by Sardar Ahmad Sun May 28, 7:42 AM ET
A worrying upsurge of Taliban-linked violence in southern Afghanistan is being fuelled by government corruption and lack of development, analysts say.
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Afghan officials said last week that Taliban militants were trying to retake some territory in the south, the birthplace of their ultra-Islamist movement, moving the insurgency on from mere guerrilla-style attacks.
"Let's stop the Taliban from using our homes and villages, brothers," said one tribal chief, Malik Nazar Gul, from Kandahars Dand district.
Another tribal leader, Ahmad Shah Khan, echoed the call. "If we dont give food to Taliban, if we dont allow them to use our homes to hide, they can never do what theyre doing now," the silver-bearded Khan said as others nodded in agreement.
The meeting's host Ahmad Wali Karzai, the Kandahar province council chief and younger brother of the president, urged tribal chiefs to persuade their people to support the government instead of helping the Taliban.
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The fundamentalist Taliban, toppled from power in a US-led invasion in late 2001, want to overthrow the new administration led by Karzai, the first popularly elected government in three decades.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060528/wl_sthasia_afp/afghanistanattackspolitics_060528114224