A corridor to the hungry Afghans

Distributing the aid is still a major hurdle

		By the BBC's Catherine Davis

A long low barge slipped away from the bank, its cargo of white sacks bright in the afternoon haze. Along the bank itself, resting cranes tower skywards. Not far away stand huge brick warehouses.

This is the river port of Termez, the focus of the UN aid operation from Uzbekistan into Northern Afghanistan. The port hasn't seen so much activity for years.

The harbourmaster is delighted.

Uzbekistan closed the port when Taliban forces captured the adjacent area.

New passageway

Now, for the first time since 1998, the Uzbek Government is allowing the UN to use the port and its facilities for the trans shipment of aid.

Termez was the launch pad for the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the facilities here are considered substantial.

About 18km along this river, which marks the Afghan-Uzbek border, lies Hairaton.

As the first barge made its way towards the port, excited Afghans waved from the bank.

There was applause as the vessel stopped and the canvas was rolled back to reveal the supplies underneath: wheat flour, blankets, winter jackets and boots.

Around 100 people unloaded the aid by hand, ferrying to a warehouse for storage overnight.

Security concerns

This was the first shipment of aid along a route which it is hoped will become a major humanitarian corridor into Northern Afghanistan. But it is not just a question of getting supplies into the country.

The first shipment will provide food for refugees in northern Afghanistan

The UN wants to make sure that once there, the aid can reach its destination safely.

This week a UN team visited Hairaton to check the security situation.

The first run on Wednesday was considered a success and a barge left on Tuesday too, but the UN believes it is still too early to say this represents the start of regular shipments.

A spokesman for the UN World Food Programme, Michael Huggins, said one of the problems was trying to work out the negotiations to move the food from a country like Uzbekistan, whose border is sealed.

Mr Huggins said another hurdle was to physically move the aid from one side to another. The situation in Afghanistan put everything into a state of flux.

A bridge to distribution

But the question everyone is asking is when the bridge across the border will be reopened. The Friendship Bridge is currently closed and under armed guard.

A senior American aid official stressed recently that although the bridge was not essential to the aid effort, it would speed up the process.

Uzbekistan for its part has not ruled out a reopening but has underlined its own security concerns.

The UN hopes to move thousands of tons of supplies across the Uzbek-Afghan border in the coming weeks.

It estimates there are around three million people, about half the population of northern Afghanistan, totally dependent on outside help for their basic survival.

The central Asian states, it says, have a significant role to play in the aid operation.