More than 210 tons of flour provided by the World Food Program (WFP) have been transited through Iran for Afghanistan since October 6, the state IRNA news agency reported Sunday October 14, quoting an Iranian official.
"This quantity of flour is destined for the oppressed people of Afghanistan," said Mussa Yadi, a customs official in the border city of Taybad in the northeastern Khorassan province, cited by IRNA.
Iran has also in recent days sent 15 truck loads of aid comprising 1,020 blankets, water and insecticides to Herat, close to the Iranian border. Iran, which shares a 900-kilometer (540-mile) border with Afghanistan, is already home to some two million Afghan refugees and has closed its borders with its eastern neighbor fearing a major influx of refugees following the US and British military strikes against Afghanistan.
Tehran was swift to condemn the September 11 attacks on the United States but has refused to join a US-led international coalition against terrorism, suggesting such a campaign should be led by the United Nations. — (AFP, Tehran)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
