GENEVA, Switzerland, March 27 (UPI) -- The U.N. refugee agency is expressing concern over the displacement of Afghans due to fighting in the south, where nearly 5,000 families have fled.
"Under the current security situation, access by U.N. agencies and our partners remains limited," U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees spokeswoman Jennifer Pagonis told reporters in Geneva Tuesday.
Insecurity and lack of access in the south, namely in Helmand and Kandahar, have affected UNHCR efforts to aid some 112,000 internally displaced people affected by previous conflicts and drought. Access to health and other basic services has been drastically reduced since the beginning of the insurgency, said UNHCR.
Since 2002 more than half a million IDPs have received UNHCR assistance to return home while another 450,000 have gone back on their own, said the organization. This year will be the last year of assisted IDP returns. UNHCR plans to help some 2,500 families, or 15,000 people, to return to their home areas.
UNHCR, the U.N. World Food Program and the U.N. Children's Fund have provided food and relief supplies to 1,600 battle-affected families from Musa Qala district and are trying to reach another 3,200 families from Kajaki district, where intense fighting had been reported.
"All actors are working together to create a more effective mechanism to find out the exact number of people displaced by the ongoing conflict in the south and the amount of assistance they need," said Pagonis.
