Word: mujahedins
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...Certainly. But Moscow is still determined to stand by its Communist allies in Afghanistan -- at least until a suitable alternative emerges. In an interview with TIME, Nikolai Yegorychev, the Soviet Ambassador in Kabul, reiterated that Moscow saw the only solution as a compromise government involving both Communists and the mujahedin. Said he: "The problems facing Afghanistan cannot be solved militarily. A political settlement is essential...
...intelligence sources, in fact, the regime regained Kunduz only after Soviet fighter-bombers based in the Soviet Union blasted and strafed rebel positions, reducing portions of the city to rubble. Washington considers the sorties a violation of the Geneva accords, as well as a serious threat to the mujahedin's efforts on the battlefield. If the Soviets fear that their Afghan comrades are not tough enough to fend off the mujahedin, Western analysts and rebel leaders have quite the opposite concern: so far, Najibullah's troops have been showing more gumption than expected. Around Jalalabad, a city the Soviets left...
...Soviet garrison pulled out. The guerrillas overran the government defenders and freed the prisoners at the local jail, but failed to capture the heavily defended airport. Within two days government reinforcements closed in, and Soviet aircraft went to work. After three days of fighting, the mujahedin withdrew; according to TASS, twelve Afghan troops and 173 insurgents died (the latter figure possibly includes civilian casualties). The Kunduz affair apparently triggered a shake-up in the Afghan military. TASS reported that Najibullah had appointed a new Defense Minister and army chief of staff...
...wake of Kunduz and other rebel setbacks, Western analysts' predictions that major Afghan cities would fall quickly once the Soviets pulled out look overly optimistic. Says a Western diplomat in Kabul: "The mujahedin are not capable of waging large-scale conventional warfare. The regime still has superior firepower and transport capacity...
...around Baba Wali, a heavily fortified point overlooking the city, after coming under air and artillery barrages from entrenched government forces. An assault by fighters of Yunis Khalis' Hezb-e-Islami last month on outposts screening Jalalabad was similarly thrown back at the cost of as many as 50 mujahedin lives. Such large-scale attacks under heavy fire are something new for the guerrilla forces. Says Abdul Qadir, a senior rebel commander with Khalis: "The mujahedin are not ready to risk high casualties...