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Karzai "sacks" regional governor Ismail Khan
At least two protesters were killed when supporters of a sacked Afghan governor clashed with US and Afghan security forces in the western city of Herat.
According to witnesses, dozens of supporters of Ismail Khan gathered outside his home on Saturday after he was replaced as provincial governor, and began chanting slogans against the United States and President Hamid Karzai.
Witnesses said shots were fired by US and Afghan security forces after their convoy was pelted with stones. Hospital officials, witnesses and police said two people were killed, four injured and four arrested.
On Saturday, the Afghan Government replaced two governors, including Khan, as leaders jockey for power ahead of landmark presidential elections.
Offer rejected
The move was President Hamid Karzai's second against regional leaders who helped the United States to drive out the Taliban in 2001, but who have resisted his authority ever since.
Khan, the governor of Herat, was offered a new job as minister of mines and industries, Karzai's office said in a statement.
Khan was unavailable for comment. The US ambassador in Kabul said he had refused the new position.
The government justified the move by citing Khan's record of bringing prosperity to the region, saying his "extensive experience ... as well as his management skills, are useful assets that must be utilised at the national level".
Move predicted
But action against him has been expected since his forces squared off in August against those of a rival commander, Amanullah, in a burst of vicious factional fighting halted by a US-brokered ceasefire.
The battles left dozens dead and fanned tension between the country's main Pashtun and Tajik ethnic groups, with stories of atrocities committed by both sides.
Amanullah, a Pashtun, was detained in August after the fighting and is under house arrest in the capital.
Officials said at the time that his detention was "part of a wider plan to take all necessary measures to secure long-term stability in the region".
'Iron fisted'
As governor of Herat, Khan, an ethnic Tajik, earned a reputation as an iron-fisted leader, accused by international human-rights groups of jailing and torturing political opponents.
The United Nations recently complained that an atmosphere of intolerance in the region could distort 9 October presidential elections.
The presidential palace made no reference to the election, where Karzai, a Pashtun, is expected to triumph.
Karzai has said recently that regional commanders pose a larger threat to this war-shattered nation's future than the remnants of the ousted Taliban government.
Other changes
Khan is nominally loyal to the central government. But he joined Defence Minister Muhammad Fahim, a fellow commander of the Tajik-dominated Northern Alliance, in stalling efforts to disarm their private armies.
Karzai dropped Fahim from his election ticket in July. Fahim then threw his weight behind a rival candidate. Khan has yet to declare support for Karzai or any of his 17 rivals.
The government said Herat's new governor would be Sayed Muhammad Khaiekhawa, Afghanistan's ambassador to Ukraine.
It said Khaiekhawa was a "well-known intellectual and figure in the jihad" - the struggle against Soviet occupiers in the 1980s when Ismail Khan also rose to prominence.
Separately, the presidential palace announced that it was replacing Ghor governor Muhammad Ibrahim Malikzada - who officials have also implicated in the recent fighting - with Abdul Qadir Alam. No information on Alam was immediately available.
Malikzada was made an as adviser to the Interior Ministry.
Agencies
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/24B4FF60-AE56-4096-A807-CACB7AB6D1DD.htm
Witnesses said shots were fired by US and Afghan security forces after their convoy was pelted with stones. Hospital officials, witnesses and police said two people were killed, four injured and four arrested.
On Saturday, the Afghan Government replaced two governors, including Khan, as leaders jockey for power ahead of landmark presidential elections.
Offer rejected
The move was President Hamid Karzai's second against regional leaders who helped the United States to drive out the Taliban in 2001, but who have resisted his authority ever since.
Khan, the governor of Herat, was offered a new job as minister of mines and industries, Karzai's office said in a statement.
Khan was unavailable for comment. The US ambassador in Kabul said he had refused the new position.
The government justified the move by citing Khan's record of bringing prosperity to the region, saying his "extensive experience ... as well as his management skills, are useful assets that must be utilised at the national level".
Move predicted
But action against him has been expected since his forces squared off in August against those of a rival commander, Amanullah, in a burst of vicious factional fighting halted by a US-brokered ceasefire.
The battles left dozens dead and fanned tension between the country's main Pashtun and Tajik ethnic groups, with stories of atrocities committed by both sides.
Amanullah, a Pashtun, was detained in August after the fighting and is under house arrest in the capital.
Officials said at the time that his detention was "part of a wider plan to take all necessary measures to secure long-term stability in the region".
'Iron fisted'
As governor of Herat, Khan, an ethnic Tajik, earned a reputation as an iron-fisted leader, accused by international human-rights groups of jailing and torturing political opponents.
The United Nations recently complained that an atmosphere of intolerance in the region could distort 9 October presidential elections.
The presidential palace made no reference to the election, where Karzai, a Pashtun, is expected to triumph.
Karzai has said recently that regional commanders pose a larger threat to this war-shattered nation's future than the remnants of the ousted Taliban government.
Other changes
Khan is nominally loyal to the central government. But he joined Defence Minister Muhammad Fahim, a fellow commander of the Tajik-dominated Northern Alliance, in stalling efforts to disarm their private armies.
Karzai dropped Fahim from his election ticket in July. Fahim then threw his weight behind a rival candidate. Khan has yet to declare support for Karzai or any of his 17 rivals.
The government said Herat's new governor would be Sayed Muhammad Khaiekhawa, Afghanistan's ambassador to Ukraine.
It said Khaiekhawa was a "well-known intellectual and figure in the jihad" - the struggle against Soviet occupiers in the 1980s when Ismail Khan also rose to prominence.
Separately, the presidential palace announced that it was replacing Ghor governor Muhammad Ibrahim Malikzada - who officials have also implicated in the recent fighting - with Abdul Qadir Alam. No information on Alam was immediately available.
Malikzada was made an as adviser to the Interior Ministry.
Agencies
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/24B4FF60-AE56-4096-A807-CACB7AB6D1DD.htm
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n influential Afghan governor replaced by the country's President, Hamid Karzai, has declined his new job.
Ismail Khan, governor of the western province of Herat, had been given a job as minister of mines and industries.
The move is being seen as an attempt by Mr Karzai to strengthen his position ahead of the elections in October.
Governor Khan has long been seen as resisting efforts by Mr Karzai's government to assert its authority in the region.
A statement from President Karzai's office also said he was replacing the governor of Ghor province which borders Herat.
The Afghan ambassador to the Ukraine, Mohammed Khair Khuwa, will take Ismail Khan's place.
'Personal fiefdom'
The BBC's Andrew North in Kabul says Herat province has been Mr Khan's stronghold for decades.
One of the best known former mujahideen leaders, he led an uprising there against Soviet troops in 1979.
Since taking over as governor in 2001, he has turned it into a kind of personal fiefdom, our correspondent says.
He has received praise in some quarters for reconstructing roads, schools and businesses, but also criticism for stalling on disarming his own militia forces and holding on to tax revenues he earns from border trade with Iran.
But for the past few weeks, rumours had been growing that President Karzai was preparing to replace Ismail Khan, ever since his forces clashed with the troops of another local militia commander, Amanullah.
Although Amanullah is now under some kind of house arrest, Ismail Khan is widely seen to have been weakened by the fighting in which he lost control of several areas of the province, our correspondent says.
The American ambassador to Afghanistan welcomed President Karzai's decision, but in a statement he also warned anyone involved against taking what he called action which would threaten security in the region.
Earlier, President Karzai gave a speech to set out his manifesto for the forthcoming elections four days after what has so far been a low key campaign got under way.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3647404.stm
Ismail Khan, governor of the western province of Herat, had been given a job as minister of mines and industries.
The move is being seen as an attempt by Mr Karzai to strengthen his position ahead of the elections in October.
Governor Khan has long been seen as resisting efforts by Mr Karzai's government to assert its authority in the region.
A statement from President Karzai's office also said he was replacing the governor of Ghor province which borders Herat.
The Afghan ambassador to the Ukraine, Mohammed Khair Khuwa, will take Ismail Khan's place.
'Personal fiefdom'
The BBC's Andrew North in Kabul says Herat province has been Mr Khan's stronghold for decades.
One of the best known former mujahideen leaders, he led an uprising there against Soviet troops in 1979.
Since taking over as governor in 2001, he has turned it into a kind of personal fiefdom, our correspondent says.
He has received praise in some quarters for reconstructing roads, schools and businesses, but also criticism for stalling on disarming his own militia forces and holding on to tax revenues he earns from border trade with Iran.
But for the past few weeks, rumours had been growing that President Karzai was preparing to replace Ismail Khan, ever since his forces clashed with the troops of another local militia commander, Amanullah.
Although Amanullah is now under some kind of house arrest, Ismail Khan is widely seen to have been weakened by the fighting in which he lost control of several areas of the province, our correspondent says.
The American ambassador to Afghanistan welcomed President Karzai's decision, but in a statement he also warned anyone involved against taking what he called action which would threaten security in the region.
Earlier, President Karzai gave a speech to set out his manifesto for the forthcoming elections four days after what has so far been a low key campaign got under way.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3647404.stm
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