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. -News for Thurs. 28 March and 29 March 2002


Freezing Rains Complicate Aid Efforts in Afghanistan

VOA News
29 Mar 2002 23:19 UTC
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AP Photo
AP
An Afghan child arrives with his mother at a German field hospital
International peacekeepers in Afghanistan have set up a mobile hospital in the country's earthquake-stricken northern region.

 A 36-truck convoy of peacekeepers reached the devastated town of Nahrin in Baghlan province north of the capital, Kabul, on Friday, bringing medical supplies. Several doctors and medics were finally able to begin treating wounded survivors. 

Russian news reports say two Russian mobile hospitals also began taking patients on Friday. The hospitals took four days to set up because of difficulties in reaching the region.

 Meanwhile, an estimated 20,000 people are still stranded in the open on freezing hillsides outside Nahrin, afraid of returning to the town that has been rattled by many aftershocks since Monday's major tremor, which measured six on the Richter scale.

 Freezing rain, which is forecast for several days, is complicating efforts to get more help and supplies to the survivors. Dirt roads have turned treacherous and many helicopters have been stranded.

 The final death toll from Monday's earthquake remains unclear, but U.N. officials say up to 800 people may have died and more bodies could be found. Afghan officials have said that as many as 2,000 people may have died in the quake and its aftershocks. 

Some information for this report provided by Reuters and AP.

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