UN flights to Kabul to resume soon

UN flights to and from the Afghan capital's main civilian airport are set to resume after being temporarily diverted to the nearby Bagram military airport. "I hope that flights will resume very soon on the basis of an ongoing assessment of security risks," Manoel de Almeida e Silva, spokesman for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, told IRIN from Kabul on Tuesday.

His comments follow a three-day temporary suspension of UN flights taking off and landing at Kabul International Airport, which became effective on Sunday. The spokesman added that the decision had been made in response to a recommendation by the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF), the multinational force mandated to provide peace and security in the area, after evaluating security risks.

According to an ISAF spokesman, Maj Gordon Mackenzie, Kabul’s airport itself was never closed. On the basis of its regular assessments of the security situation, ISAF had informed the Afghan government and the UN about a possible threat to air movement. "The transitional Afghan administration decided to keep the Kabul airport open, but the UN decided to reschedule its flights - as a precaution," he said

About 10 UN flights arrive in Kabul from Islamabad and Dubai every week. Mackenzie said he hoped the suspension of the flights would soon be lifted. "We think that the situation will go back to normal in the very near future," he predicted.