ICRC to establish logistical base in Mashhad

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is preparing to establish a logistical support base in the eastern Iranian city of Mashhad for its assistance programme within Afghanistan. "This is part of ICRC's regional efforts to position itself in neighbouring countries," the ICRC head of mission in Iran, Beat Schweizer, told IRIN on Monday. "In addition to our current logistic bases in Pakistan and Tajikistan, we are now setting up an operational presence in Iran, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan." According to Schweizer, ICRC will initially pre-position relief items in Mashhad for 200,000 people inside Afghanistan, or some 40,000 families, including food and non-food items. ICRC will also pre-position medical supplies, emergency health kits and a field hospital there. These materials will gradually be transported to the organisation's Herat office in western Afghanistan, where ICRC Afghan staff continue their humanitarian work. "We are positioning ourselves for different possibilities," Schweizer said. Given the quantity of relief items being moved - estimated at 10,000 mt - ICRC expects its first arrival of humanitarian aid to arrive in Mashhad within the week. "This process will begin this week and will continue through November," he noted. Asked why Mashhad was chosen by ICRC, Schweizer cited its proximity to the border with Afghanistan - 250 km. Moreover, the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) already had a strong presence there. ICRC would be relying on the strong IRCS operational network there, he added. Schweizer's comments follow an announcement on 4 October that ICRC and the government in Tehran had reached an agreement on opening the way to an ICRC operational presence in the country, aimed at facilitating relief activities on behalf of civilians within Afghanistan. According to the announcement, ICRC and the IRCS had carried out a survey in Mashhad and the nearby border region to identify access roads and local infrastructure, and also to determine the availability of relief goods on the local market. Meanwhile, the IRCS in the capital, Tehran, on Monday reaffirmed to IRIN its readiness to assist on the ground should the need arise. "The Iranian Red Crescent Society is ready to establish IDP [internally displaced persons] camps inside Afghanistan, in coordination with the Afghan Red Crescent if requested," the IRCS international division head, Mostafa Mohaghaq, said. "There are seven camps planned with support given by the Iranian Red Crescent Society and in coordination with other international organisations, such as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, ICRC and the UN agencies, particularly UNHCR and WFP," Mohaghaq added.