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Thousands of Afghans flee homes in search of food

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KABUL, June 4 (RIA Novosti) - Around 2,000 families have abandoned their homes in northern Afghanistan in search of food and water, as the government struggles to relieve the ongoing crisis, national authorities said on Wednesday.

The landlocked, mountainous country, which suffered from a winter freeze that claimed over 1,300 lives, is now suffering from droughts in many regions, causing drastic food shortages.

Starving people fled the Chemtal district in the Balkh province, after government emergency food and water aid proved inadequate.

Wheat prices in Afghanistan, home to 30 million people, rose by around 70% in 2007.

The UN provided emergency food supplies to the country in May through its World Food Program (WFP). The WFP and the Afghan government had made a joint appeal in January for over $80 million "to help those affected by the rise in food prices".

A total of 180,000 tons of food aid is set to be distributed in the country among nearly 3.7 million people during 2008.

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