Posted on 02/05/2007 12:11:47 AM PST by HAL9000
Musa Qala, “city died” in fear of engagements
KANDAHAR (Afghanistan) - the situation was very tightened Monday with Musa Qala whose inhabitants said to fear an operation of NATO and gave a report on dissensions among the talibans who seized Friday this chief town of district of the south of Afghanistan.
“The bazaar is closed and the streets are deserted, because people fear that the Afghan NATO and troops launch an operation to take again” the locality, declared in AFP an inhabitant, Hadji Bashir Khan, joined by telephone.
Hundreds of families fled this small provincial town of Helmand since its catch Friday by an unspecified number talibans.
The international Force of assistance to the safety (Isaf) of NATO carried out a targeted striking Sunday against the leader of the catch of Musa Qala, mollah Abdoul Ghafoor.
According to Isaf, the situation “seemed calm” Monday with Musa Qala where the tribal chiefs were not “not in danger”.
“The death of mollah Ghafoor weakened his group of militants”, ensured the general Afghan Rahmatullah Raofi, commander in chief of the Afghan troops for the south of the country.
The talibans cut off in this locality would be divided into two rival clans, that of Hassanzai of mollah Ghafoor and that of Pirzo of the commander Tur Jan, according to local inhabitants and responsible.
“The tribal chiefs of Musa Qala had organized urgently Saturday Choura (council) to ask the two rival commanders to stop fighting between them for their own interests”, declared in AFP a former police officer on the spot, who refused to be identified.
The next morning, mollah Ghafoor and some of his ajoints were killed by a targeted striking of NATO whereas they were on board a vehicle.
A spokesman of the talibans then affirmed that the talibans were ready “to return the district to the tribal chiefs” if guarantees were given to them on their safety.
Mollah Ghafoor had decided, according to the police force, to attack Musa Qala after the death of his brother at the end of January by a targeted raid of Isaf in the district.
The council of old directed the district since the concluding of an agreement discussed at the end of September with the provincial governor and the British troops.
The police force, only force ensuring the safety within the framework of this agreement, was disarmed by the talibans, according to the local authorities.
The talibans and British troops are mutually shown to have violated this agreement which, according to Isaf, envisaged the withdrawal of the two parts of a zone of five kilometers around Musa Qala to put an end to violences.
The district of Musa Qala, in the north of the province of Helmand, is a high place of production of opium. This territory makes approximately 120 km length and about thirty km broad.
Afghanistan ping
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