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| Afghanistan |
| 4000 Talibs defect to Northern Alliance at Sar-e-Pol |
| 2001-10-14 |
About 4,000 troops defected en masse from the Taliban militia in northern Afghanistan in a significant blow to the ruling regime as it tries to stave off both U.S. airstrikes from abroad and guerrilla fighters at home. The reported defection would be the largest since the United States began its aerial assault on Afghanistan Oct. 7 and would play into the allied strategy of peeling off maverick local warlords to diminish Taliban power. It also could help rebel commanders choke off Taliban forces in the northern part of the country. The troops were led to the other side by their commander, Kaze Abdul Hai, in Sar-e Pol, about 65 miles southwest of the strategic city of Mazar-e Sharif, over which Taliban and rebel forces have been battling for control, opposition officials said. Predominantly ethnic Uzbek militias in that part of Afghanistan have often switched loyalties during the civil war that has raged since the Soviet Union withdrew its failed invasion force in 1989. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |