Knight Ridder
October 21
he United Nations is preparing to send humanitarian aid across Uzbekistan's border pending final approval from the government, which is concerned about security matters.
Both aid workers and military planners see Uzbekistan as a gateway into Afghanistan. Approval of the UNICEF request would be viewed as an important precedent.
A UN convoy carrying 40 tons of humanitarian aid from the Uzbek capital of Tashkent reached the border town of Termez on Friday, and soon a second 40-ton shipment will follow, UN officials said.
Bahodir Umarov, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry spokesman, said his government would allow relief supplies to cross the river if it were convinced that security issues can be resolved. He said Uzbekistan would not protect any aid convoys inside Afghanistan.
The goal is to truck the relief supplies across the Amu Darya River's only bridge or move the supplies across on barges. The supplies then would be driven to the Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif, about 38 miles south of Termez. From there, the aid would be sent to more remote areas in northern Afghanistan to help an estimated 360,000 Afghans displaced by the conflict between the Taliban and the rebel United Front, as well as the US military air campaign.
If UNICEF is successful in lobbying the Uzbek government to open its fortified border, it could pave the way for the flow of more humanitarian aid and other supplies. With relatively mild winters, Uzbekistan provides year-round access into Afghanistan.
That access also is eyed by the United Front, the rebel force known as the Northern Alliance, which is battling the Taliban on the outskirts of Mazar-e Sharif. It hopes victory will translate into a military supply channel through Uzbekistan. US troops stationed at a southern Uzbek base also might use the bridge in a ground operation into Afghanistan.
The former Soviet republic has kept its border tightly sealed since 1997, when the fundamentalist Taliban captured Mazar-e-Sharif. Security is still a major concern. Taliban militias control the territories on the Afghan side of the border.