DUSHANBE. Dec 18 (Interfax-AVN) - About 10,000 Afghan refugees are staying on the islands in the Panj River under control of Tajikistan, the headquarters of the Pyandzh border guard detachment said on Tuesday.
The refugees moved to the islands from the northern provinces of Afghanistan after the United States and its allies launched the anti-terrorist operation in the country, the spokesman told Interfax-Military News Agency.
The refugees refuse to go home before the forces of General Abdul Rashid Dostum destroy Taliban detachments still wandering in the northern provinces, the spokesman said. The resettlers are living at the expense of UN humanitarian aid provided to the islands daily, he stressed.
Military observers in Dushanbe say there is another reason why the refugees refuse to return. One of them said "clashes for control over the territory have started in the provinces of Konduz, Balkh and Takhor among former Taliban field commanders who recently joined the Northern Alliance."
"The refugees are afraid of these wars and prefer to wait," the observer noted.