More than 3,000 refugees in Zambia, mainly from neighbouring Angola, face hunger following an imminent cut in food rations in camps, the UN refugee agency said on Tuesday.

The representative of the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Lusaka, James Lynch, said food supplies will be cut next year in a bid to encourage the people in the camps to start growing their own food.

`Withdrawal of food would result in malnutrition in children under five and a potential increase in sex-for-food transaction, leading to higher incidences of sexually transmitted diseases,` Lynch said.

He said the World Food Programme (WFP) was providing assistance to about 9,000 refugees in Maheba and Mayukwayukwa, in Zambia`s North-Western and Western provinces.

The food rations will be phased out, with refugees on quarter-rations from November and December before eventually cutting the supplies in January 2009.

`We are worried for the very vulnerable persons who still need assistance,` Lynch said, adding that Congolese refugees in northern Zambia will not be affected by the move.

Zambia hosts 86,000 refugees, including 65,000 living in various camps, with the Democratic Republic of Congo topping the list.

Others are from Angola, Rwanda, Burundi and Somalia.