Afghanistan Liberty, Fraternity - Disunity

An ambush sours relations between rival mujahedin factions

Fraternity is an elusive thing among Afghanistan's mujahedin, who have been feuding since even before the 1979 Soviet invasion. Two weeks ago, rivalries erupted in gunfire when members of the Jamiat-i-Islami faction, a fundamentalist group, were ambushed while returning from a five-day strategy session in the northern Farkhar Valley. Gunmen from a local command of the more radical Hezb-i-Islami faction killed 30 Jamiat men, including seven military commanders. Jamiat quickly pointed an accusing finger at Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Hezb's leader, whose power struggle with the Jamiat leadership dates back to the 1970s. Without Hekmatyar's authorization, said Jamiat spokesman Mohammed Shoaib, "this incident...

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