Aid drops target Afghan civilians

An Afghan woman on the run from famine

Alongside the missiles and bombs that rained down on Afghanistan on Sunday night America's military also dropped humanitarian aid to help the country's suffering civilians.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said 37,500 ration packs had been parachuted into the Taleban-controlled state in a bid to help those affected by food shortages.

But there are fears the launch of military attacks by Washington will worsen the humanitarian crisis with reports that up to one-million people may try to flee the country in search of safety.

Food aid for refugees in Pakistan

Even before the 11 September terror attacks on America, millions of Afghans were at risk of starvation brought on by a combination of three years of successively worsening drought and the continuing war between the ruling Taleban and opposition Northern Alliance.

Masses of people had taken to the road in search of food and medical assistance.

According to the United Nations, a quarter of Afghanistan's 24-million population are dependent on food aid.

In the build up to this first wave of military action, Washington has stressed that it sees the Afghan people as victims of the Taleban regime.

Aid package

On Thursday, President George Bush announced the US would give $320m to help Afghans survive the severe drought.

"This is our way of saying that while we firmly and strongly oppose the Taleban regime, we are friends of the Afghan people," President Bush said in a speech at the State Department.

Afghan refugees near Peshawar, Pakistan, line up to receive cooking oil

Speaking on Sunday, in the wake of America's missile strikes, Mr Rumsfeld reiterated this commitment to Afghanistan's ordinary citizens and said the military action paved the way for further humanitarian help.

"We support the Afghan people against the al-Qaeda [the terrorist network headed by Osama bin Laden], a foreign presence in their lands, and the Taleban regime that supports them," he said.

The air attacks would "create conditions for sustained anti-terrorist and humanitarian relief operations in Afghanistan".

He announced that 37,500 rations of food and medical aid were being supplied in high-altitude drops to areas of Afghanistan where Taleban air defences did not pose a threat.

Refugee exodus

Previously, Mr Rumsfeld had said dropping humanitarian aid would not be attempted until surface-to-air missiles in the country posed no problem.

In light of the US attacks, relief agencies in countries bordering Afghanistan will now be gearing up for a refugee exodus, says BBC correspondent Owen Bennett-Jones.

Many are expected to head for the border with Pakistan, where the UN has made some preparations to receive them. Tents and food supplies have been moved into the cities of Peshawar and Quetta and some work has been put into preparing new refugee camps.

The camps are in arid areas and as yet there are no wells - water will have to be brought in by tankers.

The Pakistani authorities have said they want to put barbed wire around the new camps to keep the Afghans from mixing with the local population.