Past News Archive
April 25
News:
1) Afghan Warlord Fighting Kills 25 (Associated Press)
2) Feuding among warlords turns eastern Afghanistan into war
zone, , residents angry at U.S. and interim regime (Associated Press)
3) Turkey to Lead Peacekeeping in Afghanistan (Reuters)
4) Warlord Trades Roles in Afghanistan (Associated Press)
GARDEZ, Afghanistan (April 28) - Bitter feuding among warlords turned eastern Afghanistan into a war zone this weekend, leaving as many as 25 people dead and furious residents accusing the interim regime of being weak, and the United States of being uncaring.
Some say they are even praying for a return of the Taliban, whose heavy-handed rule sent most of the country's warlords into exile.
On Sunday, residents in Gardez began to emerge from shuttered dwellings to bury their dead killed in the previous day's rocket assault.
As many as 25 people died when soldiers loyal to warlord Bacha Khan Zardran fired a torrent of rockets into the city on Saturday, said Gardez governor Taj Mohammed Wardak. Another 70 people were injured.
One man died because the hospital in Gardez couldn't find his blood type. Another two people died while being transferred to the capital Kabul, 120 miles away.
''A small child died because a piece of shrapnel ripped open her abdomen,'' said Dr. Naqibullah Irfan.
From their heavily guarded compound on the southern edge of the city, U.S. Special Forces brought blood and medicine to the hospital to help treat the wounded, Irfan said.
But people say it's not enough.
They want the special forces to use their military might to rein in the warlords. They say the U.S. response is quick and forceful when they are threatened, but less so when residents come under fire.
''When one mortar is fired near the compound where the U.S. soldiers are there are 20 planes in the sky right away, but when 800 rockets fall on the people of Gardez nothing,'' said Moukan, a shopkeeper who uses only one name.
The U.S. military spokesman said Sunday that the U.S. forces deployed in Afghanistan are quietly doing what they can to halt factional fighting in the east of the country, but negotiating an end to local feuds is not their primary objective.
''Our mission here is to capture or kill al-Qaida and senior Taliban,'' said Maj. Bryan Hilferty, the U.S. military spokesman. ''Our secondary mission is to help to secure the country.''
Hilferty said recent clashes between rival warlords in the east posed a threat to the country's fragile interim government, but halting fighting between warlords was largely the responsibility of the new authorities.
''Of course we are working with the Afghan interim administration to help them with security, to help them set up the Afghan army. But particular factional fighting? I don't think it's for us to get into,'' said Hilferty.
But the relentless feuding is hurting the U.S. war on terror, driving the Pashtun majority in eastern Afghanistan away from the interim regime and longing for a return to the Taliban, said the governor, Wardak,
He warned that if it continues, U.S. forces could come under attack by the people of the area.
''People's patience with everyone is running out, with the government, with the Americans. They are unhappy with all of us,'' said Wardak.
''If this keeps happening there will be something against the Americans.''
Noor Ahmed, whose brother was killed in Saturday's rocket assault on Gardez, was enraged.
''The Americans talk about the Taliban and al-Qaida. What is al-Qaida to me? This is my home, my children, my land and it is all in danger because of these fighters who are with the Americans,'' he shouted.
Zardran, whose men launched the assault, has been working with special forces since December to flush out Taliban and al-Qaida hiding in eastern Afghanistan.
''The Americans say they have brought peace to Afghanistan. There is no peace. This is the only peace we have,'' Ahmed said, tossing twisted and mangled pieces of a rocket to the ground.
The rocket had slammed into his home, killing his brother.
''Bacha Khan is hungry for power. He's working with the Americans and he is getting his power from them,'' said Mohammed Azad, owner of a restaurant peppered by shrapnel, its windows blown in when a rocket crashed into the roof.
''In the afternoon yesterday people were praying for the Taliban to come back,'' said Moukan, the shopkeeper.
In an interview in his heavily guarded office in Gardez, Wardak said he would give Zardran 10 days to negotiate a settlement. If not, the Gardez army - a ragtag group of men, only some of whom have uniforms and weapons - will try to arrest Zardran.
''I will arrest him, bring him to court. Under the law he should hang,'' Wardak said. ''He is responsible for all the killings.''
The attack on Gardez may have been revenge for January's battle that left 40 of Zardran's men dead.
Gardez isn't the only place where warlords are feuding.
Barely 60 miles away in Khost, once a part of Paktia province, ferocious feuding between rival warlords has kept the markets shut for most of the last week and resulted in several deaths. Sandbag bunkers are on every corner and most rooftops. Men swagger down the street brandishing rocket launchers and Kalashnikovs.
In neighboring Nangarhar province, warlords Zaman Khan and Hazrat Ali are making residents nervous as their loyalists threaten to launch an all-out assault on each other. Most men were U.S. allies during December's battle at Tora Bora.
The fighting illustrated the continued instability in Afghanistan even as the country's ragtag fighting forces paraded in several cities Sunday to commemorate the end of communist rule 10 years ago.
In parades nationwide, soldiers saluted and hastily formed military bands played brief arrangements.
In Kabul, a lone MiG-21 streaked above the parade, one day after Afghanistan's only other fighter jet crashed during a rehearsal, killing the pilot.
AP-NY-04-28-02 1657EDT
(04-28) 13:49 PDT GARDEZ, Afghanistan (AP) --
Bitter feuding among warlords turned eastern Afghanistan into a war zone
this weekend, leaving as many as 25 people dead and furious residents accusing
the interim regime of being weak, and the United States of being uncaring.
Some say they are even praying for a return of the Taliban, whose heavy-handed rule sent most of the country's warlords into exile.
On Sunday, residents in Gardez began to emerge from shuttered dwellings to bury their dead killed in the previous day's rocket assault.
As many as 25 people died when soldiers loyal to warlord Bacha Khan Zardran fired a torrent of rockets into the city on Saturday, said Gardez governor Taj Mohammed Wardak. Another 70 people were injured.
One man died because the hospital in Gardez couldn't find his blood type. Another two people died while being transferred to the capital Kabul, 120 miles away.
"A small child died because a piece of shrapnel ripped open her abdomen," said Dr. Naqibullah Irfan.
From their heavily guarded compound on the southern edge of the city, U.S. Special Forces brought blood and medicine to the hospital to help treat the wounded, Irfan said.
But people say it's not enough.
They want the special forces to use their military might to rein in the
warlords. They say the U.S. response is quick and forceful when they are
threatened, but less so when residents come under fire.
"When one mortar is fired near the compound where the U.S. soldiers
are there are 20 planes in the sky right away, but when 800 rockets fall
on the people of Gardez nothing," said Moukan, a shopkeeper who uses
only one name.
The U.S. military spokesman said Sunday that the U.S. forces deployed in Afghanistan are quietly doing what they can to halt factional fighting in the east of the country, but negotiating an end to local feuds is not their primary objective.
"Our mission here is to capture or kill al-Qaida and senior Taliban," said Maj. Bryan Hilferty, the U.S. military spokesman. "Our secondary mission is to help to secure the country."
Hilferty said recent clashes between rival warlords in the east posed a threat to the country's fragile interim government, but halting fighting between warlords was largely the responsibility of the new authorities.
"Of course we are working with the Afghan interim administration to help them with security, to help them set up the Afghan army. But particular factional fighting? I don't think it's for us to get into," said Hilferty.
But the relentless feuding is hurting the U.S. war on terror, driving the
Pashtun majority in eastern Afghanistan away
from the interim regime and longing for a return to the Taliban, said the
governor, Wardak,
He warned that if it continues, U.S. forces could come under attack by the people of the area.
"People's patience with everyone is running out, with the government, with the Americans. They are unhappy with all of us," said Wardak.
"If this keeps happening there will be something against the Americans."
Noor Ahmed, whose brother was killed in Saturday's rocket assault on Gardez, was enraged.
"The Americans talk about the Taliban and al-Qaida. What is al-Qaida to me? This is my home, my children, my land and it is all in danger because of these fighters who are with the Americans," he shouted.
Zardran, whose men launched the assault, has been working with special forces since December to flush out Taliban and al-Qaida hiding in eastern Afghanistan.
"The Americans say they have brought peace to Afghanistan. There is no peace. This is the only peace we have," Ahmed said, tossing twisted and mangled pieces of a rocket to the ground.
The rocket had slammed into his home, killing his brother.
"Bacha Khan is hungry for power. He's working with the Americans and he is getting his power from them," said Mohammed Azad, owner of a restaurant peppered by shrapnel, its windows blown in when a rocket crashed into the roof.
"In the afternoon yesterday people were praying for the Taliban to come back," said Moukan, the shopkeeper.
In an interview in his heavily guarded office in Gardez, Wardak said he
would give Zardran 10 days to negotiate a
settlement. If not, the Gardez army -- a ragtag group of men, only some
of whom have uniforms and weapons -- will try to arrest Zardran.
"I will arrest him, bring him to court. Under the law he should hang," Wardak said. "He is responsible for all the killings."
The attack on Gardez may have been revenge for January's battle that left 40 of Zardran's men dead.
Gardez isn't the only place where warlords are feuding.
Barely 60 miles away in Khost, once a part of Paktia province, ferocious feuding between rival warlords has kept the markets shut for most of the last week and resulted in several deaths. Sandbag bunkers are on every corner and most rooftops. Men swagger down the street brandishing rocket launchers and Kalashnikovs.
In neighboring Nangarhar province, warlords Zaman Khan and Hazrat Ali are making residents nervous as their loyalists threaten to launch an all-out assault on each other. Most men were U.S. allies during December's battle at Tora Bora.
The fighting illustrated the continued instability in Afghanistan even as the country's ragtag fighting forces paraded in several cities Sunday to commemorate the end of communist rule 10 years ago.
In parades nationwide, soldiers saluted and hastily formed military bands played brief arrangements.
In Kabul, a lone MiG-21 streaked above the parade, one day after Afghanistan's only other fighter jet crashed during a rehearsal, killing the pilot.
©2002 Associated Press
ANKARA (April 29) - Turkey announced on Monday it would assume command of a peacekeeping force in Afghanistan for six months in a major step for its powerful armed forces into the international arena.
Turkey's decision to take over the leadership from Britain had been delayed while Washington and London considered a "shopping list" of requirements including communications, airlift support and, not least, financial help. Turkey is struggling to pull out of its worst economic recession since 1945.
The Turkish army plays a major role in domestic politics and had sought guarantees from Britain and the United States that all possible steps would be taken to avoid any incidents that could tarnish its image. Fighting still erupts in Afghanistan, months after the overthrow of the hardline Taliban.
Muslim NATO-member Turkey has sent forces to peacekeeping operations in the Balkans and Somalia in the past. But this was the first time the military leadership had agreed, albeit after extended deliberation, to take full command of a multinational force embracing some 18 countries.
"It has been decided by the council of ministers that Turkey will take over the command of the International Security Assistance Force from the United Kingdom for a period of six months," a cabinet statement said.
"The date of command transfer will be decided in talks with the countries concerned and the United Nations," it added.
It seems unlikely Turkey will take over command of the force before a mid-June meeting of the Loya Jirga, a tribal council that will either endorse the Western-backed government of Hamid Karzai or choose a new interim administration.
TURKISH ARMY POWERFUL AT HOME
Britain could retain command until after the Loya Jirga though London has made clear it is eager to relinquish leadership soon and pull out the bulk of its force.
"We may well have to remain as lead nation until June," British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon told parliament, welcoming the Turkish announcement. He said earlier this month the command would likely end at the end of June.
"In any event our commitment to ISAF will continue and a significant number of British troops will remain in Kabul under Turkish command," he said.
Turkey is NATO's only predominantly Muslim country and has the alliance's second biggest army. It has close ties to Afghanistan and its rival factions.
Turkey already has 267 troops in the Afghan capital Kabul as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The statement said that contingent would increase but did not say by how much.
Turkey has insisted that the peacekeeping operation continue to be confined to the capital.
The Turkish army is regarded as a considerable regional force, but leadership of ISAF would further its claim to a greater role outside its immediate sphere of influence which reaches to Central Asian nations with ethnic Turkic links.
ISAF was established four months ago to help keep peace in Kabul after the overthrow of the Taliban by U.S.-backed forces. The Taliban had given refuge to the al Qaeda network Washington blames for the September 11 attacks on the United States.
Turkey has backed the United States in its Afghan campaign with overflight rights and bases.
The Turkish armed forces play a major role in domestic politics, having pressed four governments from power in four decades.
One of the country's most popular politicians, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, seen by the military and others as a dangerous Islamist, currently faces charges of insulting the military in a speech he made in the early 1990s.
The military's authority, which it uses to counter what it regards as secessionist and Islamist dangers, rests on broad popularity among many in the population little inspired by the record of civilian politicians.
REUTERS Rtr 12:22 04-29-02
SHIBERGAN, Afghanistan (AP) - There were tanks, artillery and soldiers
galore at celebrations marking Afghanistan's independence day Sunday, but
no sign of Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum anywhere near those toys of war: He
says they're not his thing anymore.
While eastern Afghanistan is still plagued by feuding warlords, the north
largely remains Dostum's undisputed territory.
Dostum - whose name in the past has been linked to adjectives like ruthless,
brutal and cruel - has traded his battle garb for a business suit. He now
talks more about budgets and construction projects than military strategy.
``I don't want to appear as a general anymore,'' Dostum said in an interview
Friday with The Associated Press in his home in Shibergan, about 75 miles
west of the main northern city, Mazar-e-Sharif. ``The parade of tanks and
artillery - that's not what I am.
``I'm really trying to say farewell to the past.''
Once a critic of the process forming the new Afghan government because he
said it wasn't inclusive enough, Dostum has positioned himself to become
an important player in post-Taliban Afghanistan.
Recognizing that he needed Dostum to improve his chances of establishing
authority, interim leader Hamid Karzai appointed him deputy defense minister
and last month also named him as his special envoy to the north.
In keeping with his reputation as a clever opportunist, Dostum was one of
the first Afghan leaders to greet former King Mohammad Zaher Shah when he
arrived in Kabul last week after 30 years in exile, sharing the stage only
with one other - Karzai.
Dostum makes no pretensions that he's ready to bow out. A key fighter against
Soviet occupation that ended in 1989, the ethnic Uzbek has moved cannily
since, making and breaking alliances to advance his own standing and playing
a major role in ridding the country of Taliban rule.
He said he'd like to stay on in some kind of leadership role in northern
Afghanistan after the ex-king convenes the loya jirga, or national assembly,
in June to select the country's leadership that will govern before national
elections.
``If the future government decides on any regional structures, I would appreciate
remaining to serve my people in the north,'' he said, in language that befits
a man committed to playing a role in a country at peace instead of war.
It's all part of Dostum's push to change his image. He seeks to leave behind
accusations of war atrocities by international rights groups and others
that have blemished his military career - crowned by the achievement of
freeing the first major city in Afghanistan from Taliban control when he
recaptured Mazar-e-Sharif in November with the help of U.S. forces.
Indeed, Dostum acts like one of the most polished political players with
an innate sense of PR savvy in a region where the gun still speaks louder
than the pen.
At the opening of an electricity relay station in Shibergan on Thursday,
Dostum was the picture of the baby-kissing politician as he cut a ribbon
and flicked on the power switch.
When he spoke at the Persian New Year celebration in Mazar-e-Sharif last
month also attended by Karzai, Dostum was the only one to have his remarks
translated in English and distributed to the international media. He also
has an English-speaking adviser who smoothes his relations with the press.
At that event in the city's central Blue Mosque, Dostum was wearing his
full-dress military uniform complete with his four gold stars on his shoulders.
But, since he's been named Karzai's envoy, civilian clothes are more likely
to be draped on Dostum's burly frame.
He was wearing a gray business suit with a dark-green sweater vest and yellow-and-blue
tie for the interview Friday, during which an aide showed him pictures of
modern, glass-sheathed office buildings and shopping centers - Dostum's
vision for rebuilding a modern Mazar-e-Sharif. He said negotiations are
also under way for $300 million in investment projects to rejuvenate the
animal breeding and oil and gas industries that the north was once known
for.
One of the problems preventing that reconstruction is the near constant
threat of violence. Dostum acknowledged he is ``not satisfied with the security
situation in Mazar-e-Sharif'' and said he plans ``serious talks with those
who create instability - soldiers and commanders.''
Pickup trucks zipping around with men carrying Kalashnikovs and rocket-propelled
grenade launchers are as much a part of the scenery in Mazar-e-Sharif as
the magnificent Blue Mosque.
Dostum said part of the reason for the poor security is his long absence
from Mazar-e-Sharif - away on recent trips to Kabul, Turkey, India and Uzbekistan.
He said he plans to now spend more time in northern Afghanistan.
``I'm sure that we will bring order,'' he said.
Even though he wasn't at the parade Sunday, there were plenty of portraits
of him being carried by soldiers and adorning the artillery and tanks -
including one large likeness of him wearing a tank commander's helmet.
04/28/02 13:56 EDT