Iran Laments Consequences of War, Drought in Afghanistan
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid Reza Assefi regretted the continuation of civil war and the consequences of a severe drought in the next-door Afghanistan which, he said, has thus far left over half-a-million homeless.
"Regrettably, the deteriorating war and lack of amenities has accelerated the migration of Afghans...," he said.
Assefi said that establishing a durable peace in Afghanistan is a decisive step in ending the homelessness of the people.
He invited Afghan warring sides to the negotiation table to find a solution to the ongoing conflict.
Iran has thus far sent two consignments of humanitarian aid to Afghan refugees stranded for over three months on the border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan.
Iran and Tajikistan both support the moderate northern alliance backing Afghan President Burhaneddin Rabbani against the Taleban which now controls some 90 percent of the country.
Assefi also said that Iran has withheld no contribution in assuaging the anxieties and pains of the Afghans, and that regardless of political issues, it would continue its humanitarian aid to this war-torn country.
He criticized the half-hearted performance of the international organizations in helping the Afghans.
UN officials said earlier they were trying to confirm reports the toll among the 80,000 Afghans who had fled to Herat to escape hunger and war in other areas was much higher. They also said losses in inaccessible areas of the mountainous country would never be known.
The United Nations listed 154,000 "new arrivals" -- refugees entering since September, the vast majority since Pakistan started trying to curb the influx across the porous border in October.
The drought, coming on top of war since 1979, has destroyed herds and orchards that will take years to recover. Villagers desperate to survive have sold even the timbers holding up the roofs of their mud houses.
(IRNA)