From: OMARS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU (Omar Samad)
Subject: Afghanistan News - Aug 25
Organization: The American University
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 92 12:19:02 GMT


From	: Omar Samad 
Date	: Monday, 24 Aug 1992 16:10:21 EDT
Country	: Afghanistan

Here is the latest from War-torn Kabul. Reported by AFP and AP:


  **  Kabul's governmental authorities announced today that the death toll in
      the capital now stands at 1800. thousands more have been injured and over
      130,000 residents have fled two weeks of savage and indiscriminate
      bombings and rocket shellings from oppositon forces belonging to the
      Hezb-i Islami of Gulbudin Hekmatyar.

  **  In the midst of fighting in the Afghan capital today, French and
      Italian diplomats left Kabul in a convoy heading North towards the
      city of Mazar-e-Sharif. The Western officials were accompanied by the
      Bulgarian ambassador who has been seriously injured in the latest
      series of attacks by the dissident Hezb-i Islami leader Gulbudin
      Hekmatyar. Heavy fighting continues inside Kabul between the Shiite
      Hezb-e Wahdat and the Wahabi Etehad-e Islami of Sayaf. On the outskirts
      of the city, forces loyal to the government of Burhanudin Rabani and
      the Uzbek militias under the command of Rashid Dostom are pushing the
      rival Hekmatyar forces from their strongholds in the South and the
      East. Hekmatyar is still able to launch rocket attacks on the city, an
      indication of failure on the part of the government to dislodge him.
      Some analysts now beleive that Hekmatyar has enough weapons and
      ammunition to fight for at least two years. Most of his weapons were
      supplied by Pakistan, financed by the United States and some Arab
      countries during the past 14 years. The Western diplomats are expected
      to cross into the Republic of Uzbekistan where a French military plane
      awaits them.

  **  In addition to the destruction of dozens of buildings and hundreds of
      residential compounds in Kabul, most foreign embassies have been
      hit in the indiscriminate shelling of the past two weeks. The list now
      includes the embasises of Pakistan, India and the vacated US mission.

  **  The International Committee of the Red Cross, which operates several
      important hospitals in Kabul, announced today that it can no longer
      continue its work in the capital. The ICRC said it would hand over
      the operations of its facilities to the Afghan health ministry.
      The ICRC said waring factions do not respect the humanitarian and
      health premises.

  **  The interim Rabani administration in Kabul has officially requested
      the return of former communist leader Najibullah who is beleived
      to be in hiding inside the United Nations compound in Kabul. In a
      letter addressed to the U.N. secretary general, the interim Afghan
      government said Najibullah should be handed over to the authorities
      and subsequently be tried for war crimes once normalcy returns in the
      city. It is beleived that Najib was promised a safe exit from Afghanistan
      by the U.N. right before the April surrender of his regime. He has been
      stranded in the U.N. compound since April, when Dostom's forces barred
      him from leaving.
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Newsgroups: misc.news.southasia