JALLOZAI, Pakistan UN refugee officials appealed for urgent donor aid on Wednesday to help save the lives of thousands of Afghan refugees pouring into Pakistan, some of whom had been reduced to eating grass.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is finding it hard to cope with the flow of refugees from Afghanistan where warfare, the worst drought in 30 years and a ruined economy have forced people to flee.

UN officials at Jallozai Camp, 112km (70 miles) west of the Pakistani capital Islamabad, said they expected 8,000 more families, or 40,000 people, to arrive in Pakistan over the next three months.

"Jallozai is a makeshift site. It is an open place. People are exposed to the freezing weather. There is no proper shelter, no sanitation or (clean) water facilities," said Yusuf Hassan, UNHCR's senior regional external affairs officer for the Southwest and Central Asian region.

(Reuter)