AFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN FORCES CLAIM ADVANCES IN KABUL REGION

(17 Nov 1996) Farsi/Nat

The fight for control of Afghanistan is far from over.

The Taliban controls Kabul, but to the north Taliban troops face a challenge from northern warlord Rashid Dostum and ousted military chief Ahmed shah Massood.

Last week Taliban troops held off a major offensive by northern rebel troops.

Caught in the middle are thousands of people who must adapt to the shifting sands of war in the troubled region.

In recent days there has been the occasional exchange of artillery and infantry fire northwest of Kabul, where the front line shifts back and forth.

Last week Taliban troops repulsed a major offensive by northern warlord Rashid Dostum and ousted military chief Ahmed Shah Massood.

All attempts by U.N. officials to start peace talks have failed.

The Taliban movement of former Islamic students and clerics, appeared nearly three years ago in southern Kandahar.

They met no serious resistance in a country maimed by anarchy, warlords and bandits.

Back on Sept. 27, Taliban captured Kabul from Massood, who had been shoring up the regime of President Burhanuddin Rabbani.

There are some in Kabul who believe the northern anti-Taliban alliance will use the winter to mount a major offensive against the Taliban.

Most Taliban fighters, who belong to Afghanistan's majority Pashtuns, come from the warmer south and are not used to fighting in harsh winter conditions unlike Dostum's troops, many of whom are northern Tajiks and Uzbeks.

Caught in the crossfire are the people-- many of whom are forced to flee their villages in advance of moving troops and fighting.

These refugees last week are fleeing villages approximately 12 km. to the north of Kabul.

The Taliban have claimed recent advances in the region.

But if people are fleeing from their side of the front then that claim may not be true.

SOUNDBITE: (Farsi)
""I had to flee my village because fighting there is severe."
SUPERCAPTION: Refugee

The refugees probably number in the hundreds.

In recent weeks new fronts have opened west of the capital in the Badghis and Herat provinces, roughly 620 kilometers (370 miles) away.

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