Afghan refugees stranded on Tajik border

Aid agencies in Tajikistan have warned that thousands of people stranded on islands on the border with Afghanistan are facing serious food shortages.

Ten thousand people -- mostly women and children who fled the fighting in Afghanistan -- are stuck on two river islands, between the Taleban front line to the south, and troops guarding the Tajik border to the north.

Aid workers say conditions are deteriorating -- there's disease and danger from sporadic shelling.

The United Nations has appealed to Tajikistan to admit the refugees, but officials say it's unlikely to do so.

The BBC Central Asia correspondent says there's concern that allowing them in could trigger an uncontrollable wave of refugees into Tajikistan and that criminal groups might also be among them.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service