SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico (AP) -- Thousands of Indians who fled their homes after the massacre of 45 indigenous residents in Chiapas were suffering food shortages and malnutrition, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.

More than 10,000 Indians left Chiapas after the massacre by pro-government paramilitary groups in the village of Acteal in December 1997.

"We're here because the displaced population still depends on outside help and because there is still a state of emergency," Red Cross spokesman Ulrich Muller said at a news conference Friday

A recent survey conducted among the refugees found nearly 9 percent of children under the age of five were suffering from malnutrition, Muller said.

He noted that the Red Cross is donating 80 percent of the population's food, while the refugees produce the other 20 percent on plots of land they are slowly acquiring.

In 1999, relief workers distributed 1,060 tons of food aid to 9,500 refugees from the villages of Acteal, Polho, X'yoep y Poconichim, Muller said.

On March 31, about 700 refugees returned to their homes in the town of Chimix, persuaded by government safety assurances and promises of social programs.
Chiapas, one of Mexico's poorest states, is home to the Zapatista National Liberation Army, which briefly took up arms in January 1994 in the name of Indian rights and greater democracy.

Since then scores of people have died in clashes between rebels, or rebel supporters, and armed, pro-government squads. Peace talks have been stalled for about four years.

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press