Afghan warlord refuses to give up fight for power

Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan — An Afghan warlord who led the worst factional fighting since the fall of the Taliban vowed Sunday to fight rather than step down as governor of an eastern province. In the north, warlords agreed to create a "security belt" to keep unauthorized weapons out of a major city.

Under a plan reminiscent of stories about taming the American Wild West, travelers entering Mazar-e-Sharif will have to check their weapons upon entering — getting them back only on the way out. Checkpoints encircling the northern city will keep out guns under a pact by warlords to create a security force run by the central government, not local militias, an official said Sunday.

Since the fall of the Taliban in November, warlords have been reasserting their authority in several regions. The interim government led by Hamid Karzai has been working to extend its influence and reduce the role of the militias.

Yet, with no national army, Karzai’s administration has little power to impose peace on feuding warlords.

At a news conference Sunday in eastern Afghanistan, warlord Bacha Khan said he has 6,000 fighters ready to do battle again with forces loyal to the town council, or shura, of Gardez, who oppose his appointment as governor of surrounding Paktia province.

"They are no town council," thundered Khan, with a bandoleer of bullets across his chest. "They are an al-Qaida council and a Taliban council."

He added: "We are ready to fight al-Qaida today, tomorrow or any time."

Gardez shura leaders deny being al-Qaida or Taliban members and accuse Khan of being unscrupulous and corrupt.

Fighting between the two sides in January killed at least 60 people. The town council’s refusal to accept Khan, whose appointment was confirmed by the government only after he had declared himself governor, threatens efforts by Karzai’s administration to extend its authority.

The fighting ended with a cease-fire. Khan and shura members held talks with the government in Kabul, the capital, this weekend to seek a longer-term solution. But Khan later said he would not step down if Karzai appoints another governor.

Meanwhile, in a possible conciliatory gesture to the United States, Iran closed the offices of former Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former Afghan prime minister living in exile in Iran who has opposed the interim Afghan government, one of his aides said Sunday.