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Tribal Rivals Clash in Afghanistan
Wednesday, January 30, 2002
MSNBC Staff & Wire Reports

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

This photo shows the Balai Haisar fortress in the center of the eastern Afghan town of Gardez, where rival factions reportedly engaged in a fierce battle on Wednesday.
Photo Credit: Liu Jin -- l'Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Local Afghans have insisted that by the time the special forces arrived, Taliban renegades had handed over the weapons to pro-government figures, some of whom were among the dead.

Fighting erupted Wednesday in southeastern Afghanistan between tribal groups vying for control of the town of Gardez, a local official said. In another development, Pakistani police said they had detained two former top Taliban officials near the border city of Quetta.

A member of the tribal council in Gardez said a group that included former Taliban and al-Qaida members had sought to seize the town, which is a base for some U.S. special forces.

Abdul Wali told Reuters there had been a two-hour clash between a group that supports the town governor, Padshah Kahan Zadran, and a group opposed to him.

Wali, who backs the interim government, said there had been no casualties.

“Basically, these people oppose the appointment of (Zadran) as the governor and want to create trouble,” Wali told Reuters by satellite telephone. “But they are supported by Taliban and al-Qaida,” he said.

Wali accused neighboring Pakistan of arming and encouraging the Taliban and al-Qaida to stage the attack on Gardez to destabilize the nation’s interim government, which was installed in December after the Taliban were driven out of power. Pakistan has backed the U.S. war in Afghanistan and has said it supports the interim government led by Hamid Karzai.

There was no independent confirmation of the fighting, although clashes are not uncommon in the tribal-based regions of Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, in Quetta, Pakistan, a police official said the former chief justice under the Taliban, Maulawi Noor Mohammad Saqib, and a deputy foreign minister were detained. More details weren’t immediately available.
(More: MSNBC News Source)
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Dan