External Actors in the Afghan Problem continues....

KYRGYZSTAN

Although there is no indication that Kyrgyzstan provided direct military assistance to any warring factions in Afghanistan, there is evidence that suggests the Kyrgyz government, at least until October, 1998, gave permission for weapons cargos to transit through its territory to United Front forces in Afghanistan. These cargos arrived by train in the town of Osh and were then loaded onto trucks and transported to Afghanistan.

During 4-6 October 1998, two shipments from the Iranian city of Mashhad arrived at the Osh-1 station by train, one shipment carried in six 7mm wagons, the other in ten. Another wagon with identical documentation arrived as part of a train during the night of 12-13 October. The seventeen boxcars were reported to have contained 700 metric tons of armaments, hidden amidst humanitarian aid supplies (300 tons of flour).

The weapons included anti-tank mines, F-1 grenades, 122mm artillery shells,
mortar bombs, and 122mm rockets. A shipment of this size, involving both train and truck transport, could occur only with the knowledge of authorities.

To be continued...