Desolation Row
The flow of refugees streaming out of Afghanistan's major cities to escape two weeks of relentless U.S. aerial bombardment rose to a new peak last week. The town of Chaman, on the border with Pakistan and only 130 km from the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar, was besieged by more than 3,500 on Friday alone.
Even before the bombs started falling, around 2.5 million Afghans had fled 20 years of war and four years of drought and crossed into neighboring Pakistan. Of the 22 million who remained in their benighted country, around 4 million depended on food donated by foreign charities. World Food Program executive director Catherine Bertini said last week that the WFP needs to ship around 52,000 tons of wheat a month into Afghanistan to feed the hungry. "If there are serious impediments," she warned, "then we could be looking at a humanitarian catastrophe." Bertini's apprehension was shared by six international aid agencies, who called for a pause in the bombing to allow food to be delivered before the winter sets in and snow clogs Afghanistan's roads.
While U.S cargo jets continued to drop food packages and leaflets assuring ordinary Afghans that the bombs' intended targets were terrorist leader Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda fighters, the chief suspects in the Sept. 11 attacks, the Pentagon ordered low-flying AC-130 gunships into action in preparation for the deployment of what President George W. Bush called "friendly troops." By the week's end a U.S. spokesman announced that a small number of special forces were already on the ground in southern Afghanistan. The Taliban defiantly announced that they are ready and eager to avenge the air raids, and their envoy to Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef, said they would not hand over bin Laden.
Reports suggested a split in the Taliban leadership over the price to the Afghan people of hosting bin Laden, with moderate Foreign Minister Abdul Wakil Muttawakil keeping such a low profile that he was thought to have defected. There were also reports from southern and eastern Afghanistan that Taliban police are incensed by the arrogance of bin Laden's fighters, and have clashed with them. In Jalalabad one of bin Laden's associates died in an explosion, apparently handling a hand grenade: sources named him as Abu Baseer al-Masri.
As the bombs fell in Afghanistan, anthrax terrorized the rest of the world. U. S. Senate majority leader Tom Daschle was sent a letter contaminated with anthrax spores, which led to 31 of his staff testing positive for exposure to the disease. Staffers at three U.S. television networks and the New York Post also tested positive, and a Nairobi doctor received a package apparently containing anthrax bacteria. Panic shut post offices and government buildings in
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NORTHERN IRELAND
Unionists Quit
Protestant leaders resigned from the power-sharing government in Belfast, pushing Ulster's home rule closer to total collapse. Unionists said they would return only if the Irish Republican Army began disarming within a week. Although the I.R.A.'s political wing Sinn Fein hinted that progress was possible, the tight timescale may mean a return to direct rule from London.
SPAIN
New Basque Arrests
Spanish police said they had disabled an important terror cell after arresting 10 ETA suspects and seizing explosives in a series of raids near San Sebastian. Among those held was a councilor for the Batasuna Party, often accused of being ETA's political wing. The arrests followed reports of U.S. intelligence help via a global surveillance system.
NIGERIA
Calm after Riots
Business resumed in the city of Kano after community leaders agreed to end violence between Christian and Muslim gangs. Police said 32 people died in recent clashes that drove thousands of people from their homes. Red Cross estimates put the toll far higher. President Olusegun Obasanjo toured the northern city after the riots, which began as anti-American protests.
KASHMIR
New Tension
A visit by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to Pakistan and India failed to ease conflict over the disputed territory of Kashmir. Pakistani officials said a woman was killed and 25 others injured when Indian troops attacked Pakistani military posts across the cease-fire line. As shelling continued through the week, India accused Pakistan of infiltrating militants into the Indian-ruled state of Jammu and Kashmir.
CHINA
Bush in Shanghai
The Chinese and American Presidents met for the first time, ahead of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shanghai. Jiang Zemin and George W. Bush agreed to develop a "constructive relationship" based on a common approach to terrorism.
UNITED STATES
Bombers Sentenced
Manhattan's Federal District Court handed down life sentences to four supporters of Osama bin Laden convicted of bombing the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. Two of the conspirators, found guilty of murder, had faced the death penalty but a jury voted instead to impose life sentences without parole. Judge Leonard Sand ordered each man to pay $7 million to the victims' families and $26 million to the U.S. government.
CUBA
Russia Closes Base
Russian President Vladimir Putin said military officials had decided to close the Lourdes radar station in Cuba, which was set up in the 1970s and costs Russia $200 million a year to maintain. The U.S. welcomed the move, but Cuba said the issue had not yet been resolved. Around 1,500 Russians are based at the center, which houses electronic intelligence equipment and provides Russia with 75% of its military and strategic information about the U.S.