ReliefWeb

Iranian Interior Minster Hojatoleslam Abdolvahed Musavi-Lari on 6 March expressed the hope that some 400,000 Afghans refugees in Iran will be repatriated "soon" with UN assistance, IRNA reported. He told visiting UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers on 5 March that there are more than 2.3 million Afghans in Iran and, in view of the jobs the refugees take, Iranian labor and social-affairs agencies wish to see Afghan repatriation expedited. Possible refugee flows from Iraq appeared to be on his mind when Musavi added: "Given that Iran does not have the potential to accept more refugees, we do not intend to give refuge to any more possible applicants in the border areas." SF