The Afghan government commander accused of killing a minister who was the son of a powerful provincial governor has fled fighting in which more than 100 people were reported killed, officials say. "Nayebzada and his supporters have fled, we don't know where; some of his men surrendered to us," said Khan's spokesmen Ghulam Mohammad Masoan.
He said 10 of Khan's men had been killed. Nayebzada told Reuters on Sunday more than 100 people on both sides had died. He could not be reached on Monday.
| Headed for the hills, didn't leave a forwarding address... |
An Afghan aid worker said the battles that had raged in several areas of the city had died down after midnight, but many residents were staying at home. He said the fighting had involved tanks, mortars and artillery. The halt to the fighting came shortly after the U.S. embassy issued a statement urging all involved "to remain calm and to abide by the rule of law and avoid further bloodshed".
| "Don't make me come up there!" |
Karzai chaired an emergency National Security Council meeting on Sunday and a presidential spokesman said government troops would be sent to restore order. He warned of "severe" action unless the fighting was halted. Nayebzada said on Sunday he had acted in self-defence after Khan's forces tried to take control of his division and Sadiq attacked his house. "I did not kill Sadiq in an ambush; he was killed in a clash afterwards," he said.
| "Yeah! It was after we ambushed him!" |
A Khan loyalist said Sadiq was killed while investigating an incorrect rumour that his father had been ambushed. The U.S. embassy expressed concern about the violence, which it said appeared to have begun as a "traffic incident".
| Great headline: "100 dead in Herat road rage incident"... |
"Afghans must not let the success of the last two years be put in jeopardy by this incident," it said, underscoring the risks to U.S. efforts to stabilise the country. About 100 U.S. soldiers and State Department personnel are in Herat as one of the U.S. military's Provincial Reconstruction Teams and tasked with bolstering security. U.S. army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Bryan Hilferty said on Sunday they were monitoring the situation but had not intervened. |