Afghanistan: Returning Refugees Halted By Fighting - 13,000 Afghans

[seemslikeadream]

Monday, 23 August 2004, 12:16 pm
Press Release: United Nations


Afghanistan: UN Convoys Of Returning Refugees Halted By Fighting In West
At least 13,000 Afghans returning home from Iran have become stranded on the border or in an overcrowded transit camp because of fighting this week in western Afghanistan, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said today as he spotlighted fears about the country’s security situation.

Ruud Lubbers is particularly concerned that the outbreak of violence, which forced the agency on Tuesday to suspend its daily convoys of returnees from Iran, has coincided with a surge in the number of refugees wanting to return home, UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond said.

Briefing reporters in Geneva, where the agency has its headquarters, Mr. Redmond said about 9,500 returnees are living at a transit camp in the western city of Heart, close to the scene of this week’s fighting between troops of the province governor and militias loyal to a rival leader. The camp is designed to house only 4,000 people.

Another 3,500 refugees remain on the Iranian side of the border, waiting for UNHCR officials to determine it is safe for more returnees to arrive in Heart.

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