U.S. GIVES BOATS, GEAR TO TAJIK GUARDS

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan -- The United States on Monday donated patrol
boats and electronic equipment to help Tajikistan guard its borders
and stem the flow of heroin from neighboring Afghanistan.

The U.S. Embassy said in a statement that it gave the Tajik Border
Protection Committee five patrol boats to be used along the Pyandj
River border, as well as more than 100 computers and 60 power
generators to be used at desolate checkpoints.

The equipment, worth $585,000 will help the ex-Soviet nation patrol
its boundaries more efficiently, U.S. official Paul Shott said during
a ceremony.

The mountainous Central Asian state is a major conduit for opium and
heroin from Afghanistan, with which it shares an 830-mile border.

Devastated by the 1992-97 civil war, Tajikistan remains one of the
world's poorest states plagued by unemployment and economic instability.