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Fresh Fighting Erupts in Afghanistan
The fiercest fighting of this year erupted Saturday between Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia and opposition forces to the north of the Afghan capital of Kabul, news reaching said.
Quoting sources in Afghanistan, the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) reported that heavy fighting began on Saturday morning at the frontline near Baghram Airforce Base, barely 50 kilometers north of Kabul.
The Taliban and the opposition alliance, led by former Afghan Defense Minister Ahmed Shah Masood, were using tanks, artillery and rockets. The Taliban also twice air-bombed opposition positions, said AIP.
The Taliban accused the opposition of firing the first shot. " Last night they fired heavy weapons at us. We are ready to negotiate but we will defend ourselves and now we are in a defensive position," said Abdul Rehman Ottaq, Taliban deputy information minister, when contacted by press.
Meanwhile, there was also a report of fighting in the northern Afghan province of Takhar, another opposition stronghold and base of the ousted president, Burhanuddin Rabbani.
In recent weeks both sides in Afghanistan's bitter conflict have been reinforcing their frontlines with fresh manpower and weapons.
The Taliban, which control over 80 percent of Afghanistan, have been combating the northern-based opposition alliance for the control of the whole country for several years. Almost every past summer, when snow melts in northern Afghanistan, witnessed new rounds of fighting between the two factions.
Last week United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan warned of a major round of fighting and urged both sides to show restraint.
In a written report to the U.N. Security Council and General Assembly, Annan warned that the ruling Taliban harbor "hopes of a military victory" and opposition groups believe they "can redress the balance of power through gains on the ground."
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