Operations at the US Transit Center at Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan, were delayed due to the violent outbreak of political instability in the Central Asian nation, but these developments had not yet seriously affected the supply mission to US forces in Afghanistan, US defense officials said Thursday. “Currently there are limited operations at Manas,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters. He was hopeful full operations would resume “soon.” Press reports circulating Thursday at mid-day US East Coast time stated that anti-government protestors had formed an interim government in the capital of Bishkek after overthrowing President Kurmanbek Bakiev who fled. Meanwhile, US personnel at Manas, a major US air hub, were providing medical supplies to Kyrgyz hospitals. (Includes AFPS report by Jim Garamone and Manas photo caption by SrA. Nichelle Anderson) (See also: Fox News report, Reuters news wire service report, and Voice of America report.)
The U.K. and the U.S. will continue to enjoy access to the ports, airfield, and workshops at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for at least another century, under a deal inked between the U.K. and Mauritius May 22.