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UN calls on parties in Afghanistan to ensure safety of civilians, aid workers
29 September -- The United Nations today called on the warring parties in Afghanistan to ensure the security of civilians and aid workers, and to allow humanitarian assistance to reach those in need.

In a statement released in Islamabad, the Office of the UN Coordinator for Afghanistan said relief aid was being distributed to the north-eastern part of the country. Rain and snow in that region are heightening the need to provide shelter to the displaced, who continue to arrive at various locations. In some areas, such as Dasht-i-Qala, aid agencies cannot reach displaced people because of ongoing fighting.

Some families have already run out of food stocks, according to the statement. The UN World Food Programme is currently providing food to 4,000 families who are considered to be the most in need of assistance. The displaced are receiving blankets, plastic sheeting and other supplies from the UN Coordinator and partner relief organizations.

Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today reported that intensified fighting in north-eastern Afghanistan has pushed over 8,000 people to cross the border into Pakistan.

"The new arrivals said they fled their homes in the wake of indiscriminate aerial attacks in which some of their relatives were either killed or maimed," UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski told reporters at the agency's headquarters in Geneva. He described the abysmal conditions facing the refugees, who are using "whatever they could get -- old plastic sheets, pieces of clothes and blankets" to erect temporary shelters in a makeshift open area some 25 kilometres east of Peshawar.

This latest influx into Pakistan is part of a recent trend, with a "significant rise" in the number of Afghans arriving in the country this month, the UN agency reported. With an average of 30 families a day crossing the border, Tuesday saw the single largest influx when 500 Afghans made the journey. These new arrivals add to the 1.3 million Afghan refugees currently hosted by Pakistan.