Afghan Opposition Says It's Forcing Taliban Back
By Peter Graffthis could be our foothold,to ally with them ; and as they remain the legitimate government of Afghanistan,we have the U.N. where they can't say no--max
JABAL-US-SARAJ, Afghanistan (news - web sites) (Reuters) - Afghan opposition forces said on Sunday they had seized more territory from the Taliban in northern Afghanistan and could soon threaten the strategic city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
The advances could not be independently confirmed.
Three days into an offensive, anti-Taliban forces were starting a decisive battle, said Abdullah Abdullah, foreign minister in the government that was ousted by the Taliban but is still recognized by the United Nations (news - web sites). Speaking at Jabal-us-Saraj, an opposition stronghold 40 miles north of the capital Kabul, he told reporters that if the opposition seized the nearby Shulgar district ``the Taliban will be threatened in one of the major cities, Mazar-i Sharif.''
The United Front, the alliance of forces recognized by the United Nations, was driven out of Kabul half a decade ago and controls only a small part of the country's rugged territory, mostly in the north. It is also called the Northern Alliance.
It has been thrown into the spotlight since this month's attacks on the United States, as it could soon become an ally of Washington in a U.S. drive to hunt down Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) and punish the Taliban for harbouring him.
Opposition officials say their offensive this week was planned before the attacks on New York and Washington.
Planning was also in the works before the assassination this month of charismatic opposition commander Ahmad Shah Masood, who controlled the strategic Panjsher Valley which rises off to the east from Jabal-us-Saraj on the road from Kabul to the north.
Mazar-i-Sharif was long the stronghold of anti-Taliban commander General Abdul Rashid Dostum, head of the ethnic Uzbek fighting force he has led back into battle to retake the city.
FURTHER FIGHTING REPORTED
Heavy fighting was also under way in neighboring Faryab province, where opposition forces have taken the Lawlash district, the local commander Ustad Atta Mohammad told Reuters.
The Taliban ``are putting up tough resistance, but they are suffering lots of deaths,'' he said by satellite telephone.
The Peshawar-based Afghan Islamic Press also reported that Taliban forces were under attack in two other northern provinces, Takhar and Samangan, to the east of Mazar-i-Sharif.
Abdullah said the opposition offensive was not timed to coincide with threats of U.S. retaliation but was ``timely'' nonetheless. The opposition has said Taliban response to threats of a U.S. attack created an opportunity for its strikes.
The fighting has taken place in an isolated pocket under opposition control south of Mazar-i-Sharif, which is cut off from the main opposition strongholds in the northeast.
Abdullah said the opposition faced difficulties supplying the attacking forces.
``It is a major achievement that, in three days, such a large area has been liberated and lots of casualties have been inflicted upon the Taliban,'' he said.
Abdullah arrived earlier on Sunday by helicopter from Tajikistan, the former Soviet republic to the north of Afghanistan, where he held talks with the chief of Russia's general staff, Anatoly Kvashnin, as well as Tajik officials.
He said he met no U.S. officials during his trip but repeated that the alliance was in closer contact with Washington than before, mainly through its diplomats in the United States.
Abdullah said Kvashnin repeated Russia's support for the Afghan opposition but described no new initiatives connected with the threat of U.S. strikes. He said he believed Tajikistan did not intend to provide bases for U.S. military aircraft. |
