89 War-Wounded Afghan Children Leave for Germany
August 17, 2000 - 0:0
TEHRAN With special permission from the United Nations Security Council, 89 war-wounded Afghan children left for Germany Wednesday on board the national carrier Ariana Afghan Airlines, AFP reported from Kabul.
The children were taken for treatment under an agreement between the German Peace Village Charity and the Afghan Red Crescent Society after initially being refused due to UN aviation sanctions against the ruling Taleban militia.
The boys and girls, some walking on crutches or with bandaged limbs, boarded the Ariana 727 as soon as overfly clearance was secured from neighboring Uzbekistan, officials said.
They will remain in the German Peace Village until February.
The same plane will return to Afghanistan with another 80 Afghan children who have received treatment and are due to come home.
This is the third European flight by Ariana since November when the UN slapped sanctions against the Taleban-owned airline, banning it from international flights.
The aviation and financial sanctions were imposed after the Islamic militia refused to hand over suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden for trial in relation to the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Africa.
Afghanistan, the world's most mined country, has been at war for more than 20 years, first with the Soviet occupation forces from 1979 to 1989 and since then between rival Afghan factions.
The children were taken for treatment under an agreement between the German Peace Village Charity and the Afghan Red Crescent Society after initially being refused due to UN aviation sanctions against the ruling Taleban militia.
The boys and girls, some walking on crutches or with bandaged limbs, boarded the Ariana 727 as soon as overfly clearance was secured from neighboring Uzbekistan, officials said.
They will remain in the German Peace Village until February.
The same plane will return to Afghanistan with another 80 Afghan children who have received treatment and are due to come home.
This is the third European flight by Ariana since November when the UN slapped sanctions against the Taleban-owned airline, banning it from international flights.
The aviation and financial sanctions were imposed after the Islamic militia refused to hand over suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden for trial in relation to the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Africa.
Afghanistan, the world's most mined country, has been at war for more than 20 years, first with the Soviet occupation forces from 1979 to 1989 and since then between rival Afghan factions.