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Afghanistan
Abdul Dostum and Atta Mohammed Forces Clash, Again
2003-10-08
Fighting erupted Wednesday between rival warlords who both claim allegiance to the government of President Hamid Karzai, and an official of one of the warring groups said as many as 60 people were killed and scores more wounded. The soldiers were massing around the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, said Gen. Abdul Sabur, a spokesman for Atta Mohammed’s Jamiat-e-Islami faction. Sabur said hundreds of fighters loyal to northern Uzbek commander Abdul Rashid Dostum began battling Atta’s supporters about midday, and the battle continued late into the night.
He said 60 people were killed in that fighting, which involved tanks, heavy artillery and other weapons.
It’s like the Sharks vs the Jets, with crew served weapons.
Shouldn't both of them be in Zabul or Uruzgan, committing atrocities?
"The fighting is very intense," Sabur said. "People are very scared. Shops and markets have all closed." It was impossible to immediately confirm Sabur’s account, and representatives of Dostum’s faction, known as Junbish, could not be reached. The two sides have clashed repeatedly in the past two years, though they are nominally both loyal to Karzai’s central government. Countless efforts by the United Nations and the Afghan government to mediate a peaceful resolution have failed.
It’ll end when either Dostum or Mohammed are killed and their boys have to go looking for work elsewhere.
It was not clear what sparked the latest fighting.
It don’t take much.
A second Jamiat spokesman, Ashraf Nadim, said fighters loyal to Dostum launched a separate attack in Maimana city, in the neighboring northern province of Faryab. He said it was not clear how many people had been killed there.
Posted by:Steve

#4  I saw this article over the weekend in philly.com. It gives a pretty balanced view on what the result of the new Afghan army training might be.
Posted by: Super Hose   2003-10-8 7:05:08 PM  

#3  The above should read: The reason the fighting is sporadic is that they're trying not to attract Uncle Sam's attention - getting bombed and strafed by A-10's is NOT in their interests, so they continue with this back-and-forth penny-ante stuff.
Posted by: Zhang Fei   2003-10-8 5:48:07 PM  

#2  It’s like the Sharks vs the Jets, with crew served weapons.

The Sharks and the Jets fought for bragging rights - these guys are fighting over who will get to own these particular chunks of turf, and the tax collections that flow from them. They're fighting over something real - it's not just out of boredom. The reason the fighting is sporadic is that they're trying not to attract Uncle Sam's attention - getting bombed and strafed by A-10's is in their interests, so they continue with this back-and-forth penny-ante stuff.
Posted by: Zhang Fei   2003-10-8 5:47:22 PM  

#1  This is just the Afghans version of "Football". The goal is to score the most kills before the AP finds out.
Posted by: Charles   2003-10-8 4:17:55 PM  

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