The UN on Tuesday said that the number of people displaced due to the conflict between Pakistan Army and the Taliban in the NWFP has risen above 2.5 million and a shortage of funds could cut relief services in New York.
UN spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters in New York that the new figure, an increase of about 100,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) over last week’s estimate, was based on numbers collected by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and Pakistani authorities, which are registering people both inside and outside camps.
More than two million people have been driven from their homes by clashes between the Government and militants in the past month, in addition to the 400,000 already displaced in fighting last year.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a briefing to the General Assembly emphasised the need for greater support to scale up the response of the international community and the Pakistani Government to the situation.
"The human suffering is immense," he said.
The UN and its partners launched an appeal for $ 543 million on May 22, of which just over one-fifth has been funded to date. "If we do not get the rest of the funds, we will have to start cutting services," the Secretary-General warned, adding that there is a risk of a destabilising secondary crisis.
{{/usCountry}}The UN and its partners launched an appeal for $ 543 million on May 22, of which just over one-fifth has been funded to date. "If we do not get the rest of the funds, we will have to start cutting services," the Secretary-General warned, adding that there is a risk of a destabilising secondary crisis.
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