[Judy Woodruff, Cnn Anchor:] Many Afghans are leaving their homes. They are traveling to refugee camps within the country to find food and shelter. But near Herat, in western Afghanistan, very little aid is available, leaving refugees in a desperate situation. CNN's Kasra Naj reports.
[Kasra Naj, Cnn Correspondent:] Thousands more refugees have arrived in the past few days in a desperate search for food. Many camped out in the open on the fringes of a camp which already houses hundreds of thousands of refugees. "We have come here because we don't have anything to eat. We're having a hard time here. Our children are in danger", says this man. They come from neighboring provinces, victims of four years of a severe drought. The U.S.-led military campaign in the past two months has meant that little aid has been distributed in the provinces. They say no one has come to their help here. No one has been to register them, which would entitle them to receive aid. They say every night a few babies and old people, the most vulnerable, die of cold. This woman says she has already lost a daughter to the cold and hunger. She says she and her children arrived two weeks ago and are spending the nights sleeping here on the bare ground. Just a few hundred meters away in a new cemetery, many of the new graves are those of small babies and children. The small amount of international aid that reaches here, a drop in the bucket. The U.N. and many international aid organizations have been slow in their response. And, more people are arriving in the thousands. This Afghan official says the reason for the new rush of refugees: the arrival of winter and their need for shelter. Also, the roads are now open again after the initial fighting. [on camera]: Far too many are going hungry. Tens of thousands are desperate for help. And the situation can only get worse because there are reports that tens of thousands are on their way here. Kasra Naj, CNN, Maslakh camp, western Afghanistan.
[Woodruff:] It does make you wonder, since that area has been under control for the last many days, why they are not able to get aid in there are more quickly than they are.