23 February 2012 Last updated at 00:45 ET Many displaced people have fled their homes to escape conflict which has spread to parts of the country previously considered peaceful
About 500,000 Afghans displaced by war are struggling to survive and are ignored by their government and foreign donors, Amnesty International says.
A report by the human rights group says that at least 28 children have died in harsh winter conditions in camps around the capital Kabul.
It says that the government estimates that more than 40 people have frozen to death in camps across the country.
The Afghan government has so far not commented on the details of the report.
"Thousands of people are finding themselves living in freezing, cramped conditions and on the brink of starvation, while the Afghan government is not only looking the other way but even preventing help from reaching them," said Amnesty Afghanistan researcher Horia Mosadiq.
"Local officials restrict aid efforts because they want to pretend that these people are going to go away. This is a largely hidden but horrific humanitarian and human rights crisis."
The report, entitled - Fleeing war, finding misery: The plight of the internally displaced in Afghanistan - says that there are up to 35,000 displaced persons in 30 slum areas in Kabul alone.
It says that most slum residents fled their homes to escape conflict which has spread to parts of the country previously considered peaceful.
Civilian deaths have increased every year since 2007, the report states.
It calls on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate war crimes by all parties to the conflict.
The report also call on international donors - which it says fund over 90% of Afghanistan's total public expenditure - to ensure that their humanitarian assistance addresses the needs of internally displaced people.


Article Source : BBC News

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