WASHINGTON/KABUL, 1 February — An Afghan tribal faction battling to oust a provincial governor recently appointed by the new government claimed victory yesterday after a day of bloody clashes in which dozens of fighters were reported killed. A spokesman for the tribal council opposed to the new governor of southeastern Paktia province said their fighters had pushed the governor’s forces out of the provincial capital, Gardez, after a day of fierce battles, a Pakistan-based news agency reported.
The new provincial governor hand-picked by interim leader Hamid Karzai was routed in the battle for control of Gardez amid growing calls for more foreign security forces. "This evening the Shoura (tribal council) has complete control of Gardez. The forces of governor Padsha Khan Zadran have been driven out of the city," a spokesman for the force told the Afghan Islamic Press news agency.
The news agency said the fighting had died down but more than 50 people had been killed and 20 wounded on both sides. The battle came as Karzai, was visiting the US and Britain where he appealed for an expansion of an international security force in his war-battered country.
The fighting in Gardez, some 120 km south of Kabul, pits Pashtun tribal forces loyal to Zadran against rival Pashtun forces under a commander called Haji Saifullah. Some tribal leaders and former Mujahedeen commanders had refused to accept Zadran’s appointment.
Karzai, in London yesterday for talks with Prime Minister Tony Blair, called for an enlarged international security force (ISAF) "to see that Afghanistan gets the stability and peace that it requires." In New York, the previous day he appealed to the UN Security Council to send more troops and to extend their mandate beyond six months.
