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First NATO planes fly UNHCR earthquake supplies from Turkey
19 October 2005
GENEVA – The first three flights in a new joint NATO-UNHCR airlift supported by
the Turkish government took off from Incirlik airbase in southern Turkey around
midday Wednesday, carrying a total of more than 25 tonnes of urgently needed
relief supplies for earthquake victims in Pakistan.
The French, British and Greek C-130 transport planes, carrying a cargo of tents,
blankets and stoves, are the first flights in a major airlift out of the NATO
base in Turkey that will ferry some 860 tonnes of aid from the UN refugee
agency's regional warehouse in nearby Iskenderun.
"Although UNHCR worked closely with non-combatant NATO forces in Albania and the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia during the Kosovo crisis, this is the
first time the UN refugee agency and NATO have mounted a joint airlift of this
size," UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond said at the agency's headquarters in Geneva.
Dozens of sorties by NATO aircraft will probably be required to move all of the
supplies, which are being transferred from Iskenderun to Incirlik by
Turkish-provided trucks and troops. The governor of Adana, where Incirlik is
located, is assisting with the provision of military troops and equipment to
help shift the supplies.
The French and British flights will stop for refuelling in Kuwait today before
proceeding to Islamabad, where they are expected to arrive Thursday morning.
In all, the NATO/UNHCR airlift out of Turkey will deliver nearly 10,000 family
tents, around 104,000 blankets and 2,000 stoves stockpiled in the UNHCR
warehouses in Turkey.
The exact number of flights that will be necessary will depend on the type of
planes made available by individual NATO countries. So far, a total of 11 C-130
planes have been offered by the UK, Italy, France, Turkey and Greece, and other
NATO countries may join the operation in the coming days.
Hundreds of tonnes of UNHCR relief supplies, including thousands of urgently
needed tents, are also being rushed from other stockpiles around the world to
help Pakistan's earthquake victims. The provision of tents has become one of the
most urgent priorities, as hundreds of thousands of earthquake survivors from an
estimated 15,000 affected Himalayan towns and villages struggle to find any kind
of shelter amid a deadly mix of continuing aftershocks, broken supply routes and
cold, wet weather, which may soon turn to snow.
In addition to the joint NATO/UNHCR airlift from Turkey, another eight UNHCR
flights have arrived or are currently in the air from Dubai, Jordan and Denmark.
Supplies have also been arriving by land, with a giant UNHCR-WFP convoy of 47
trucks, carrying 1,500 ten-person tents, 50,000 plastic sheets, 20,000 blankets
and 10,000 jerry cans from UNHCR warehouses in Afghanistan, reaching the
Pakistani city of Peshawar late on Monday.
In all, the UN refugee agency is currently planning to ship a total of more than
15,000 tents, 220,000 blankets, 69,000 plastic sheets, 500 plastic rolls, 32,000
kitchen sets, 2,000 stoves and 5,000 lanterns from its stockpiles around the
world.
UNHCR has appealed for $22 million to fund its activities in the earthquake
affected areas. So far, Sweden has pledged US$ 2.57 million, Japan has announced
a US$1 million contribution, and Italy has said it will give €250,000.
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