The situation in Kyrgyzstan remains tense and worrying despite two days of relative calm, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Friday.

The crisis caused by the ethnic conflict "seems far from over, and we stands ready to respond to all potential humanitarian needs, " said Pascale Meige Wagner, the ICRC's head of operations for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

"We do not see any signs of the imminent return of the tens of thousands of persons who have been displaced," Wagner said.

In a statement, the Geneva-based humanitarian agency said it had started distributing water and food in response to the urgent needs of internally displaced persons.

Since Thursday the agency has distributed 12,000 liters of water to about 15,000 people gathered in the area of Sura Tash. The distribution of water will be increased and extended to other areas in the coming days.

In neighboring Uzbekistan, an ICRC team together with the Uzbek Red Crescent has begun to assess the needs of over 100,000 refugees who have fled from Kyrgyzstan.

"The people who crossed the border, most of them women and children, need sanitary and hygiene materials in addition to food and shelter," said Kapil Sharma, an ICRC doctor.

Besides continuing to aid the refugees, the ICRC is also working on restoring communication between families separated by the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border, the statement said.