Taliban Army Encircles Opposition’s Stronghold

The stronghold of Afghanistan’s opposition appeared in danger Sunday as the Taliban religious army encircled Mazar-e-Sharif, and fighting raged on two fronts nearby.

In recent weeks, the Taliban army, which controls the southern two-thirds of Afghanistan, has been advancing steadily on Mazar-e-Sharif, 180 miles north of the capital, Kabul.

The Taliban is trying to take control of the entire country and impose its strict version of Islamic law.

The opposition alliance, made up mostly of forces loyal to Afghanistan’s former military chief Ahmed Shah Massood, minority Shiite Muslims and ethnic Uzbeks, is facing a tough fight on several fronts.

“The opposition launched three offensives earlier today (Sunday) but we pushed them back,” said Taliban spokesman Maulvi Mohammed Azim, contacted by telephone from his headquarters in southern Afghanistan.

But Gen. Alor Rahmadi, a spokesman for the anti-Taliban alliance, said Mazar-e-Sharif was firmly in its hands and Taliban troops were taking a beating on the front line east of the city.

Reports coming out of Mazar-e-Sharif, mostly from Afghans working for international aid organizations, say residents were bracing for a major assault on the city. Few shops were open and most people were staying home.