Taliban Blackout Cripples Afghan Aid as Winter Looms

A father and son clear rubble following an earthquake in early September in Kunar province, Afghanistan.

Lifesaving relief efforts to help remote Afghan communities devastated by last month’s deadly earthquake have been severely hampered by the de facto authorities’ decision to cut internet access nationwide, UN aid agencies said on Tuesday.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) called on Taliban leaders to immediately and fully restore internet and telecommunications services.

“As of yesterday, 1700 hours, we were informed that telecommunications and fibre-optic connectivity in Afghanistan are being suspended until further notice,” said the top UN official in the country, Indrika Ratwatte, via a patchy satellite video link from Kabul.

“The rest of the country is almost completely cut off,” he explained, adding that connectivity has been lost with aid teams in the “deep field” who are delivering assistance to survivors of last month’s quake in eastern Afghanistan.

“We don't have connectivity with them,” he stressed, highlighting needs among families originally from hillside villages who now live in crowded informal settlements on the valley floor in Kunar province.

In one community, Mr. Ratwatte met a woman who had lost 11 members of her family. “The trauma is quite immense,” he said.

More than 43 million people in Afghanistan are believed to be offline, after the Taliban began cutting communications cables several weeks ago, reportedly to tackle “vice” and immorality under their strict interpretation of Sharia law.

The work of UN humanitarians has also been set back by the de facto authorities’ recent ban on Afghan women staff entering UN premises.

In addition to disrupting the work of the UN and partner organizations, the internet blackout has affected health services, banking and financial transactions, Mr. Ratwatte noted.

“At a community level, for normal business transactions, banking, cash transfers, and remittances from abroad—which are critical for survival—everything has been cut off,” he explained.

One month since the 6.0-magnitude quake struck eastern Afghanistan, remote communities are still struggling to recover. The disaster killed around 2,000 people, injured 3,600, and damaged 8,500 homes.

“The winter is not on the way—it is upon us,” Mr. Ratwatte warned, stressing the urgent need to insulate shelters for displaced people and provide warm clothing amid plummeting temperatures.

Talks are underway with the de facto authorities in Kabul to secure a waiver that would allow “critical connectivity” with aid teams, but the situation has worsened an already “dire” crisis in Afghanistan.

“This is another crisis on top of the existing crisis…the impact will be on the lives of people,” Mr. Ratwatte stressed.

He warned the blackout would also affect medical services, supply chains and vaccinations. “Assistance that keeps basic essential services functioning in the country is going to be disrupted,” he added, noting that Afghanistan’s connectivity with the outside world had also been cut.

“Flights have been cancelled, and international flights are not coming in today,” he said.