From: endevour@wam.umd.edu (.)
Subject: Re: Afghan news item #10
Organization: University of Maryland, College Park
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1992 21:00:23 GMT

In article <92281.143958OMARS@auvm.american.edu> <OMARS@auvm.american.edu> writes:
>From: clarinews@clarinet.com (RALPH JOSEPH)
>Subject: Fighting rages for sixth day in Herat
>Date: Wed, 7 Oct 92 8:37:41 PDT
>Approved: clarinews@clarinet.com
>
>
>Here is the latest bad news:
>
>
>        ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (UPI) -- Fighting raged for the sixth consecutive
>day between Afghan government forces and mujahideen rebels led by
>warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, sources in his Hezb-i-Islami party said
>Wednesday.
>        A statement issued by the Hezb said militia forces loyal to interim
>President Burhaniddin Rabbani started the fighting last week, aiming to
>push south from Herat to capture an air base at Shindand, some 400 miles
>southwest of Kabul.
>        A Hezb source in Peshawar reached by telephone said heavy fighting
>for control of Herat continued for the sixth day Wednesday, but details
>were not immediately available because weather conditions had disrupted
>communications between east and west Afghanistan.
>        At least 750 people were killed in the first five days of the
>fighting, and Hekmatyar's guerrillas claimed they advanced on Herat
>after heavy fighting Tuesday after smashing a tank battalion of the
>government forces.
>        There was no immediate confirmation from the Kabul government that
>parts of Herat, some 375 miles west of the capital, had fallen to
>hekmatyars forces.
>        But government sources said earlier that warplanes under Hekmatyar's
>control bombed positions held by militia forces loyal to Rabbani and his
>defense minister, Ahmed Shah Masoud.
>        The Afghan News Agency, owned by the Hezb, said government warplanes
>made at least two attacks on the Shindand air base, which was a primary
>objective of militia forces when they began the fighting Friday.
>        The news agency quoted a Hezb statement as saying the fighting
>erupted because the government forces ``wanted to storm (Hekmatyar's)
>positions in Herat and then move forward to destroy the shindand air
>base, where the rebel chief kept most of the 90-odd warplanes under his
>command.
>        Hekmatyar's guerrillas have been battling militia troops and
>mujahideen guerrillas loyal to the interim government in Kabul almost
>since the day communist President Najibullah was ousted from power in
>April.
>        In August heavy fighting between the two forces erupted on the
>outskirts of Kabul after Hekmatyar demanded that Rabbani and Massoud
>fire all communist officers in the regular army, and remove from Kabul a
>militia force led by Gen. Rasheed Dostum, an Uzbek officer.
>        Shindand came into prominence after Hekmatyar claimed at a news
>conference last month that foreign aircraft had bombed the air base
>interimittently over a two-month period.
>        Hezb sources said Shindand was being used to train pilots of the
>Afghan forces who had defected to Hekmatyar.
>        Early this week nine generals from the regular Afghan army defected
>to Hekmatyar's forces, landing their military transport plane in
>Shindand after being refused permission to land in Peshawar, Pakistan.

Since no sane communist and non-communist would, out of their own 
free will, submit themselves to Mr.Hekmatyar's mercy the only 
explaination that can come to my mind about the defection of the 
Generals (?) to Hekmatyar is one of the following scenarios.

1) They are former Khalqies and have some kind of alleigence to             
General Watanjar who currently enjoys a low profile sanctuary with
Hezbe-e-Islami-e-Afghanistan led by Ameer Saheb (his royal fanatic 
highness) Engineer ( only studied two classes of Engineering school) 
Gulbudin-e-Hekmayar, also considered to be an Awliya and a Hekmat for
the Ummah( excluding the Kabul and Herat citizens) .

2) They are former Khaqi generals who realized that the so called 
leaders of Afghan resistance were no better than former communist
president Najibullah and thus decided to hit the road or the sky. 
However once in Pakistan it is very possible that ISI officers forced
them, by threatening to shoot them down, to "defect" to Mr.Gulbudin
and land their planes in Shindand. I would not be surprised to hear 
that the transport planes were escorted by Pakistani F16s to Shindand
air port. 

The above is pure speculations but given the situation in Afghanistan 
I do not see any other possibility.