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Warriors refuse to stop fighting despite worsening refugee crisis

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February 4, 2001 

KABUL, FEB 3 (AP) - Both sides in Afghanistan's bitter civil war rejected a United Nations appeal Saturday to call a truce to help their countrymen, who have been driven from their homes and are dying daily in squalid camps.

The United Nations called for an end to the fighting, while issuing another appeal to the international community Friday for help to clothe, house and feed 80,000 Afghans living in camps in Afghanistan's western Herat province, where more than 500 people have died of the bitter cold in the last week.

Most of the victims are children and the elderly who are living three and four families in a single tent meant for only one family.

On Saturday the Taliban's information Minister Qadratullah Jamal, said another 22 people died overnight in Herat. Nighttime temperatures plunged to minus 25 Celsius (minus 13 Fahrenheit).

As well 155,000 new Afghans have fled to neighboring Pakistan in the last five months where they are living in squalid camps. On the northern border with Tajikistan another 10,000 Afghans are trapped because they are not being allowed to cross into the Central Asian state.

The United Nations has called the situation a crisis, caused by the devastating drought that has ravaged much of the war-ruined country as well as the bitter and protracted civil war.

But neither side appeared ready to stop fighting.

The Taliban said the United Nations is encouraging fighting in Afghanistan by imposing a one-sided arms embargo against them and not against their northern-based opponents, led by ousted president Burhanudddin Rabbani.

The Taliban say Iran, several Central Asian countries as well as Russia are all arming and financing their opponents.

And the opposition says that the fighting will continue until the United Nations can stop neighbor Pakistan from arming the Taliban.

Last month new U.N. sanctions took effect against the Taliban which imposed the arms embargo against the religious militia that rules 95 percent of the country. The sanctions also further limit the national airline, ban travel by Taliban leaders and reduce the size of Taliban missions overseas.

Both Pakistan and the Taliban have demanded a complete arms embargo that also targets the opposition.

"We know that fighting is not the solution, but in fact the United Nations is responsible for the civil war in Afghanistan by its decision one sided sanctions on the Taliban," Jamal told The Associated Press in an interview.

The opposition says the United Nation has failed in its peace mission. The opposition also welcomed the sanctions, despite widespread condemnation of the sanctions by international relief workers who said they further isolated Afghans already shattered by a devastated economy and war.

"So far the U.N. has failed in its peace efforts. We want the world body to come up with new mechanism and proposal for peace," said Toor Allai, who spoke to The Associated Press from neighboring Iran.

Meanwhile people are dying daily in the six refugee camps in western Afghanistan's Herat province.

Until Friday the United Nations appeal for dlrs 3.5 million had been largely ignored. On Friday Norway announced dlrs 1.3 million to help the Afghans.

"The situation in the refugee camps of Herat is going from bad to worse. Children are suffering the most. They need immediate help," said Jamal.