...ethnic Uzbek warlord who distinguished himself fighting the Soviets and the Taliban. The story that he had a bad guy run over with a tank is an exaggeration. It was an armored personnel carrier...
on Friday urged the central government to ensure the delivery of sufficient support and equipment to public uprising forces under his command in the fight against the Taliban
...mindless ferocity in a turban...Talking to a gathering of his supporters via phone, Dostum said the government so far has not provided sufficient support to these forces.
Dostum also persuaded the Taliban to return to negotiations and said they should not get excited by taking over districts.
"The morale of the boys is very high," said Dostum, referring to the forces under his command.
"Unfortunately, poor management of the war has led to this situation," said Dostum, referring to fall of distircts.
He also expressed his dismay over what he described it government’s unwillingness to hear his military advices.
The National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan party led by Dostum organized a gathering in Kabul where speakers urged the government to provide sufficient aid to public uprising forces.
"When the Taliban firstly appeared in the northern part of the country, their presence was not too much strong in villages and vicinities and cities, they should have been suppressed at the time, because they had not a good spirit for war," said Kanishka Turkistani, a member of the National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan.
Meanwhile,
...back at the palazzo, Don Smilzo looked for an avenue of escape. The only window opened a hundred feet above the moat. The nearest of the hired assassins hold a bloody axe.
The window was looking better all the time....
Ata Mohammad Noor, head of the splinter faction of Hizb-e-Islami and former governor of Balkh, announced the formation of a command center for public forces under his command and urged them to avoid commuting inside the city.
"You shouldn’t interfere into the affairs of the people, their legal and judicial issues, avoid walking around in the city, stay in your bases, you will be asked for service whenever there is a need for," Noor told his fighters.