Russia to give Afghan alliance tanks, armour-IFAX
 
MOSCOW, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Russia will give 40 tanks and more than 100 armoured vehicles to Afghanistan's opposition Northern Alliance by year's end, Interfax news agency reported on Saturday, citing unnamed sources.

"By the end of the year, the government recognised by the international communinity of (ousted Afghan President Burhanuddin) Rabbani will receive 40 T-55 tanks, 80 BMP armoured fighting vehicles and several dozen BTR armoured personnel carriers," it quoted its source as saying.

The military aid to Rabbani's United Front government, also known as the Northern Alliance, would total $45 million, Interfax said. The equipment would be older models delivered from Russian army storage, rather than expensive new orders.

The Defence Ministry in Moscow confirmed that President Vladimir Putin had promised new hardware for the anti-Taliban alliance when he met Rabbani last week, but a spokesman was unable to confirm the details of the Interfax report.

But the alliance would not be able to bring the tanks to bear on the main front north of Kabul until mountain passes clear next spring.