Troops hand out food in Afghanistan

  • 2009-03-20
  • From wire reports
VILNIUS - Lithuanian troops in Ghor have handed over 3.5 tons of food to the Afghan province's Rural Development Department.

The department will distribute the 3 tons of flour and 600 liters of cooking oil among the most impoverished local families.

Major Gediminas Latvys, the commander of the civilian-military cooperation division of the PRT-8, said the amount of food was not large but that it will help rural families in the biggest need, the Lithuanian Defense Ministry said.

"One of the objectives of our work is to support the province's administration institutions and boost the population's trust in the administration, therefore, we provide the assistance to relevant administrative bodies rather than directly to the people," said Latvys.

During their patrol of Ghor villages over the past winter, Lithuanian PRT troops distributed about 30 tons of food to local residents.