Hakki -------------------------------- 2 Afghan Warlords Battle for Province John F. Burns New York Times Thursday, January 31, 2002
Worst Fighting Since Taliban Fell
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GARDEZ, Afghanistan After two months of rising tensions between rival warlords across much of Afghanistan, this strategic city 130 kilometers south of Kabul has erupted in heavy fighting that continued Thursday with bursts of mortar, rocket and rifle fire, and smoke from exploding ammunition.
At least 40 people have been killed in the fighting for Gardez between forces led by Padsha Khan Zadran and a rival warlord, Saifullah, Agence France-Presse reported Thursday, quoting Wazer Khan, a brother of Padsha Khan, who was recently appointed governor of Paktia Province. With U.S. warplanes circling high above, rivals seeking to control Paktia Province battled inconclusively along the main road to Kabul, the capital, from the southern border with Pakistan.
Apart from relatively minor skirmishes, the fighting was the first time since the rapid collapse of the Taliban across southern Afghanistan two months ago that Afghans from groups that opposed the Taliban have gone to war with one another.
In an illustration of the general confusion of Afghanistan today, former Taliban supporters are present on both sides. (...)