UN may have to scale back Asian quake-aid flights

THE World Food Programme yesterday warned it may be forced to scale back vital aid flights for victims of the South Asia quake within days if it does not receive more donations.

The UN agency warned last week that without more donor money it would soon be forced to reduce or halt altogether helicopter flights to areas affected by the October 8 quake, which killed about 80,000 people and left more than three million homeless.

Spokesman Robin Lodge said: "As we stand, we just can't carry on flying these things. It'd be safe to say that within the next three or four days, we'll have to look at scaling back."

The agency, which would like to have 22 helicopters in the air but so far has only 17, has asked for $100 million (€83.7m) for relief efforts over the next six months, but donors have supplied only a tenth of that, Lodge said.

The flights fan out in Pakistan's portion of Kashmir, where the quake was centred, to rugged mountain towns where helicopters can provide the only access to thousands of residents whose survival is becoming increasingly precarious as winter approaches.

The commander of US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan, Lt Gen Karl Eikenberry, said the US military would keep up its work on behalf of victims for months. Helicopters and troops have been diverted to quake-recovery efforts.

Survivors among the region's Muslim population flocked to food markets to prepare for Eid, the celebration that follows the fasting month of Ramadan.

But there was little splurging on the new clothes, toys and sweets customarily purchased at this time of year, as people concentrated on essentials like flour, bread and cooking oil.

The quake also devastated the portion of Kashmir controlled by India, though far less than Pakistan.

In a landmark agreement, the two countries plan to open five crossing points along their heavily fortified frontier on Monday to allow Kashmiris to visit relatives and get aid at relief camps.

US Assistant Secretary of State Anthony Wayne said the United States would be "standing with Pakistan in the long run" in reconstruction efforts. US teams will begin arriving in Pakistan over the weekend to assess its needs.

Mr Wayne said Pakistan has estimated it needs $5 billion (€4.2bn) in "near-term" relief. He did not say how much Washington was prepared to offer, but said the US has so far committed $156m (€130m) and that American citizens have donated $40m (€33.5m) more.