U.S. News correspondent Bay Fang reports from the front lines in Northern Afghanistan that the Taliban's strategic northern outpost, the city of Mazar-e Sharif, is close to falling to rebel forces. Just since Sunday, she reports, some 45 area commanders loyal to the Taliban have approached one key Northern Alliance commander about switching allegiances. Those contacts, as well as defections by fighters bringing important military information, indicate that the Taliban's grip is quickly breaking down, she says.
The city's fall to the Northern Alliance would be the first major loss by the Taliban and would cut off Taliban strongholds to the east, the cities of Konduz and Taloqan, whose eventual fall would enable the rebels to claim control of much of northern and central Afghanistan. It would also be a major gain for the United States, since it could open a possible overland supply route into Afghanistan from neighboring Uzbekistan, where U.S. ground forces have been gathering. In addition, Mazar-e Sharif has the only airport in the region able to handle large or midsize aircraft.
The area around Mazar-e Sharif has been the focus of heavy U.S. bombing intended to break the Taliban's control and to give the Northern Alliance rebels a sizable victory. The city, largely populated by ethnic minority Uzbeks, was catured in 1998 by the Taliban, who are mostly ethnic Pashtun. Pentagon officials acknowledged Tuesday that part of their strategy has been to hit Taliban forces in the north.
Washington has wanted the rebels to advance in the north but to hold off on attacking the capital, Kabul, until more progress has been made trying to negotiate a coalition government to take the place of the Taliban. There are fears that otherwise the Northern Alliance–made up mainly of minority Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras–would seek retribution against the Pashtun population in the south.
