Taleban face drought disaster, visitor warns

An old Afghan refugee woman, among hundreds of thousands of refugees, narrates her ordeal

In this story: Worst drought disastrous humanitarian crisis RELATED STORIES, SITES

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has arrived in the Taleban stronghold of Kandahar for talks on the deepening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

Ruud Lubbers was to meet Taleban Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil, but not Mullah Mohammad Omar, the Taleban head. He is believed to have only ever met two non-Muslims.

"I'm not here for politics, I'm simply here for a humanitarian role . . . but we think it is really insane, when you see the drought and the miserable conditions, to go on fighting," Lubbers said.

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Lubbers planned to call on the Taleban and its opponents -- he will see them at the end of his tour -- to end the long civil war.

Lubbers is trying to find ways to help hundreds of thousands of Afghans who have been forced from their homes by drought and the continuing civil war.

Worst drought

The former Dutch prime minister drove from Iran on Monday to the Afghan city of Herat to start a four-day tour of a country in the grip of the worst drought in 30 years.

According to the United Nations, at least 700,000 Afghans have left their homes, either seeking food and shelter because of the drought or fleeing factional fighting.

"Afghanistan is the fastest growing crisis of internal displacement in the world today," the United Nations said in a statement ahead of Lubbers' visit.

disastrous humanitarian crisis

"With an active conflict, colossal displacement, major human right abuses, drought, a looming famine and a devastated economy, Afghanistan is currently facing perhaps the most disastrous humanitarian crisis in the entire world," the statement said.

The visit coincides with the resumption of heavy fighting between the ruling Taleban and their remaining opponents in the north of the country, the latest phase in two decades of war.

Lubbers saw camps set up in Herat where most people, like those elsewhere in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, have sold everything to reach relative safety. But conditions in the six dusty camps are grim.

Of those displaced people, some have gone to Iran and 200,000 have crossed into Pakistan. But Pakistan refuses to accept any more, saying it lacks resources to feed and house them.

Difficulties for the relief agencies were compounded by continuous new arrivals -- 300 to 400 families per day.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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