One Day of War: Why is Ahmed Zia fighting for the New Afghan Army?

I flew to Kabul and from there embarked on a six-hour drive to the border town of Gardiz, and then further to Zormat in the south of Afghanistan.

Just on the border with Pakistan, the town of Zormat used to be solely the Afghan National Army (ANA) base, but recently, the US Special Forces have joined them in trying to establish peace and legality in the region.

The first three hours of the drive were made on good and safe roads, and then local police escorts had to be picked up to ensure safety.

The area is controlled by tribal groups who refrain from attacking if local policemen are seen escorting the foreigners.

I only got to meet the group of soldiers I was to pick my character from the day before the shoot.

I chose 23-year-old Ahmed because he was the most talkative.

He was young and delirious and one of the first to join up with the ANA.

He is a serious young man and talked about rebuilding Afghanistan and about building an honest and legitimate government

He grew up in south central Afghanistan, in a poppy growing region and is ethnically from one of the most persecuted groups, the Hazara.

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One Day Of War
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Afghanistan
Who's fighting who? The ousted Taleban are the most prominent of the militants fighting American and Afghan forces trying to extend the writ of US-backed authorities in Kabul. Clashes are most frequent in the south and east, but there have been incidents of violence in the capital, too, and several turf wars between regional warlords.

What's the fighting about? Afghanistan has had over 20 years of civil war. When the Taleban refused to hand over Osama Bin Laden in 2001 they were driven from power by US-led forces. In their absence there has been a resurgence of conflict between regional warlords. Now the Taleban are re-emerging as a fighting force.

How many have died? More than 700 people have died in attacks since last August, the bloodiest period since US-led forces toppled the Taleban.

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Country profile: Afghanistan
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/country_profiles/1162668.stm