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Fifty Reported Killed in Afghan Ethnic Fighting
The title is from Reuters. I'd have titled this "Ismail Khan cleaning out Pashtun crooks and gunnies...Ethnic Tajiks and Pashtuns fought a pitched battle in western Afghanistan. The Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) said 50 soldiers and civilians were killed in the fighting on Thursday near Ghurian, some 40 miles west of Herat city, near the border with Iran. Mostly Tajik fighters loyal to Ismail Khan, governor of Herat province, fought with forces under local warlord commander Mohammad Kareem Khan. Naseer Ahmad Alvi, a spokesman for Ismail Khan, told Reuters by telephone the attack had been ordered after reports that Kareem Khan had been involved in smuggling and looting. "He is controlling the Zar Koh area, and because of his presence, a security threat has been created," Alvi said. He did not say how many fighters and civilians died in the clashes, but said Ismail Khan's forces had arrested 20 rival fighters. "We have not received full details about the death toll, but according to some reports, several smugglers have been killed," Alvi said. One of the warlord's supporters, Said Ali, told Reuters that the Tajik forces had looted and plundered Pashtun areas. "They attacked our positions frequently using heavy weapons. They loot and plunder our areas and take our people hostage," he said, adding the fighting had died down on Friday. He accused Ismail Khan's forces of torching the houses of Pashtuns and said many people were burned alive, an accusation which Alvi denied. The spokesman for Kareem Khan demanded that President Hamid Karzai and the United Nations send a delegation to the area to observe the situation, AIP said. That Ismail Khan sure is a likable cuss. Every time I read about him shooting it out with his border Pashtuns, I like him more. He's old and he's fat and he rules Herat as a benevolent despot — but a benevolent despotism is a big improvement over the Talibs. Ismail also hung in there, fighting the Talibs, while the guys he's fighting now were carrying water for them. Good man. Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2002-08-02 |
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