Geneva: Around 375,000 people displaced by
ethnic violence in southern Kyrgyzstan this month are facing a
severe shortage of medical supplies, the UN warned on Tuesday.
"Our primary worry is the medical needs of the population.
Water and food shortages have decreased," said UN Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs spokeswoman Elisabeth
Byrs in a news conference.
Displaced communities had limited means and medical
supplies were expensive while pharmacies were either shut or
out of stocks, Byrs said.
The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) said the
number of displaced people stood at around 375,000 after the
return of up to 100,000 refugees from neighbouring Uzbekistan
last week.
Many of the displaced were unable to return to their homes
as they had been destroyed in the violence. In some areas of
Osh -- the country`s second city and epicentre of the trouble
-- up to 95 per cent of homes had been burned down, the UNHCR
said.
UNHCR chief Antonio Guterres will travel to the Central
Asian state on Wednesday and Thursday, and meet with interim
President Roza Otunbayeva.
PTI
