October 18, 2001	Thursday	Rajab 30, 1422

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WASHINGTON, Oct 17: The Taliban military troops have evicted UN relief workers from two food warehouses in Afghanistan, dealing a potentially crippling blow to international efforts to deliver food aid in the country, the World Food Programme said on Wednesday.

Taliban troops took over WFP facilities in Kabul and Kandahar late Tuesday evening and ordered aid workers to leave, said Catherine Bertini, the WFP’s executive director.

The Kandahar facility contained 1,600 tons of food, while 5,300 tons were stored in the Kabul warehouse, Bertini said. WFP staff had already distributed food to 350,000 people in Kabul to last them through the end of October.—dpa