Clashes In Kandahar Seem To Be Over

Khamid Karzai, a representative of the provisional Afghan government succeeded in bringing the competing Pushtun leaders to peace during the Sunday talks in Kandahar, according to the newspaper The Pakistan Observer. The Taliban agreed to surrender Kandahar - their last stronghold - to mullah Najibullah, a former corps commander known as sympathizing with Taliban. In 1994, Najibullah surrendered Kandahar to the Taliban without fighting. The situation has repeated, this time with fundamentalists agreeing to surrender the city to Najibullah. However, Gul Agha Shirzai, the former Kandahar governor, decided he was cheated of power and introduced his troops to Kandahar. Skirmishes between the two emulating Pushtun units, robbery, and looting took place for two days after Taliban left the city. On Sunday, Khamid Karzai arrive at Kandahar and held successful negotiations with 150 elders, Ulemas (Muslim theologists), and field commanders present. According to Karzai, the sides agreed that Gul Agha should be in charge of security, law, and order in Kandahar before an administration is set up. Two rivalling Pushtun leaders - Khafizulla (from the Barakzai tribe) and Akhmed Khan (from the Alkozai tribe) assert they control Lashkar Gah, capital of the Helmand province. Over the past Sunday, the USAF continued to bomb the Tora Bora and Milawa areas in the Spingar mountains (Nangarkhar province), where Osama bin Laden, "terrorist #1," is supposed to be hiding.