October 12, 1999
Afghan Opposition: Refugees Dying
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Filed at 10:43 a.m. EDT
By The Associated Press
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- More than 350 refugees in northernAfghanistan, most of them children, have died from disease andhunger in the past three weeks, an opposition spokesman saidTuesday.
Most of the refugees who died in the opposition-controlledPanjshir Valley suffered from cholera and malnutrition, saidAbdullah Jan Toheedi, the opposition spokesman.
The United Nations estimates 60,000 refugees are living in thePanjshir Valley. Fifty thousand others are believed to be in theAfghan capital, Kabul.
The refugees fled fighting this summer north of Kabul betweenthe Taliban, which controls 90 percent of Afghanistan, andopposition soldiers.
At least 10 foreign aid groups are helping refugees. But in atelephone interview, Toheedi said more medicine, food, tents andwarm clothes are urgently needed.
Winter snows generally begin to fall in the Panjshir Valley inNovember, making it critical that supplies reach the area quickly,he said.
Toheedi said the opposition can't get supplies into the valleybecause of the poor condition of the road from neighboring Takharprovince, which also is mostly controlled by the opposition.