Afghanistan–Uzbekistan Friendship Bridge
The Afghanistan–Uzbekistan Friendship Bridge is a road–rail bridge across the Oxus River in Central Asia, connecting the town of Hairatan in Afghanistan with the town of Termez in Uzbekistan.[1] It was built by the Soviet Union (connected with the erstwhile Uzbek SSR) and opened in 1982 as a military supply route during the Soviet–Afghan War.[2] Today, it is used for trade and travel purposes between the two independent countries.
Overview
The Friendship Bridge is the only fixed link across the
Before the
During the war it was repeatedly attacked by the
The bridge was closed in May 1997 when Taliban forces attacked the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, and Uzbekistan feared the disorder could spread across the border. In particular it feared that it could be used by Islamist militants to assist the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan in overthrowing Uzbek President Islam Karimov.[6] After the fall of Mazar-i-Sharif during the U.S. invasion the United States and the United Nations began pressuring Uzbekistan to reopen the bridge to provide international aid.[3] It reopened on December 9, 2001, with an Uzbek Railways shipment of 1,000 pounds of grain and wheat, although it remained guarded by the Uzbek Armed Forces.[7][8][4] The reopening was attended by World Food Programme and Northern Alliance officials, including Abdul Rashid Dostum.[7] Uzbekistan would close the bridge again in 2005 in response to deteriorating conditions in northern Afghanistan.[9] Although it was reopened in 2009, it was found to be in too poor condition to transport large amounts of aid over.[10]
Work began in January 2010 to extend the railway to Mazar-i-Sharif as part of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program,[11] which was completed in November of the same year with funding from the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.[12] In 2011, as the bridge became an increasingly important supply route for NATO's International Security Assistance Force, the first train traveled the new route.[12] In 2012 the U.S. Army began scaling back its presence at the bridge as it began its withdrawal from Afghanistan and turning it over to the Afghan National Police.[13]
In 2019 during the
See also
- Rail transport in Afghanistan
- Rail transport in Uzbekistan
- Tajik–Afghan Friendship Bridge
- Tajik–Afghan bridge at Tem-Demogan
- Tajik–Afghan bridge at Panji Poyon
References
- ^ "Hairatan and the Friendship Bridge".
- ^ "USSR-Afghan link". Modern Railways. August 1982. p. 342.
- ^ a b c Badkhen, Anna (2001-12-10). "Friendship Bridge gets a second life / Afghan-Uzbek supply route reopens". SFGATE. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
- ^ a b c d "Hairatan and the Friendship Bridge | Railways of Afghanistan". Retrieved 2021-06-29.
- OCLC 52814066.
- ^ "CNN.com - Key Uzbek bridge to reopen to Afghanistan - December 8, 2001". edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
- ^ a b "Breakthrough in Afghan aid effort". BBC News. 2001-12-09.
- ^ "CNN.com - Aid flows as key Afghan border bridge re-opens - December 9, 2001". edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
- ^ Company, Tampa Publishing. "Aid stalled with Uzbek border closed". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
- ^ "Uzbek Aid Bridge in Poor Condition, Slowing Aid to N. Afghans - 2001-12-14 | Voice of America - English". www.voanews.com. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
- ^ "Construction of Afghan railway launched". Railway Gazette International. 2010-01-27. Archived from the original on 2010-03-03.
- ^ a b "Afghan railway: First train runs on new line in north". BBC News. 2011-12-21. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
- ^ NATO. "Afghan Border Police take the lead to secure northern crossing". NATO. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
- ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
External links
- Afghan railway: First train runs on new line in north (BBC, Dec. 21, 2011)