18 March 2008

Table of Contents

• Background Information
• Refugee trends
• Refugees by country of asylum
• Returned refugees
• New refugees
• Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
• Displacement Maps and Further Reading

For more information, see also the Monitor's posts on and (IDPs).

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18 March 2008

'', The Canadian Press, 18 March 2008

EXCERPT: "Turkey's military chief is quoted as saying Turkey will not contribute combat troops to the NATO force in Afghanistan. Turkey has NATO's second-largest military after the United States, but keeps just 1,200 soldiers in Afghanistan, to provide humanitarian assistance and help with the reconstruction of the country....

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18 March 2008

'US Launches Aggressive Training for Afghan Police', National Public Radio, 18 March 2008

EXCERPT: " The U.S. military has launched a plan to dramatically improve Afghanistan's national police force, amid persistent concerns over growing terrorism and crime. At Patrol Base Wilson, in Kandahar province's volatile Zhari district, American and Canadian military trainers are trying accomplish a top-priority task, something many Afghans believe...

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18 March 2008

'No More Troops "Without Plan to Win": Australia', News.com.au, 18 March 2008

EXCERPT: "Australia won't consider sending more troops or resources to Afghanistan until NATO adopted a winning strategy and all NATO countries started pulling their weight, Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon warned today [18 March 2008]. Speaking ahead of next month's NATO summit in Bucharest, Mr Fitzgibbon said he would continue to push for a new road...

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18 March 2008

'Afghanistan Will Require Perseverance', United Press International, 18 March 2008

EXCERPT: "Despite recent threats of a Canadian troop pullout from Afghanistan, Canada's top defense official says rebuilding the country will require perseverance. Canadian Minister of National Defense and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency Peter MacKay recently spoke at the 2008 Brussels Forum in Belgium to discuss Canada's role in...

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18 March 2008

'', International Herald Tribune, 18 March 2008

EXCERPT: "Some of the 3,200 U.S. Marines slated for a seven-month deployment to Afghanistan's volatile south have begun arriving at the region's largest base following a call from Canada for more troops there. About 2,300 troops from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, will be based in Kandahar, the...

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18 March 2008

'Afghan Govt Must Bring Rights Abusers To Justice: UN', Reuters, 18 March 2008

EXCERPT: "The Afghan government needs to take more action to bring human rights abusers to justice and end the culture of impunity that undermines faith in the state, the United Nations said on Tuesday. Six years ago, the United States relied on air power, special forces and a loose alliance of Afghan warlords to topple the Taliban government after the hardline...

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