Word: rebels
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...council's session lasted just 40 minutes, then disintegrated into chaos over the question of just how much power should be allocated to the Tehran-based groups. At week's end the shura was postponed indefinitely. "It is like trying to make a circle from a square," sighs a rebel commander. "You cannot make a coalition out of bitter enemies...
...moment, Afghanistan's major cities remain in government hands, thanks largely to massive Soviet bombing attacks in recent weeks. But no one expects Najibullah's tenuous grip on the country to hold for long. Rebel commanders in the field, who sense that a military victory is within reach, are not going to let that long-sought opportunity slip away. The only remaining question seems to be precisely how they will take the cities. Full- scale assaults are tempting, but the mujahedin insurgents fear that the civilian toll may be high and that a successful attack may draw Soviet retribution from...
Heavy fighting and rebel attacks on food convoys have made many of the roads virtually impassable, giving rise to deepening food and fuel shortages. Last week when the United Nations attempted an emergency airlift of food, medicine and blankets to Kabul, the effort was temporarily stalled because crew members of the EgyptAir cargo plane feared rebel attacks. Two days later, however, Ethiopian Airlines delivered the first supplies from...
...breaking down the morale of government troops, the rebels hope to trigger defections or even rebellion within the army ranks. Some rebel commanders boast that army garrisons around the country have arranged for their own surrender, and that soldiers will turn themselves over to the mujahedin shortly after the last Soviets pull out. But according to one scenario making the rounds in Washington, the rebels will not need to manipulate the economic and military noose for very long. The ruling party, these analysts conclude, will hang itself. "The rot within the ((ruling party)) is already pronounced," says a State Department...
...much for theory. In reality, the quota system has been ineffective in controlling the trade. Up to 90% of the tusks that enter the marketplace have been taken illegally by poachers, and smugglers have little trouble getting the ivory out of Africa. Angolan rebel leader Jonas Savimbi has reportedly financed his insurrection with ivory taken from more than 100,000 elephants. Some countries seem to be conduits for the illegal trade. With roughly 4,500 elephants of its own, Somalia has still managed to export tusks from an estimated 13,800 elephants in the past three years, evidence that...