Unrest in north Afghanistan natural: United States

“We see the situation in the north . . . as a natural evolution as the government of Afghanistan moves to extend the reach of the central government, moves to become an inclusive government for all the people of Afghanistan,” Lieutenant Colonel Matt Beevers told a news conference in Kabul.

The US-backed Kabul administration has struggled to assert its influence in the provinces of Afghanistan which are largely controlled by warlords.

Beevers said the unrest, which has included factional fighting in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif and demonstrations and unrest in the northern province of Faryab in the past week, needed to be resolved “through political discourse and dialogue and not through force of arms”. The current burst of unrest is not the first problem the central government has had to contend with in the region.

In late March fierce factional fighting erupted in the northwestern city of Herat between forces loyal to governor Ismael Khan and those loyal to a government-appointed commander.

Beevers said coalition forces had not been involved in the skirmishes in Mazar which involved Afghan warlords who have repeatedly fought each other. However, some US soldiers were embedded as trainers with the more than 2,000 Afghan National Army (ANA) troops sent to Herat and Faryab, he said. President Hamid Karzai sent hundreds of the newly trained ANA soldiers to northwestern Faryab province after troops loyal to Uzbek strongman Abdul Rashid Dostam overran the provincial capital last week.

Beevers said US-led coalition forces had provided some transportation assistance to the ANA troops. “We also fly surveillance and reconnaissance missions throughout the north and the northwest,” he said. Coalition forces under United States command have been hunting remnants of the Taliban and other insurgents throughout Afghanistan since late 2001.

“The problems with regional leaders need to be successfully concluded through the political process — we clearly don’t want to see . . . these things resolved by force. That’s not the road we want to go down,” Beevers added.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_13-4-2004_pg4_16