United Nations Radio

Hundreds of Afghan refugees in Pakistan are finding the road home is paved with problems.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) today announced that the closure of a road leading to Afghanistan has caused the temporary suspension of its operation to repatriate Afghan refugees via the city of Peshawar in north-west Pakistan.

UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond says the roadblock stems from a dispute between local tribes.

"Over 360 families have been processed for repatriation from Peshawar yesterday, but they were unable to leave due to the roadblock. We've been taking care of some of those families until the road is reopened. And to prevent more families from being stranded, we've suspended the repatriation through Peshawar starting today. They will resume once the road's cleared."

Meanwhile, UNHCR also notes that today marks the deadline for the closure of a refugee village in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province. More than 70,000 Afghans living there have been given the option of voluntary repatriation to Afghanistan, or relocation to an existing refugee village in Pakistan.

For UN Radio, I'm Dianne Penn.

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