Aid distributions that were suspended after a twin suicide bombing killed 43 displaced people at the weekend in Kohat should resume by the end of the week, the head of the UN's emergency office said on Tuesday.
Around 300 people, displaced by fighting between the Pakistani Army and militants, were queuing for food and shelter assistance at a UN registration point in Kohat district on Saturday when two male suicide bombers, disguised in burqas, attacked.
The United Nations suspended some of its humanitarian operations in the immediate aftermath due to security concerns in Kohat, as well as in the neighbouring region of Hangu, where it is assisting over 250,000 people who have fled fighting in volatile areas bordering Afghanistan.
Manuel Bessler, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Pakistan, said the two UN-run displacement camps in Hangu were still "fully operational", but that registration activities and aid distributions to those living outside camps had been suspended.
"The tragedy is not in suspending our activities, but the fact that 43 people were killed. Obviously, we cannot go back to business-as-usual after such a big tragedy. We have to review security arrangements," Bessler told AlertNet by phone from Islamabad, adding there would be a meeting to discuss this on Wednesday.
"I think we will be able to restart our activities before the end of the week," he said.
Bessler said the United Nations and other international aid agencies working in the area would look at more rigorous screening at registration and aid distribution points outside camps, and may stagger handouts to avoid large gatherings.
Bessler said beefing up security at camps was not necessary, adding he believed Saturday's attack was not aimed at the United Nations - which has been targeted in the past - but rather related to sectarian tensions.
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