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Lawlessness is Seizing Parts of Afghanistan
Tuesday, November 20, 2001
By Larry Kaplow / Cox News Service

A Northern Alliance commander denied that residents have suffered thievery. But such post-battle plunder is common here. The Taliban were accused of it when they captured Kabul in 1996.

SHAHABDIN, Afghanistan
The last Northern Alliance checkpoint is a few miles back up the road, where troops warn travelers that it is too dangerous to venture any farther.

But amid the mud houses and wheat fields in this village outside Kabul, people say the danger comes not from the locals, but from the victorious Northern Alliance militias, who ride down to plunder what little they have -- carpets, cars and jewelry and livestock.

"We cannot say this is security. If this continues like this week, we will have to take our weapons and fight against them," said Jon Agha, the owner of a roadside restaurant.

Lawlessness is a growing problem in Afghanistan. A week after the Northern Alliance took the capital from the ruling Taliban, much of the rest of the country is still divided among tribal leaders, warlords and their militias. There are no police or any firm plan for outside peacekeepers on the way -- something the alliance refuses to publicly discuss and might oppose.
(More: PioneerPlanet.com News Source)
2001 © Cox News Service.

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