Dushanbe - International aid teams have yet to reach the area of northern Afghanistan hit by two earthquakes in the past five days that flattened up to 15 villages, the Afghan ambassador in the Tajik capital said yesterday.
Mr Abdul Rahim, who backs the anti-Taliban opposition, also said the alliance's forces had been ordered to lay down their arms to recover bodies and help those injured. He put the death toll at around 4,000, with 1,200 killed in one village alone.
Mr Rahim said the second quake which struck the Rustaq area early yesterday had particularly affected the village of Ghanj, already the worst-hit settlement. "Between 11 and 15 villages have been destroyed and with last night's earthquake there are up to 4,000 dead," he said.