Northern Alliance Refrains From Large-scale Military Actions

The Northern Alliance is currently refraining from large-scale military offensive on the Taliban positions, Shamsulhaq Aryanfar, the Councillor of the Afghan Embassy in Tajikistan, told RIA Novosti on Tuesday. In his words, the opposing sides engaged only in local and position battles over the past 24 hours. The Afghan diplomat did not confirm the information distributed by certain Western mass media about "street fighting in Mazar-i-Sharif." There is no reliable information concerning this issue yet, he said. An NBC's correspondent who is currently staying in the Northern Alliance-controlled territory, reported that the Northern Alliance's representatives hope to seize Mazar-i-Sharif within one or two days.