| Media Note Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC November 10, 2001 Overland Humanitarian Assistance to AfghanistanWe have been informed by the Government of Uzbekistan that a high-level delegation will be arriving in Termez Sunday morning, November 11, to inspect and arrange logistics to begin the supply of humanitarian aid by river barge to Afghanistan. The delegation will be led by the Uzbek Minister of Emergency Situations and will include Uzbek foreign ministry and border guard officials. The local UN representative and representatives of non-governmental organizations involved in humanitarian assistance will also be on hand. Beginning the supply of humanitarian assistance through river barge and land bridge from Uzbekistan to Afghanistan has been one of the key goals of the United States Government and its Coalition partners. The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, has supplied more than 80 percent of all food aid for vulnerable Afghans through the UN World Food Program, and will continue to be a leading food donor to the Afghan people. But humanitarian assistance must reach the people of Afghanistan and not Taliban forces. The fact that this process can now get underway is a direct result of the changing security situation on the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan border. U.S. and Coalition forces have provided consistent and timely support to opposition forces, including those that have been fighting in the Mazar-e-Sharif area. We welcome the significant inroads made by these forces which we believe will significantly increase the safe flow of humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people. |
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