Posted on 11/23/2001 12:15:11 AM PST by JohnHuang2
TERMEZ, Uzbekistan, Nov 23, 2001 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- A U.N. official said Friday that the United Nations hopes to soon restore regular operations in the key northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif.Antonio Donini, deputy U.N. coordinator for Afghanistan, said he had met Thursday with Gen. Rashid Dostum - one of the warlords who took back the city Nov. 9 - and received assurances international staff could operate safely there.
"We were assured that we could resume activities as normal," Donini said in the Uzbek port city of Termez, adding that staff could return permanently to Mazar-e-Sharif within a week. "The authorities understand that the eyes of the world are on them."
U.N. officials were to meet Saturday with the other two warlords who took the city, but Donini said "we feel confident that (the city) is under one control" - meaning Dostum.
Although he still saw men roaming the streets with guns, Donini said the number had lessened in the last few days as normal life returns to the city.
Mazar-e-Sharif has a violent history in recent years as control of the city has shifted back and forth between Taliban and opposition forces - leading to retribution killings or mass murders of civilians by both sides.
The circumstances of the city's seizure by northern alliances forces two weeks ago also remains unclear.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said Thursday it had recovered between 400 and 600 bodies in Mazar-e-Sharif, but declined to comment on the cause of death or who was killed. However, there have been reports that northern alliance troops singled out non-Afghan fighters for death.
The uncertainty over the security situation in Mazar-e-Sharif and fighting in nearby Kunduz for the moment are also preventing the opening of the Friendship Bridge - the only crossing from Uzbekistan into Afghanistan over the Amu-Darya River.
Opening the bridge, near Termez, would allow aid supplies to be sent much quicker to the 3.4 million people who rely on assistance in northern Afghanistan. U.N. aid is now going into the region on a cumbersome system of barges or taking a much longer route through Turkmenistan.
In discussions with Uzbek officials, the United Nations has been told that a decision on the bridge is tied to both the situation in Kunduz and the question of who exactly controls Mazar-e-Sharif. Numerous international officials have expressed the wish for the bridge to open soon.
"Unless we are able to provide assistance to the most affected areas in the coming weeks, the amount of suffering will increase," Donini said.
By BURT HERMAN Associated Press Writer
Copyright 2001 Associated Press, All rights reserved
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