DHAKA: Grief-stricken and destitute Afghan villagers vented anger on their government as they scrambled for emergency aid, three days after deadly landslides engulfed their homes.

Some 300 homes in Aab Bareek, a village in the Argo district of Badakhshan, a remote and mountainous north-eastern province, were buried under up to 50 metres of earth and debris.

The number of dead may never be known though UN and Afghan officials have estimated fatalities at anywhere between 500 and 2,700 people.

UN agencies and non-governmental organisations distributed supplies, but displaced villagers complained others from nearby areas had taken supplies meant for them.

‘There is no proper plan to give aid to the needy,’ Rahmatullah, a villager who lost five family members, told media on Monday, reports The Straits Times.

‘People from other villages came here and receive help but the actual needy people are ignored by the officials,’ Rahmatullah said, his creased face covered with dust as he peered out of the tent he and his parents had been given.

BDST: 2016 HRS, MAY 05, 2014