KABUL — Attempts by Canadians to hand out almost 2,000 Christmas gift boxes to impoverished Afghan children Wednesday turned into a melee as some of their parents beat back the young people trying to reach the presents and soldiers had to stop them.

A Canadian Forces truck at one of the poorest refugee camps in Afghanistan was quickly surrounded by hundreds of children as it arrived at the hillside camp in Kabul, where internally displaced people, or IDPs as they are known, live destitute lives in makeshift housing.

Despite attempts by the soldiers to control the crowd, the shoeboxes -- filled with toys, candy, toothpaste and other toiletries -- were quickly snatched by children and parents alike.

"We had a plan to have the adults help us control the movement of people," said Maj. Steve Whelan, who is in charge of the military unit that distributed the boxes.

"But clearly ... they overwhelmed us very quickly. It was a mob scene."

Several times, soldiers had to wave off adults, who beat the children with prodding sticks and tightly wound blankets as they advanced on the flatbed truck.

No one suffered serious injuries as the children appeared to accept what, for them, is considered normal treatment by adults.

"It's a bit overwhelming," said Godfrey Vandeleur of Vancouver, who helped organize the delivery.

"I feel happy to give them out, but then you also feel a bit sad when you see them fighting for the boxes."

Roughly 8,000 people live on the hillside, many in tents made from discarded plastic sheeting, with no heat or clean drinking water and little food.

One widow, who collected boxes for her five children, said they'll each get a toy, but the rest would be sold in Kabul to buy food.

"We will keep some of these things for us, for our children, and some of them will be sold downtown for some money," said Bibi Gul, whose husband was killed by mujahedeen militia during Afghanistan's last civil war.

"You see my house -- it is a piece of plastic on the hill. We have lived here for more than a year with no heat, no food," she said through an interpreter.

The shoebox gifts were collected by Samaritan's Purse, an international aid group with roots in Alberta, through a program called Operation Christmas Child.

While the organization is Christian-based, it doesn't preach to Afghanistan's Muslim population, according to a spokeswoman.

"If people ask about our faith, we tell them about it, but there is no initiative taken on our part," said Donna Tigen, 33, of Calgary.

"We do hope that we are able to demonstrate God's love by what we do, but we don't verbalize that."

Operation Christmas Child has been collecting shoebox gifts for needy children worldwide for more than a decade.

Six million children in 95 countries received boxes last year -- 740,000 of which came from Canada.

The boxes delivered Wednesday were filled with items donated by individual Canadians and were packed at a processing centre in Moncton, N.B.

More were to be sent Thursday to an orphanage in another part of Kabul.

For some of the soldiers distributing the boxes, there was joy amid the frenzy.

"It feels good. I'm glad I'm here," said one soldier who didn't want to be identified as he tried to keep up with the children's reaching hands.

"This kind of stuff actually makes the tour worthwhile."