The province of Bamyan has a population of approximately 496 000. The main ethnic groups in Bamyan are the Hazara, followed by Tajiks and Pashtuns. The province borders Samangan, Baghlan, Parwan, Wardak, Ghazni, Daykundi, Sar-e Pul and Ghor. It consists of seven districts. The province is dubbed the ‘unofficial Hazara capital’ and part of the Hazarajat. Bamyan can be reached from Kabul by the Kabul-Bamyan highway, via the province of Wardak, via Parwan, or via passenger services to Bamyan’s airport.

All districts of Bamyan were categorised by LWJ as under government control or undetermined.

According to sources, the Taliban have some presence in Bamyan. Infiltration from neighbouring Baghlan and subsequent attacks at checkpoints and abductions were reported. Due to the presence of non-State armed groups, in September 2019, a tense situation was reported in the districts Kahmard and Shibar. At the beginning of 2020, the Taliban made new appointments for their shadow government in the province. The relative stability of Bamyan can be linked to the social cohesion among its inhabitants and the active involvement of religious leaders in peace processes in the province.

No incidents related to ISKP have been recorded in the province.

ACLED collected data on 15 violent events in the period from 1 March 2019 to 30 June 2020 (average of 0.2 incidents per week), of which 14 were coded as ‘battles’ and one as ‘violence against civilians’.

Examples of incidents included attacks by Taliban insurgents on Afghan security forces in the second half of 2019 in Kahmard, Shibar, Sayghan and Bamyan districts, attacks on polling centres during presidential elections, and an incident of sexual violence committed by two senior security officials.

UNAMA documented 5 civilian casualties (3 death and 2 injured) in 2019, representing 1 civilian victim per 100 000 inhabitants. This was a decrease of 29 % compared to 2018. The leading cause for the civilian casualties were explosive remnants of war.

RS ranked Bamyan in the category of provinces where the number of civilian casualties was between 0 and 25 for the first quarter of 2020; between 0 and 25 civilian casualties were also recorded in the second quarter.

In the period 1 March 2019 – 30 June 2020, 175 persons were displaced from the province of Bamyan, all of them leaving for Kabul province. In the same period, 730 persons were displaced to the province of Bamyan, all coming from Jalrez district in Wardak.