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U.S. Allies in Afghanistan Clash

Tensions escalate between Karzai's troops and those loyal to warlord

Wednesday, September 11, 2002
The Associated Press

Soldiers loyal to Bacha Khan Zadran watch a checkpoint near Khost, in eastern Afghanistan, on Tuesday. Zadran's forces have clashed with rivals supported by President Hamid Karzai.
Image Credit: The Associated Press.

They drove Zadran's fighters from the Customs House, several municipal buildings and one of their main bases. "Many of my friends were killed then. We didn't start the fight. They thought Bacha Khan had been arrested by the Americans and moved against us," a Zadran fighter, Bahadar Khan, said.



"In the next two days there will be a big battle for Khost," Mohammed Amin said Tuesday.



SADAY KANDOW PASS, Afghanista -- AP
In the rocky hills of southeastern Afghanistan, America's allies in the fight against terrorism are at war against each other -- battling for supremacy over an area where al-Qaida and the Taliban are still hiding.

Up to 50 people have been reported killed and wounded since fighting erupted again Sunday in Khost province between forces of Bacha Khan Zadran -- a warlord who has worked with U.S. special forces -- and those of the governor appointed by Afghanistan's pro-U.S. president, Hamid Karzai.

Tensions between Zadran and Karzai's allies have been festering for months, sometimes prompting sporadic fighting.

The province, which borders Pakistan, is one of the key fronts in the war against terrorism, and the United States has been working with both of the rivals in the hunt for al-Qaida and Taliban holdouts.

But the clashes underscore the difficulties of the U.S. strategy of trying to forge alliances with Afghan fighters to avoid committing large numbers of U.S. ground troops, whose presence could trigger a backlash similar to that which drove the Soviets from this country in 1989.

Navigating among the factions is complicated by Afghanistan's ancient tribal feuds, complex ethnic loyalties and unfamiliar codes of conduct and honor.
(More: The Olympian News Source)
2002 © The Associated Press.

Dan