Two representatives of Loma Linda University, a Seventh-day Adventist university located in southern California, have delayed a humanitarian trip to Afghanistan due to increasing unrest in the region. The two trained nurses had been scheduled to travel to Kabul last week as part of an ongoing effort to improve the medical school teaching facilities at the University of Kabul.

“We don’t know how the situation in Afghanistan will develop, so the trip has been postponed indefinitely,” said Gus Cheatham, vice president for marketing at Loma Linda University and Medical Center.

A new medical research center was opened at the Kabul University in July this year. The Loma Linda center is designed to help rebuild the teaching program at the medical school and is equipped with four computers, a copy machine, a small library of books, as well as offices for visiting Loma Linda University teaching staff.

As the United States prepares for military retaliation following the September 11 attacks, international attention has focused on Afghanistan, a country accused of harboring international terrorists. The unrest has caused the suspension of international relief efforts in Afghanistan, and humanitarian organizations warn that at least 3.5 million people face starvation over the coming months if the conflict prevents food aid from getting through.