Uzbekistan closed it's border with Afghanistan in 1997, when the Taliban took over that part of northern Afghanistan. Until then, the UN used the crossing as a major supply route into northern Afghanistan for relief supplies. Uzbekistan is now planning to reopen the border for the UN and American armed forces. UN workers are on the scene to resume shipments and expects to move 21,000 tons of relief supplies before the end of the year. The Uzbek border crossing is only 80 kilometers from Mazar-i-Sharif, a town the Northern Alliance is about to capture.