Afghan warlord begins assault against 2 rivals

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A powerful Afghan warlord launched a broad assault against two rivals in northern Afghanistan, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday yesterday, as the fighting threatened to further destabilize the fragile country.

Forces loyal to Abdul Rashid Dostum moved into Faryab Province late Tuesday and were advancing toward the provincial capital along three fronts, Deputy Defense Minister Rahim Wardak said.

Details were sketchy from the remote province, about 250 miles northwest of Kabul, but Wardak said: "For sure, there are casualties, but I can't confirm how many."

The intelligence chief in Faryab's government, Omayoun Haini, said 2,000 to 3,000 of Dostum's men, armed with light weapons, moved in from neighboring provinces on an estimated 200 vehicles and 400 horses.

In Kabul, the capital, a defense ministry spokesman said 750 troops from the new US-trained national army were being rushed to Faryab to calm the situation. But it was not clear whether the troops would arrive in time to stop Dostum's forces from taking Faryab's capital, Maymana.

Dostum's assault will likely probably add to growing concerns over long-standing tensions between the government of US-backed President Hamid Karzai and regional leaders who are keen to hold on to their autonomy -- and their well-armed militias.

The fighting could also cast further doubt on whether Afghanistan is ready to hold its first national elections since the fall of the Taliban. The vote is slated for September.

General Zaher Azimi, a Defense Ministry spokesman, said a government delegation was en route to Dostum's headquarters in Sheberghan, the capital of neighboring Jawzjan province.

But Haini, the intelligence chief, said Dostum's forces had captured Juma Bazaar, 12 miles from Maymana, after the local commander switched sides.

In Maymana, Governor Enayatullah Enayat said he had 2,000 fighters dug in around the town and ready to take on Dostum's forces.

Officials said shops were closed and an 8 p.m. curfew had been imposed. Dostum, a feared former communist commando and veteran of Afghanistan's brutal civil wars, has maintained a private army and a tight political grip on northwestern Afghanistan since he helped oust the Taliban in 2001.

Enayat and Hashim Khan, a regional army commander loyal to Karzai "were trying to act independently [and] in support of the central government," prompting Dostum to invade Faryab in an effort to rein them in, Wardak said.

Dostum has shown some loyalty to Karzai, serving for a time as deputy defense minister. He even recently appealed in vain for the government to give him a leading role in fighting the Taliban-led insurgency in the south.