KOHAT, April 23: About 200 Afghan refugee families started vacating the Naryab camp on Thursday to leave for their native Khost and Kandahar provinces under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees repatriation programme , officials said on Friday.

The 1,400 refugees had been asked to vacate the camp because the government had started constructing the Naryab dam at the site, officials said and added that they remained at the camp for nearly 23 years. The officials told newsmen that the refugees had been asked in 2001 to vacate the area but they had refused.

The UNHCR has offered each family $5 if they demolish their houses before moving out. They would get the assistance offered under the UNHCR programme in Afghanistan. The officials said the families had been issued journey passes.