TERMEZ (Uzbekistan), Nov 11: The United Nations and the Uzbek government announced on Sunday that humanitarian aid shipments should start moving from Uzbekistan to northern Afghanistan on Wednesday.

A joint delegation of UN and Uzbek officials has arrived in Termez, on Uzbekistan’s border with Afghanistan, to inspect facilities for shipping the aid by barge over the border.

They told a press conference that the final go-ahead would not be given until they were satisfied with the security situation on the Afghan side of the border.

“We have held a meeting to inspect the final preparations for delivering the goods. We expect it to take place on Wednesday the 14th,” said Sadiq Safayez, Uzbek deputy foreign minister.

The UN has been negotiating with the Taliban about delivering aid but matters were complicated when the opposition Northern Alliance took control of the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, 60 kilometres from Termez.

“Everything to do with this (aid shipment) is dependent on the security situation,” said Richard Conroy, head of the UN mission in Uzbekistan. —AFP