Afghan city caught in power play

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Posted 8:56AM on Friday, March 22, 2002

KHOST, AFGHANISTAN - Caught on the front line of the Afghan war, the people of this volatile city near the Pakistani border long for the good old days of Taliban rule, when they say security was good and guns were rarely seen. That changed with the arrival of coalition forces seeking to oust al-Qaida and Taliban fighters from their former stronghold. Local security officials say U.S. special forces have played the old game of power-brokering with Afghan warlords, literally dividing Khost among rival tribesmen. The rampant lawlessness threatens to explode into tribal warfare - which could shift local loyalties back toward the Taliban, creating an even more hostile environment for U.S. forces operating in the region. Since arriving in the border region in December, the Americans have recruited men loyal to Bacha Khan Zardran, a local warlord, and to the city's police commander, Mohammad Mustafa, to help to secure the area while coalition forces hunt al-Qaida and Taliban forces. Their men are each paid $200 a month. But there's a hitch in the security equation: The two men and a couple of other minor players have become embroiled in a battle of their own for control of the city. Already, sandbags mark areas of control. And on Thursday, a gunman loyal to Zardran shot and killed one of Mustafa's officers at a checkpoint near the entrance to the city. By late afternoon, four people had died in gunbattles in the city. The market was closed. And men with rocket-launchers had taken up positions on rooftops. Zardran's men have struck before, last week laying siege to the police chief for four days. Mustafa said the siege was lifted only after the Americans intervened. A sense of unease was still evident throughout the city. ``Under the Taliban 100 percent it was secure,'' said Noor Ali, a customs officer whose rifle was slung carelessly over his shoulder as he drank tea with co-workers at a customhouse near the Khost airport. They blamed the interim regime in Kabul and the U.S.-led coalition for the deteriorating situation in their city and Paktia province. Ali complained about having to work Thursday, the start of a new year by the Islamic calendar. ``Today is the new year holiday and we are working, but we get nothing. How long can the government cheat us? One day we will cut our relations with the government,'' said Ali, who hasn't been paid since the Taliban were overthrown in November. ``The Americans are just setting up military units, but they are not doing anything for the people.'' Zardran's siege on the local police may have been lifted, but the police chief's office is like a bunker. A half dozen guards kept watch outside, and a padlock secured a door at one end of the cement office while an armed officer stood guard at the other. ``My position is a defensive position,'' Mustafa said. The brother of the dead policeman, meanwhile, has threatened an escalation: ``They killed my brother. I will kill 10 of their men.'' The only reason Mustafa hasn't waged all-out war with Zardran's men, he says, is because the U.S. military has told him not to. Zardran's men give the same reason for not widening their battle with Mustafa. While they battle each other in the dusty city, Mustafa says the Taliban are merely waiting in the snow-covered mountains for the next opportunity to strike. Local loyalties are already split. Zardran's intelligence chief blamed supporters of Jalaluddin Haqqani, a former Taliban leader believed to be living in Pakistan, for the attack on U.S. forces at the Khost airport Tuesday night. ``He has military people in the villages around here,'' said Mohammed Fazl. ``Haqqani has many supporters here.'' Coalition forces called in an AC-130 helicopter to respond to machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars fired on their positions. The U.S. military said at least 10 enemy fighters were killed in the battle, and that they detained a wounded gunman found among the dead. Neither Zardran's men nor Mustafa could confirm the dead or the detainee. But Mustafa said one Afghan ally was killed and three injured when an AC-130 and B-1 bomber blasted a prison being used as a guard post at the airport. ``Two nights ago, they killed an Afghan and when I asked why, they said, 'Sorry.' What is the meaning of sorry?'' asked Istalluha, a uniformed Afghan soldier loyal to Zardran.