KABUL - Afghan officials have said that exact casualty numbers from last Friday's devastating landslide in northern Badakhshan province will remain unknown until excavations efforts are completed. Meanwhile, for survivors, concerns over the management of supplies and financial donations continue to grow.

The Deputy of Natural Disaster Preparation, Muhammad Aslam Seyas, said on Tuesday that efforts were ongoing to dig out victims of the landslide from the immense mound of rock and mud that buried an entire village in Argo district last week.

"So far, 292 individuals have been identified as killed by the landslide," Seyas said. "This number is based on our review and our documents and evidence, but the number of dead might increase as people are still stuck under the sediment."

The conditions and fate of the survivors of the landslide remains similarly unclear. Although sympathy and financial support has poured in from around the country since news of the landslide spread on Saturday, many are concerned about mismanagement of relief aid and even corruption getting in the way of help for the many local residents injured and displaced by the disaster.

Argo survivors have reportedly faced a lack of shelter, food, water and medical supplies over the past few days. Aside from potential mismanagement issues, the area in which the landslide took place is an extremely remote part of Afghanistan and poses difficulties for the transportation of supplies.

According to Seyas, donations from inside Afghanistan will be managed by local officials in Badakhshan.

However, President Karzai has reportedly asked the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Finance and Rural Development to manage the process of aid distribution from domestic and international donors.

Jawad Jawid, spokesman for the Office of Administrative Affairs and Council of Ministers Secretariat, said that the President has appointed a committee led by Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development in coordination with the Emergency Committee to help the victims of the landslide. This announcement comes just a day after civil society groups called for a specialized commission to be formed to oversee relief work.

"President Karzai tasked the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Finance to gather aid from the international community for the victims of the Badakhshan landslide," Jawid said. "The Badakhshan Police Chief was order to block off the disaster area in order to prevent further losses."

One of the chief concerns expressed by lawmakers in Parliament over the past two days has been the possibility of more landslides in the area. A number of MPs called for the resettlement of local residents to prevent further deaths.

Fatema Gillani, the head of Afghan Red Crescent, said 100 houses would be built for survivors of the landslide. "We have decided to build houses for those affected, meaning houses with better bathrooms, better windows and doors," she said. (Tolonews)