Factional violence flares in western Afghanistan; one commander says 21 killed

The U.S. military expressed concern about the violence but showed no sign of intervening. So far, U.S.-trained troops in Afghanistan's national army were also staying out of the fight -- a sign of the central government's weakness in the face of local warlords.

The clashes pitched forces loyal to Herat Gov. Ismail Khan, one of the country's most powerful warlords, against rivals in the north, east and south of the province.

In the fiercest clash, a commander from Shindand, about 370 miles west of the capital, Kabul, said his men seized a Soviet-built air base in an overnight attack.

"By 4 a.m. we had captured the whole of the district, including the airport and the division," Amanullah, an ethnic Pashtun commander who goes by one name, told The Associated Press.

Afghan forces have few aircraft, but the base is home to a militia division believed loyal to Khan, a Tajik

http://www.magicvalley.com/news/worldnation/index.asp?StoryID=10272

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Fighting between militias in western Afghanistan continued Sunday with exchanges of artillery fire, a rebel commander said, as the government prepared to send a delegation to investigate.

The clashes in Herat province, where up to 21 people were reported killed on Saturday, highlight Afghanistan's enduring insecurity as it prepares for milestone elections.

President Hamid Karzai and the U.S. military expressed concern about the violence, but sent no forces to stop it.

The battles pitch Herat Gov. Ismail Khan, one of the country's most powerful warlords, against an array of rival commanders chafing at his dominance of the prosperous region.

Amanullah, an ethnic Pashtun leader from the south of the province, said Sunday he was trading artillery fire with Khan's men near Shindand, about 600 kilometers (370 miles) west of the capital, Kabul.

He said Khan's forces had moved tanks and rocket-launchers to the front line in an attempt to retake a nearby air base, but said there was no close-range fighting or fresh casualties.

Khan, a Tajik, was discriminating against other ethnic groups in the province, he said. ``So long as Ismail Khan is governor, the fighting will continue.''

Abdul Wahed Tawakali, a spokesman for Khan, said there was still fighting near Shindand but had no details.

Residents of Herat city were planning demonstrations ``against those troublemakers,'' Tawakali said, and a delegation from Kabul was also expected to arrive later Sunday.

Attacks by two other dissident commanders in the north and west of the province were repelled, with the rebels pushed into neighboring Ghor province, he said.

The battles are the latest in a string of factional clashes across the north and west of the country, and present a fresh security headache for U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai and the American military ahead of Oct. 9 presidential elections.

On Saturday, Karzai condemned the violence as ``an attack on the state'' and vowed ``serious measures'' against the rebel commanders.

Still, the Defense Ministry said militia units in Herat - on Kabul's payroll but with close links to Khan - would be left to tackle the situation.

Karzai said a government delegation would be sent to investigate.

The United Nations is concerned that the failure to disarm militias who control much of the country leaves the election vulnerable to intimidation.

About 9.5 million of the estimated 9.8 million eligible Afghans have registered to vote, according to U.N. figures, despite a string of attacks on voters and election workers blamed on Taliban rebels.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4422472,00.html