UN refugee officials warned Sunday that population movements inside Afghanistan are several times higher than usual, amid fears of US retaliation after the terror attacks on New York and Washington.
"We don't have information on arrivals at the border [with Iran], but we know that population movements are three times larger than normal," said Surendra Banday, with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Iran.
Afghans have begun racing to the borders after the Taliban militia, recognised as Afghanistan's government by only three other nations, vowed holy war against anyone helping the United States strike back at the country.
Iran announced Saturday it was closing its 900-kilometer border with Afghanistan to block an influx of refugees.
Millions of Afghan refugees have fled to Iran in the past 20 years, and more than a million still live in the Islamic republic.
Washington launched missile strikes on bin Laden's Afghanistan bases in 1998 after he was accused of masterminding bomb attacks on US embassies in east Africa that killed 224 people and left thousands wounded.
The United States says bin Laden is the prime suspect in Tuesday's attacks which left thousands dead. On Sunday, he denied any involvement.
"The US is pointing the finger at me but I categorically state that I have not done this," he said in a statement. "Those who have done it, they have done it in their personal interest” -- TEHRAN (AFP)
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
