UN refugee chief warns 'greater suffering' likely in Afghanistan

FILE PHOTO: People from Afghanistan walk with their belongings as they cross into Pakistan at the 'Friendship Gate' crossing point, in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border town of Chaman, Pakistan, September 7, 2021. REUTERS/Saeed Ali Achakzai

(Reuters) - Afghanistan needs urgent and sustained support from the international community to prevent a larger humanitarian crisis, the head of the U.N. refugee agency said, warning of global implications if that were to happen.

"The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan remains desperate," U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in a statement after a three-day visit to the South Asian nation.