MOSCOW. Feb 22 (Interfax) - A Russian Emergency Situations Ministry airplane is heading to conflict-stricken Mali with humanitarian cargo onboard, a ministry spokesman told Interfax.
"A Bamako-bound [Ilyushin] Il-76 airplane took off at 10:36 a.m. Moscow time. The plane will make a technical stopover in Tunisia en route to Mali," he said.
The aircraft is carrying 36 tonnes of humanitarian supplies, including "blankets, tinned food, tents and rice," the spokesman said.
Emergency Situations Ministry press officer Irina Rossius told journalists earlier that humanitarian aid would be sent to the population of Mali on orders from the Russian government.