Soviets Say Farewell to Kabul; U.N. Suspends Its Relief Airlift

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Red Army said farewell to Kabul in a ceremony at the frigid airport Monday, then paratroopers in padded uniforms decorated with Afghan medals were flown away.

Some Soviet soldiers remained--although authorities declined to say how many--but officials said they will be gone by Wednesday, the deadline for the Kremlin to have all its forces out of a civil war it entered more than nine years ago.

U.N. officials said a relief airlift to the beleaguered Afghan capital has been suspended after several airlines pulled out of the program. The U.N. said the effort was called off for technical reasons. But according to some sources, a few nations that oppose the Kabul regime are pressing others not to help in the airlift.

U.N. agencies had hoped to airlift another 360 tons of food, medicine and blankets by Wednesday for the poorest residents of Kabul. Refugees from the years of fighting have swollen the city to twice its normal 1 million population.

Despite the suspension, a few U.N. relief centers opened Monday to distribute food in some of Kabul’s poorest neighborhoods. Workers were handing out a small can of dried milk, a 22-pound bag of flour and a blanket to women and to children under age 5, the people considered most at risk in this harsh winter.

Parents and children stood in snow outside relief centers, hoping to get rations and blankets. “I am very happy with this small amount they have given me. We have some food at home, but this will help,” said Najbah, a 45-year-old mother of six.