Deaths in West Timor refugee camps

Aid workers in refugee camps in Indonesian West Timor say hundreds of people are dying from hunger and sickness.

United Nations aid agencies pulled out of the camps late last year after the murder of several of their staff.

Jesuit aid workers have told the BBC that more than three-hundred people have died in just one of the camps, and they expect more deaths.

United Nations officials in East Timor who've been interviewing returnees say the camps lack food and water and that supplies are restricted partly because militia groups are still active in the camps. They say the refugees remain traumatised after their flight from East Timor in the violence which followed a vote for independence more than a year ago. The Jesuits say the refugees are hoping for the arrival of outside help.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service