Agence France-Presse
November 18
large shipment of humanitarian aid from France arrived in Uzbekistan
on Sunday, where it faced numerous delays in reaching war-torn Afghanistan, an AFP correspondent said.
Twenty-five tonnes of food, medicine, and shelter-building material arrived in the Uzbek border town of Termez, to be delivered to four aid organizations in northern Afghanistan.
The shipment was delayed, however, as Uzbek authorities failed to provide the crew of the DC-8 aicraft with unloading tools. Three hours after arriving late Sunday evening, the plane had been secured by unarmed French military officials trained in air cargo.
The shipment was to leave Termez -- a southern Uzbek city that has become a hub for international aid deliveries to northern Afghanistan -- for the northern Afghan town of Mazar-i-Sharif, which recently fell to opposition rule.
However, Uzbek authorities have blocked access to the country's border, closing down a bridge that is the only road link between the two countries. Tashkent has refused to re-open the bridge until it is certain that the security situation along the road to Mazar-i-Sharif has stabilized.