Russia constructs aid bridge to Afghanistan

Russian engineers are constructing a pontoon bridge across the Pyandzh River to transport humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.

The river is on the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

The first shipment is scheduled to leave today, says the Tajik Emergency Situations Ministry.

The construction was funded by the German government, said Abdurakhim Radzhabov, the first deputy emergency situations minister. The aid, provided by the United Nations' World Food Programme and other international aid agencies, is to be sent through the Afghan port of Sherkhan-Bandar.

Special security forces from the Russian and Tajik emergency ministries will provide protection for the truck convoys, which are to deliver aid to the Afghan city of Kunduz, 43 miles south of the Tajik border, Radzhabov said.