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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Taliban broken but still a threat |
| 2005-06-07 |
| Afghan security officials in the troubled south say Taliban guerrillas are finished as a threat on the battlefield but they will be able to stage ambushes and bomb blasts for some time yet. The Taliban insurgency flared this spring after a lull over the snowbound winter, disappointing many in the government and international community who thought the rebels had been mortally starved of resources and recruits. But in Kandahar, one of the provinces where the insurgents have been most active, officials said that, despite the recent violence, the Taliban were now a nuisance, not a military threat. "The Taliban have lost the ability to confront us face to face," General Muslim Amid, army commander for several southern provinces including Kandahar, told Reuters in an interview. Nearly 150 insurgents have been killed in clashes since March, according to U.S and Afghan figures. Dozens of government security men and 10 U.S. soldiers have also died in fighting. There have also been several bombs in cities, including Kabul and Kandahar. A suicide bomber killed 20 people in a Kandahar mosque last week as mourners paid respects to a murdered anti-Taliban cleric. The Taliban and their militant allies have been blamed. Amid said the insurgents could still carry out small but deadly strikes. "They can manage to plant mines and carry out small-scale attacks or ambushes, but I can say that their backbone has been broken," he said in the interview late on Monday. The last major clash with Taliban and al Qaeda fighters took place last month in neighbouring Zabul province, he said. Kandahar and Zabul were bastions of the Taliban regime until it was overthrown by U.S.-led forces in 2001 for refusing to hand over Osama bin Laden, architect of the Sept. 11 attacks. Amid said the Taliban were getting outside help which would keep them alive for some time. "They receive foreign aid, supplies and money. They have Arab, Chechen and Pakistani fighters in their ranks," he said. A Kandahar police official also insisted the situation was improving. "There are concerns among the people about worsening security but the overall situation compared with last year has improved," General Salim Khan said on Tuesday. "But we can't remove the worries and concern from people's hearts. Of course, there have been and will be small-scale attacks, planting of mines and blasts, but it has to be said these won't impact overall security." But a Kandahar politician, the brother of U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai, was less optimistic. "The situation is bad in several districts," said Ahmad Wali Karzai, the president's political envoy in the south. "Security forces lack facilities, they have no fuel or vehicles, no salaries. Our demand of the government is to boost the security forces ... otherwise this insecurity will spread." The Taliban were getting funds from opium traffickers, Amid said, adding that much of the violence was perpetrated by bandits and drug-runners. Amid said his troops and U.S.-led forces would now concentrate on security for Sept. 18 parliamentary elections. Taliban and their allies vowed to derail a presidential election last October and killed several election workers in the run-up but polling passed off smoothly. There would be attempts to spoil the parliamentary vote but Amid said they would fail. "There are challenges ahead but the Taliban do not have the ability to disrupt the election." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |