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U.N. agency appeals for more refugee aid

Afghan refugees are gathering at a camp set up by the Iranian Red Crescent Organization

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- The United Nations' refugee agency says as many as 60,000 Afghan refugees have crossed into Pakistan since the U.S. bombing campaign began more than two weeks ago.

They are hiking over mountains to avoid the main border crossings, which remain sealed, or bribing their way in. Friday, more than 3,500 Afghans entered Pakistan in what may have been the largest single-day crossing since October 7, the start of the U.S.-led attacks on Afghanistan, the U.N. High Commissioner on Refugees said.

UNHCR said official border crossings, especially the one at Chaman, are seeing pressure build as thousands of refugees arrive only to find borders closed. The agency is appealing for $50 million in aid to care for up to 400,000 new arrivals, particularly in Pakistan and Iran. It notes that it has received only $12 million, with no contributions received since October 8.

On Sunday, as many as 15,000 people from the Kandahar region were gathered at the Chaman border crossing with Pakistan, and by the end of the day, as much as two-fifths had forced their way through, said UNHCR spokesman Peter Kessler. Conditions there have been described as dusty and miserable. In the group of civilians Sunday were about 6,000 children, said UNICEF spokeswoman Chulho Hyn. She said about 2,500 people were living in 200 tents provided by an Islamic relief organization.

RESOURCES Refugee map

The UNHCR has urged Pakistan to open its borders for the most extreme cases among the refugees. The government has indicated that 11 refugee camps will be ready in North West Frontier Province by the end of the month, and six others would be ready within a few days in the province of Baluchistan, said Eric Falt, director of the U.N. Information Center.

The UNHCR says it believes the refugees travel from Kabul to Jalalabad before being guided by smugglers for about 15 hours over rough terrain.

Also of particular concern are the hundreds of thousands of Soviet-era anti-tank mines and bombs that litter the landscape.