UN refugee chief warns of Afghan asylum seeker crisis

The UN refugee chief said millions of Afghan refugees are vulnerable to hostility and intolerance in countries where they seek asylum in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the United States.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers yesterday opened a week-long meeting of UNHCR’s 57-nation Executive Committee, the agency’s governing body, and warned of a ‘‘rising tide of xenophobia and intolerance.’’