GENEVA, Switzerland, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- The United Nations says at least 13,000 Afghans returning home from Iran are stranded in the border area because of fighting in western Afghanistan.
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers said Friday he is particularly concerned the outbreak of violence, which forced the agency to suspend its daily convoys of returnees from Iran Tuesday, has coincided with a surge in the number of refugees wanting to return home.
Ron Redmond, spokesman for Geneva-based UNHCR, said about 9,500 returnees were living at a transit camp in the western city of Herat, close to the scene of this week's fighting between troops of the province governor and militias loyal to a rival leader. The camp is designed to house only 4,000 people.
Another 3,500 refugees remained on the Iranian side of the border, waiting for UNHCR officials to determine when it would be safe for more returnees to arrive in Herat.
