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Taliban rule out talks on Kandahar
The Taliban Islamic militia said Tuesday they remained in control of their southern heartland and denied that negotiations were under way to surrender their stronghold of Kandahar. US refuses Taliban deal
The Taliban Islamic militia said Tuesday they remained in control of their southern heartland and denied that negotiations were under way to surrender their stronghold of Kandahar
Our holy war continues," Najibullah Sherzai, deputy foreign secretary, told reporters here. "There are no negotiations going on in Kandahar. These are lies from people sitting in Quetta."
Pashtun tribal leaders have been trying to broker a peaceful handover of the city to anti-Taliban forces.
In Kabul, hoping to avert a bloody showdown in Kunduz, the Taliban`s last remaining stronghold in the north of Afghanistan, the Northern Alliance said Tuesday it had given the Taliban three days to surrender or face an all-out assault.
Alliance spokesman Attiq Ullah, speaking from the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, said fighters loyal to Osama Bin Laden - mainly Arabs, Chechens and Pakistanis - had been preventing the Taliban from giving up the besieged city of Kunduz. "If there is a fight in Kunduz, it will be a bloody one because there are three thousand foreign fighters and they have nowhere to go," he said.
Northern Alliance troops have encircled the city, and U.S. warplanes have been conducting intensive bombardment of Taliban front-line positions.
Meanwhile, an opposition Northern Alliance general battling the Taliban in Kunduz did not rule out Tuesday the evacuation of foreign "mercenaries". "If the United Nations or certain countries are prepared to receive the foreign militia, we can allow them to leave Afghanistan," said General Mohammad Daoud, adding however that "those who have committed crimes will be brought to justice."
"One of the demands of the Taliban is that they are allowed to leave Kunduz in a convoy to Kandahar (in the south), but this is not possible."
Negotiations over the possible surrender of the Taliban have been underway across the front lines in Kunduz for several days, but so far only a handful of troops had agreed to lay down their arms.
Bureau Report
Pashtun tribal leaders have been trying to broker a peaceful handover of the city to anti-Taliban forces.
In Kabul, hoping to avert a bloody showdown in Kunduz, the Taliban`s last remaining stronghold in the north of Afghanistan, the Northern Alliance said Tuesday it had given the Taliban three days to surrender or face an all-out assault.
Alliance spokesman Attiq Ullah, speaking from the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, said fighters loyal to Osama Bin Laden - mainly Arabs, Chechens and Pakistanis - had been preventing the Taliban from giving up the besieged city of Kunduz. "If there is a fight in Kunduz, it will be a bloody one because there are three thousand foreign fighters and they have nowhere to go," he said.
Northern Alliance troops have encircled the city, and U.S. warplanes have been conducting intensive bombardment of Taliban front-line positions.
Meanwhile, an opposition Northern Alliance general battling the Taliban in Kunduz did not rule out Tuesday the evacuation of foreign "mercenaries". "If the United Nations or certain countries are prepared to receive the foreign militia, we can allow them to leave Afghanistan," said General Mohammad Daoud, adding however that "those who have committed crimes will be brought to justice."
"One of the demands of the Taliban is that they are allowed to leave Kunduz in a convoy to Kandahar (in the south), but this is not possible."
Negotiations over the possible surrender of the Taliban have been underway across the front lines in Kunduz for several days, but so far only a handful of troops had agreed to lay down their arms.
Bureau Report