Trouble on Kabul's Doorstep
Wardak province, next door to the capital, is now a focus for Taleban activity as alienated civilians turn away from local government officials.
Trouble on Kabul's Doorstep
Wardak province, next door to the capital, is now a focus for Taleban activity as alienated civilians turn away from local government officials.
The sound of bombers is no longer a rarity in Wardak, a province that begins just 40 kilometres southwest of the Afghan capital. For the past few weeks, the Afghan National Army, backed by NATO, has been fighting fiercely to free the area from an increasingly overt insurgent campaign.
But residents say the growing strength of the Taleban can be largely attributed to the behaviour of local officials whom they accuse of mistreating them and allowing crime to flourish.
A Taleban regional commander, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IWPR the movement now had over 1,000 fighters in Wardak.
“We are not afraid of anyone,” he said. “We can attack anywhere, in broad daylight. We hold meetings openly. We can send 200 or 300 of our people to the Kabul-Kandahar highway to attack American and other military forces. We only target vehicles carrying supplies to the Americans.”
Travellers who have recently passed through Wardak province told IWPR of intense fighting along the highway that leads from Kandahar in the south to Kabul. Construction of the road has been one of the chief successes of the post-Taleban reconstruction effort, transforming a journey that used to take days into a five-hour ride. But it has proved a mixed blessing, as the 550-kilometre highway has become a magnet for insurgent attacks.
The Taleban commander claimed that the insurgents had infiltrated the government and was received intelligence from officials.
“We have many people in the government who help us,” he said. “They inform us when a military convoy is moving from Kabul to Kandahar, so we can prepare for an attack.”
The Taleban also receive generous assistance from neighbouring countries, said the commander.
“We are now stronger than the government in every respect,” he said. “We get money and ammunition from Pakistan, and now we have more modern weapons.”
A major source of Taleban strength, he claimed, was the corruption and crime rampant in the province, which he alleged are actively encouraged by elements within local government. He said Wardak residents often turn to the Taleban in hope of being protected against officials.
“The government sends officials and soldiers to the province who hail from the north and have a history of enmity with Wardak,” he said. “They do not behave properly, and the people hate them. That makes them support the Taleban.”
The commander’s assertions might seem like so much propaganda, but some local administrators and police accept that much of the blame for the rise of the Taleban lies with the authorities in Wardak.
“The reason for the present lack of security in Wardak is the corruption of security officials and other government figures,” said Dr Fazel Karim Muslim, the head of Chak district in the southwest of the province. “Officials were involved in theft and in abusing the local population. That’s why people headed for the mountains and began this fight.”
Muslim insists that Chak, at least, has been improving since his appointment one month ago.
“When I came to Chak district, I talked to people. They agreed unanimously to help me. Now security is improving, and the local population doesn’t let the insurgents commit bad acts.”
There have been more than enough “bad acts” to go around. In July, two German engineers were kidnapped in the Jaghatu district. One died in captivity, and the other was freed two months later after protracted negotiations that reportedly resulted in the release of five lower-level Taleban commanders.
In September, four aid workers from the Red Crescent were seized in Sayed Abad district, but were released one day later.
According to Muslim, the Taleban gained complete control of one district, Day Mirdad, and were planning to move south into Chak. But fierce resistance from the local population forced the insurgents to abort the campaign and withdraw from Day Mirdad.
Residents say that until the police and officials are reined in, the security problems will continue.
“Our district used to be very safe,” said Jamaludin, 42 a resident of Sayed Abad, south of Chak. “There were no Taleban or other insurgents. But people are fed up with the police and the ineffective government. The provincial security commander shouts at people and uses immoral language, instead of asking people for help.”
Residents turned against the Mohammad Awaz, the provincial police chief referred to by Jamaludin, after one incident when he made a lewd and incendiary remark in Sayed Abad about the wives of local men. In this mainly Pashtun, conservative and well-armed community, his behaviour led to violence. Several men began firing at the police chief, who was forced to flee. He was later dismissed from his post.
“People help the Taleban and other groups because of this kind of action,” said Jamaludin.
Sayed Abad district, which borders on Logar and Ghazni provinces to the south, is considered one of the most unstable in Wardak. The head of the district government, Enayatullah Sahibzada Mangal, told IWPR that the police themselves were the main source of the security problems here.
“We don’t have many Taleban in the district,” he said. “There are just a small number of thieves and other criminals who create problems with the help of the police. They have attacked Sayed Abad’s district headquarters and tried to kill me. Their main motivation is money.”
The Afghan National Army and National Police have launched a major clean-up of the district, he said, and things are improving. Some arrests have been made, and local policemen are being replaced.
“We are trying to work with tribal elders to help those who commit crimes to return to the right path,” he said.
Wardak’s new security head, Muzafarudin, hails from the province and is a prominent former mujahedin commander. He has promised to listen to people and resolve problems through discussion rather than military action.
The fighting continues, however. Afghan defence ministry spokesman General Zahir Azimi said the current operation in Wardak, which involves the army, national police and other security forces, as well as NATO troops of the International Security Assistance Force, ISAF, will not stop until the province is cleared of insurgents.
“We have been fighting in Wardak for two months now,” he said. “Our operations will continue until the enemy is destroyed. This operation has had many successes. We have killed or arrested many insurgents and captured many weapons.”
Such military operations involve air strikes, and with them comes the uncomfortable question of civilian casualties.
International forces in Afghanistan have come under heavy criticism for indiscriminate use of air power that has caused the deaths of hundreds of innocent civilians. The issue is clouded by the close ties between insurgents and local communities.
In Jalrez district, in the north of the province, a recent air strike killed more than 20 people. ISAF and the Afghan army insist that the dead were militants, but local residents say the victims included civilians.
“Our area was bombed, which left local people dead,” said Baryalai, 34, a resident of Jalrez. “Nine people were killed, including seven members of one family. The Taleban are operating openly, and the government cannot deal with them, so they bomb civilians.”
A NATO statement on October 28 said an ISAF investigation had concluded that the allegations of civilian casualties in the Jalrez operation were “completely without merit”. The air strikes were called in after ISAF troops identified a group of militants laying an ambush. Claims by a district official that 11 or more civilians had been killed were unsubstantiated, the statement said, adding that this was the second time such a claim had been made in Wardak in recent weeks.
Defence ministry spokesman Azimi also denied civilians were killed in the Jalrez incident. “We have no reports of civilian casualties,” he said. “The people who fight us turn into civilians once they are dead. Those who were killed had weapons. They were fighters.”
Wahidullah Amani is IWPR’s lead trainer and reporter in Kabul.
But residents say the growing strength of the Taleban can be largely attributed to the behaviour of local officials whom they accuse of mistreating them and allowing crime to flourish.
A Taleban regional commander, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IWPR the movement now had over 1,000 fighters in Wardak.
“We are not afraid of anyone,” he said. “We can attack anywhere, in broad daylight. We hold meetings openly. We can send 200 or 300 of our people to the Kabul-Kandahar highway to attack American and other military forces. We only target vehicles carrying supplies to the Americans.”
Travellers who have recently passed through Wardak province told IWPR of intense fighting along the highway that leads from Kandahar in the south to Kabul. Construction of the road has been one of the chief successes of the post-Taleban reconstruction effort, transforming a journey that used to take days into a five-hour ride. But it has proved a mixed blessing, as the 550-kilometre highway has become a magnet for insurgent attacks.
The Taleban commander claimed that the insurgents had infiltrated the government and was received intelligence from officials.
“We have many people in the government who help us,” he said. “They inform us when a military convoy is moving from Kabul to Kandahar, so we can prepare for an attack.”
The Taleban also receive generous assistance from neighbouring countries, said the commander.
“We are now stronger than the government in every respect,” he said. “We get money and ammunition from Pakistan, and now we have more modern weapons.”
A major source of Taleban strength, he claimed, was the corruption and crime rampant in the province, which he alleged are actively encouraged by elements within local government. He said Wardak residents often turn to the Taleban in hope of being protected against officials.
“The government sends officials and soldiers to the province who hail from the north and have a history of enmity with Wardak,” he said. “They do not behave properly, and the people hate them. That makes them support the Taleban.”
The commander’s assertions might seem like so much propaganda, but some local administrators and police accept that much of the blame for the rise of the Taleban lies with the authorities in Wardak.
“The reason for the present lack of security in Wardak is the corruption of security officials and other government figures,” said Dr Fazel Karim Muslim, the head of Chak district in the southwest of the province. “Officials were involved in theft and in abusing the local population. That’s why people headed for the mountains and began this fight.”
Muslim insists that Chak, at least, has been improving since his appointment one month ago.
“When I came to Chak district, I talked to people. They agreed unanimously to help me. Now security is improving, and the local population doesn’t let the insurgents commit bad acts.”
There have been more than enough “bad acts” to go around. In July, two German engineers were kidnapped in the Jaghatu district. One died in captivity, and the other was freed two months later after protracted negotiations that reportedly resulted in the release of five lower-level Taleban commanders.
In September, four aid workers from the Red Crescent were seized in Sayed Abad district, but were released one day later.
According to Muslim, the Taleban gained complete control of one district, Day Mirdad, and were planning to move south into Chak. But fierce resistance from the local population forced the insurgents to abort the campaign and withdraw from Day Mirdad.
Residents say that until the police and officials are reined in, the security problems will continue.
“Our district used to be very safe,” said Jamaludin, 42 a resident of Sayed Abad, south of Chak. “There were no Taleban or other insurgents. But people are fed up with the police and the ineffective government. The provincial security commander shouts at people and uses immoral language, instead of asking people for help.”
Residents turned against the Mohammad Awaz, the provincial police chief referred to by Jamaludin, after one incident when he made a lewd and incendiary remark in Sayed Abad about the wives of local men. In this mainly Pashtun, conservative and well-armed community, his behaviour led to violence. Several men began firing at the police chief, who was forced to flee. He was later dismissed from his post.
“People help the Taleban and other groups because of this kind of action,” said Jamaludin.
Sayed Abad district, which borders on Logar and Ghazni provinces to the south, is considered one of the most unstable in Wardak. The head of the district government, Enayatullah Sahibzada Mangal, told IWPR that the police themselves were the main source of the security problems here.
“We don’t have many Taleban in the district,” he said. “There are just a small number of thieves and other criminals who create problems with the help of the police. They have attacked Sayed Abad’s district headquarters and tried to kill me. Their main motivation is money.”
The Afghan National Army and National Police have launched a major clean-up of the district, he said, and things are improving. Some arrests have been made, and local policemen are being replaced.
“We are trying to work with tribal elders to help those who commit crimes to return to the right path,” he said.
Wardak’s new security head, Muzafarudin, hails from the province and is a prominent former mujahedin commander. He has promised to listen to people and resolve problems through discussion rather than military action.
The fighting continues, however. Afghan defence ministry spokesman General Zahir Azimi said the current operation in Wardak, which involves the army, national police and other security forces, as well as NATO troops of the International Security Assistance Force, ISAF, will not stop until the province is cleared of insurgents.
“We have been fighting in Wardak for two months now,” he said. “Our operations will continue until the enemy is destroyed. This operation has had many successes. We have killed or arrested many insurgents and captured many weapons.”
Such military operations involve air strikes, and with them comes the uncomfortable question of civilian casualties.
International forces in Afghanistan have come under heavy criticism for indiscriminate use of air power that has caused the deaths of hundreds of innocent civilians. The issue is clouded by the close ties between insurgents and local communities.
In Jalrez district, in the north of the province, a recent air strike killed more than 20 people. ISAF and the Afghan army insist that the dead were militants, but local residents say the victims included civilians.
“Our area was bombed, which left local people dead,” said Baryalai, 34, a resident of Jalrez. “Nine people were killed, including seven members of one family. The Taleban are operating openly, and the government cannot deal with them, so they bomb civilians.”
A NATO statement on October 28 said an ISAF investigation had concluded that the allegations of civilian casualties in the Jalrez operation were “completely without merit”. The air strikes were called in after ISAF troops identified a group of militants laying an ambush. Claims by a district official that 11 or more civilians had been killed were unsubstantiated, the statement said, adding that this was the second time such a claim had been made in Wardak in recent weeks.
Defence ministry spokesman Azimi also denied civilians were killed in the Jalrez incident. “We have no reports of civilian casualties,” he said. “The people who fight us turn into civilians once they are dead. Those who were killed had weapons. They were fighters.”
Wahidullah Amani is IWPR’s lead trainer and reporter in Kabul.
