10 Die As Warlords Overrun Afghan Town
By AMIR SHAH, Associated Press Writer
KABUL, Afghanistan - Warlords overran a provincial capital in central Afghanistan (news - web sites), officials said Friday, forcing the governor to flee in the latest burst of infighting in this war-fractured nation.
The attack, in which 10 people were reportedly killed, highlights the challenges U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai faces in trying to extend his writ to the countryside. It also was further evidence of slipping security ahead of key elections scheduled for September.
Fighters armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades seized Chagcharan, the main town in remote Ghor province 350 miles west of Kabul, on Thursday, a leader of the offensive and a government official said.
Gov. Mohammed Ibrahim fled to the western city of Herat, leaving his deputy and a group of nominally loyal militiamen and police to regroup in a nearby village.
Din Mohammed Azimi, the governor's deputy, said at least 10 of his men were killed and that the remainder were preparing a counterattack.
But Ghulam Yahya, a former Ghor police chief who claimed Friday he was back in his old job, said he knew of only one fatality.
The fighting followed weeks of tension between allies of provincial military commander Ahmad Murghabi, who also was driven out, and rival tribes over positions in the local administration.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=516&ncid=1898&e=2&u=/ap/20040618/ap_on_re_as/afghan_factional_fighting_4edit- someone didn't like my great headline...