Organization: The American University - University Computing Center
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 09:27:05 EDT
From: <OMARS@auvm.american.edu>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.afghanistan
Subject: Afghan news item #9

From: clarinews@clarinet.com (RALPH JOSEPH)
Subject: Clashes in Afghanistan leave more than 500 dead
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 92 16:12:52 EDT
Location: afghanistan




        ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (UPI) -- Four days of heavy fighting near the
western Afghan city of Herat has killed more than 500 people as
government forces and the guerrilla troops of Afghan warlord Gulbuddin
Hekmatyar battle for supremacy over the war-torn country, official Kabul
Radio reported Monday.
        The fighting erupted Friday outside Herat, near the Iranian border
375 miles west of Kabul, when guerrillas from Hekmatyar's Hizbe Islami
group attacked the pro-government militia of Gen. Rashid Dostum, a
former ally of Najibullah who turned on the ex-president and helped
bring down his government in April.
        Kabul Radio, now the official voice of the mujahideen government of
interim President Burhanuddin Rabbani, said about 340 of Hekmatyar's
guerrillas were killed in the fighting along with about 200 members of
the pro-government militia.
        The report was similar to one issued by the Afghan News Agency, which
is run by Hekmatyar's Hizbe Islami organization. The Afghan News Agency
said about 500 mujahideen guerrillas from the Hizbe forces had been
killed or wounded in the fighting.
        The Afghan Islamic Press, an independent news agency, said heavy
fighting was continuing Monday between forces supporting Hekmatyar and
Rabbani, with both sides pounding each other with rocket and mortar
fire. They have been fighting since Najibullah tried to flee and caused
his government to collapse.
        The forces of fundamentalist hard-liner Hekmatyar are opposed to the
presence of Dostum's troops in Kabul and the influence of the militia
general throughout the country because of his former ties to the
communist government of Najibullah.
        Dostum commanded a militia initially formed by Najibullah, but he had
a falling out with the president and joined the mujahideen in waging a
war against the communist regime. Dostum's forces were instrumental in
bringing down the government, cutting Kabul's supply lines to the north.
        The militia also worked with Rabbani's Jamiat-i-Islami guerrillas in
the northern part of the country. The Jamiat-i-Islami and Hekmatyar's
Hizbe Islami party were the two largest mujahideen groups involved in
the 12-year war against Najibullah.
        Although Hekmatyar's party initially agreed to be part of the
mujahideen government that followed Najibullah, its troops have
continued to struggle with Dostum for control of the capital. The Hizbe
was eventually barred from participation in the government.
        Two weeks of heavy fighting near Kabul ended Aug. 26 when the
Hekmatyar's guerrillas and Rabbani's government forces agreed to a
cease-fire brokered by neutral mujahideen commanders. Monday's clashes
were the latest in a series over the past few days and followed violence
last week near Baghlan, 75 miles north of Kabul.
        Afghan and Pakistani sources said mounting tension around Kabul
indicated the Aug. 26 cease-fire between Hekmatyar's men and the
government forces was on the verge breaking down.
        Sunday, the Nangarhar Shoora, a council made up of powerful
mujahideen commanders in western Afghanistan, set Oct. 11 as the
deadline for Rabbani's interim government to move Dostum's militia
forces out of Kabul.
        The government is reportedly ready to get the militias out and meet
Hekmatyar's other demands, but also wants the Afghan warlord to remove
his guerrillas from strategic hills around Kabul.
        There were no immediate signs Hekmatyar was ready to comply before
the Oct. 11 deadline. Last week, the warlord warned that the country may
be on the brink of another all-out civil war, which could physically
split the country into two or more parts.

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Correction:

The Nangarhar Shoora mentioned above is most likely made up of commanders
from the eastern provinces and not the western ones as stated. Nangarhar is
a province in eastern Afghanistan, with the city of Jalalabad as its capital
where Hekmatyar wields some influence.