Amnesty International has issued a new report highlighting the plight of hundreds of thousands of Afghan people who live in slum-like conditions after escaping their homes due to fighting.

The report, “Fleeing war, finding misery: The plight of the internally displaced in Afghanistan,” reveals the hardship faced by thousands of men, women and children, forced to flee for their lives in the hope of finding safety elsewhere in the country.

The document says that up to 500,000 Afghans now live in makeshift dwellings with poor access to water, food, sanitation, health services, and education.

Amnesty's report includes a series of recommendations to the Afghan authorities and their international allies on how to respond to this growing humanitarian crisis before Afghanistan's modest development gains are undone.