Afghan people are suffering from starvation because [originaltext] Officials

Officials of the World Food Program, WFP, said they are receiving information that famine has gripped parts of Central Afghanistan. WFP officials say as the winter snow begins to melt and high mountain paths begin to clear, local leaders and international aid workers are reporting some people are dying of starvation. Officials say a major disaster affecting hundreds of thousands of people may be in the making. The Taliban are blocking food deliveries to central Afghanistan. The UN has warned for several months that more than 1 million people are suffering from the blockade and 160,000 face starvation. An emergency air-lift of food to central provinces was cancelled earlier this year when the Taliban bombed the local airport. WFP officials say existing food stocks in that area are exhausted and an emergency effort will be launched to bring wheat and potatoes into the area.