With the arrival of the cold weather, at least 40,000 families are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance in the southern province of Helmand, figures by the provincial Directorate of Refugees and Repatriation revealed.

The head of the authority, Sayed Mohammad Ramin, said in a statement that the agency has the capacity to help 5,000 of the families.

“There are many displaced families that have come to the city of Lashkargah over the past few years. They have come from other districts. Helmand is a volatile province and right now, it has more than 40,000 families who need assistance,” Ramin said.

Many of the families are internally displaced persons who have left their homes due to insecurity and conflicts, according to Ramin.

“I applied to the government four years ago, I visited many organizations, but they said the decision is higher than their authority. They said they will address our problem when the president orders,” said Mohammad Din, a displaced person.

“We are in a bad condition. We do not have food for our children,” said Gul Dad, a displaced person.