Refugee plight at a standstill

The plight of some 10,000 Afghan refugees stranded on the banks and islands of the Pyandj river on Tajikistan’s southern border with Afghanistan remained at a standstill on Tuesday as UNHCR officials awaited a response from Tajik officials as to whether these refugees would be admitted into Tajik territory. “Our humanitarian operation is limited there due to security concerns”, UNHCR national programme officer in Dushanbe, Gulnora Ibragimova told IRIN on Tuesday. “At Monday’s UN Development Programme meeting it was decided that no security clearance would be given to any UN staff to visit the area until after Ramadan as there may be a resumption of military operations there.” According to Ibragimova, many of the refugees were suffering from diarrhoea, dysentery, and other illnesses. Some had been wounded and needed immediate medical attention after what news sources reported to be continual shelling by Taliban forces in the area. She went on to say that the agency was currently waiting for 5,000 plastic sheetings due to arrive after 26 December, which would be distributed once permission to cross into Tajik territory was given by the authorities. Last week, UNHCR issued a statement saying it was “very concerned” about what it described as a “desperate situation” . In addition to shelling in the area, “the Afghans suffer from a lack of food, an absence of proper shelter and potable water”, agency spokeswoman Delphine Marie in Geneva said. “Some of the people have been stuck in the border zone for up to six weeks now.” The agency defines these people as noncombatants, primarily women and children. Ibragimova told IRIN the agency had also made an urgent request for 30 seriously ill refugees requiring hospitalization to be admitted into Tajikistan immediately. That request remained unanswered as of Tuesday.