Iran sends relief to Kosovo refugees
TEHRAN, Iran, April 6 (UPI) -- Iran says it has started channeling relief
aid to the Muslim Kosovars, who sought refuge in Albania and Macedonia,
with the aim of encouraging other countries to help alleviate their sufferings.
The official Iranian News Agency said today that an Iranian plane, carrying
30 tons of food supplies, blankets and tents landed in Tirana, Albania,
on Monday night. The relief supplies were handed over to Albanian officials
for distribution to the Kosovar refugees.
The agency said more relief supplies will be sent to Albania and Macedonia
in the coming days.
Mohammed Reza Baqeri, director-general of the Central and Northern Europe
Department at the Iranian Foreign Ministry who supervised the delivery
of the relief supplies in Tirana, said the Iranian aid was meant to meet
the initial needs of thousands of Muslim Kosovars.
He said it also aimed at encouraging other countries to ``carry out
similar actions in order to alleviate the sufferings of the people who
have been the target of the Serbs' atrocities.''
He said Iran has been following closely following up developments in
the region since the outbreak of the Kosovo crisis and engaged in contacts
with officials in Islamic and Western countries to ``prevent the expansion
of this humanitarian disaster and restoring the rights of the Muslims.''
Baqeri, who headed the Iranian relief delegation, said Tehran was undertaking
measures to assist Kosovar Albanians and proposed a meeting of the foreign
ministers of the Organization of Islamic Conference contact group in Geneva
on Wednesday.
He said a working committee has been set up and that Iranian embassies,
especially in Yugoslavia, Macedonia and Albania have been mobilized.
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