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Afghan govt vows to disarm warlords after Herat fighting
Kabul, Mar 24: The Afghan government will work to disarm unruly warlords ahead of landmark elections, a spokesman said, a top priority following a bloody battle in the western city of Herat that killed a Cabinet minister.
Kabul, Mar 24: The Afghan government will work to disarm unruly warlords ahead of landmark elections, a spokesman said, a top priority following a bloody battle in the western city of Herat that killed a Cabinet minister.
Aid workers and officials said the mood in Herat was subdued ahead of the funeral of Mirwais Sadiq, President Hamid Karzai's aviation minister and the son of Herat Gov. Ismail Khan, one of the country's most powerful warlords.
In Kabul, Karzai's spokesman played down reports that more than 100 people were killed in Sunday's battle with tanks, rockets and mortars between troops loyal to Khan and a local militia commander.
Jawed Ludin said the death toll was 50, at most. But he said the ferocity of the clash only increased the government's determination to disarm feuding faction leaders. "Unless the disarmament process is expedited and produces results, there will still be threats of falling back on the road to ensuring security for the people," Ludin told a news conference. The latest fighting illustrates the limited reach of Karzai's government outside the capital Kabul, two years after U.S.-led forces drove the Taliban from power.
The Defence Ministry has announced plans to impound before the elections all the heavy weapons held by the militia commanders who still control most of the country. Dozens of tanks, rocket-launchers and artillery pieces left over from two decades of war have been collected near the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif as well as Kabul.
But the thousands of troops maintained by Ismail Khan - and other rival commanders in the west of the country - have yet to be touched by the heavy weapons program or a U.N. campaign to demobilize militiamen.
Only about 5,000 fighters have gone through that program, which is supposed to ensure that elections - slated for June - are not marred by intimidation. None were from the west.
Bureau Report
In Kabul, Karzai's spokesman played down reports that more than 100 people were killed in Sunday's battle with tanks, rockets and mortars between troops loyal to Khan and a local militia commander.
Jawed Ludin said the death toll was 50, at most. But he said the ferocity of the clash only increased the government's determination to disarm feuding faction leaders. "Unless the disarmament process is expedited and produces results, there will still be threats of falling back on the road to ensuring security for the people," Ludin told a news conference. The latest fighting illustrates the limited reach of Karzai's government outside the capital Kabul, two years after U.S.-led forces drove the Taliban from power.
The Defence Ministry has announced plans to impound before the elections all the heavy weapons held by the militia commanders who still control most of the country. Dozens of tanks, rocket-launchers and artillery pieces left over from two decades of war have been collected near the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif as well as Kabul.
But the thousands of troops maintained by Ismail Khan - and other rival commanders in the west of the country - have yet to be touched by the heavy weapons program or a U.N. campaign to demobilize militiamen.
Only about 5,000 fighters have gone through that program, which is supposed to ensure that elections - slated for June - are not marred by intimidation. None were from the west.
Bureau Report