notorious leader of Hezb-e Islami, returned to Kabul today. After several years of on-and-off talks, between the Afghan government and envoys of the party’s leader-in-hiding, a deal allowing his return was finally signed in September 2016. Several months of negotiations on the finer details of the deal’s implementation followed. An overview of AAN’s past […]

AAN • Political Landscape

A sign of recent changes in the bazaar of Shamshatu, which would be more crowded before the new changes of 2016. Though the crowd in the bazaar has been considerably reduced, more people are expected to leave the camp. The possible new returns can further cause downsize to the business in the bazaar of Shamshatu camp.

Moving Out of Shamshatu: Hezb-e Islami’s refugee followers between hope of return and doubts about the peace deal

Shamshatu refugee camp, headquarters of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s Hezb-e Islami in Pakistan since the 1980s, is increasingly empty. Many residents, including a number of important Hezb leaders, have left for Afghanistan, encouraged to return by the peace agreement signed by Hekmatyar and President Ashraf Ghani in September 2016. The deal paved the way for the return […]

Fazl Rahman Muzhary • Political Landscape

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