RESEARCH REPORT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The con lict in Afghanistan that spans over four decades has led to signi icant destruction of the country’s physical infrastructures, governance institutions, and human capital. The con lict has caused the death and injury of more than two million people where more than 100,000 civilians have been killed or wounded since 2009. It has also led to protracted and large-scale displacement of Afghans, adding to the implications of the con lict. The growing con lict has led the country into a situation of humanitarian crisis as the number of Afghan refugees reaches 2.6 million with another 3 million Afghans remaining internally displaced. In 2020 alone, 380,000 Afghans experienced con lict-induced displacement, 868,000 returned from Iran, 860,000 from Pakistan and further 7,900 individuals were deported from Turkey. Meanwhile, deportation continues unabated from the EU member states despite a marked escalation in violence and an exacerbating humanitarian situation. Studies by IOM and UNHCR suggest that one in every four Afghan has been displaced at least once in a lifetime and more than half of the uprooted population has experienced multiple displacements over the course of con lict’s transformation. Protracted displacement has contributed to the development of a complex humanitarian situation in the country. In 2017, the UN reclassi ied Afghanistan as an active con lict as violent incidents rose to 80 per day when the Islamic State Khorasan Province’s (ISKP) began a sectarian war, leading to high civilian casualties. In 2018, about 3.3 million Afghans were assessed with acute humanitarian needs whilst 8.7 million in chronic need. In 2020, one third of Afghan population was characterized as food insecure and about 4 million in emergency situation, marking a dramatic rise in humanitarian needs of the country, predominately caused by con lict. The causal factors of large displacement are multifaceted and complex. However, the conduct (e.g., violence) of the parties to the con lict are the prime drivers of displacement. Taliban were reported to be responsible for the displacement of 93 percent of the research respondents. A total of 66 percent speci ically attributed their displacement to the cross ire between the Taliban and the Afghanistan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF). About 14 percent attributed the source of their displacement to local con lict actors, such as, tribal chiefs, community leaders, warlords and other armed groups that compete over in luence and illicit economic f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f 7