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UN says its flight operations in Afghanistan are crucial to saving lives

UN says its flight operations in Afghanistan are crucial to saving lives

Responding to Taliban threats to ban flights over Afghanistan, the Office of the United Nations Coordinator for the country today stressed the importance of its air operations in maintaining urgently needed humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people.

In a country ravaged by the twin scourges of drought and conflict, the flights are "indispensable to UN work in Afghanistan, particularly its humanitarian operations, because of the topography and poor infrastructure of the country," according to a statement released by the Office in Islamabad.

Apart from flying its normal monthly schedule to various destinations inside Afghanistan, the UN flight operations also undertake relocations, relief flights and medical evacuations, the statement said.

The Office also pointed out that the flights have had a perfect safety record since they began in 1991, having successfully flown approximately 60,000 passengers and transported almost 1,600 metric tonnes of humanitarian cargo.

The Office issued its statement "in light of recent events and misinformation about the nature of UN flight operations in Afghanistan."