Refugee agency calls for borders to be kept open

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers on Thursday called on Afghanistan's neighbours to keep their borders open in order to provide an escape route for desperate Afghans who may be forced to flee the country in the face of a US-led military attack on alleged terrorists inside Afghanistan. "Many Afghans are not only afraid of what may happen in future but are now - in addition to the current tensions - fearing even greater difficulties than before, because international humanitarian agencies like mine had to withdraw their international staff," Lubbers said in a statement released in Geneva, Switzerland.

Having suffered years of civil conflict, human rights abuses, drought and hunger, many Afghans are terrified of the planned military operation targeting the Saudi Arabian dissident, Osama bin Laden, and his supporters. They have been guests of the ruling Taliban Islamic Movement of Afghanistan, and stand accused of involvement in the devastating 11 September atrocities in the US. "We believe that, given the current situation inside Afghanistan, there is even more reason to encourage all countries, including those bordering Afghanistan, not to close their doors," Lubbers said. "We ask that borders remain open to all persons having to flee, not least because of the deteriorating security situation."

Also on Thursday, UNHCR called for an international "humanitarian coalition" - an equivalent of the military coalition the US is seeking to build to tackle Bin Laden and international terrorism - in order to share the burden of assisting ordinary Afghans, especially refugees.
The refugee agency was asking governments to provide temporary protection to those fleeing Afghanistan, and pledged that it would work with all concerned to help people return home as soon as circumstances allowed, he said. In addition, there was an urgent need to ensure safe humanitarian access to Afghans inside Afghanistan, he added.