Renegade Afghan Overruns Provincial Capital

The upheaval in the central province of Ghor presents a fresh crisis for President Hamid Karzai and his efforts to impose his authority in the provinces by disarming regional militias seen as a threat to September elections.

It comes just as he was expected back from an overseas trip that included a visit to Washington in which he and President Bush gave what many analysts saw a overly rosy assessment of Afghanistan (news - web sites)'s progress since U.S.-led forces overthrew the Taliban in late 2001.

Ghor police chief General Zaman said Commander Abdul Salaam Khan's forces captured most of the provincial capital of Chaghcharan overnight.

"We are in the northern part of the city and plan to retake it," he told Reuters from the outskirts of the town, while calling for the central government to send reinforcements.

Khan, speaking from Chaghcharan, said the city was under his control. "The situation is calm. There is no trouble here," he said, adding that several other commanders opposed to the local administration had joined forces with him.

Ghor Governor Ibrahim Malikzada said on Thursday he had taken refuge in Herat, the main city to the west of his remote and rugged province.

Khan said there had been 18 casualties, but did not say how many of these were dead or wounded. Zaman said some people had been killed but he did not know how many.

Zaman told Reuters on Thursday night that Khan had fired "hundreds" of rockets that landed in civilian areas. Khan accused the government side of firing rockets into civilian areas.

THIRD GOVERNOR TO FLEE

It is the third time in less than three months that a provincial governor appointed by Karzai has been forced to flee, following similar unrest over his disarmament plans in the northern province of Faryab in April.

Only last weekend, stone-throwing supporters of a regional strongman prevented a new governor appointed by Karzai taking office in the northern province of Sari Pul.

A Defense Ministry official said it had no immediate plans to rush troops from the fledgling national army to Ghor as it did in response to the unrest in Faryab and earlier in Herat.

U.S. military aircraft flew over Chaghcharan overnight, but did not launch any attacks, the combatants said.

Tensions rose in Ghor last month after Khan, who is from Afghanistan's largest Pashtun clan, a minority in Ghor, refused to surrender weapons or decommission his fighters unless Karzai gave him a role in the local administration.

The central government sent a delegation to Ghor last month in an effort to stave off fighting, but it failed to reduce tensions and foreign aid agency workers left the province this week, fearing an outbreak of violence.

Karzai has vowed to disarm 40 percent of armed fighters loyal to provincial leaders and commanders by the end of June. The plan is seen as key to stabilizing the country as it prepares for landmark elections in September, but has so far moved slowly.

An upsurge in violence in recent months around Afghanistan, much of it in the south and east and blamed on militants of the former Taliban regime, has raised doubts about the elections being held on time.

This could have implications for Bush, who has been trying to hold up Afghanistan as a success story to counterbalance his problems in Iraq ahead of his bid for re-election in November. (With reporting by Sayed Salahuddin)

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