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Wednesday September 15, 2004-- Rajab 29, 1425 A.H.
ISSN 1563-9479
 

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Herat’s new governor hopeful of aid agencies return

KABUL: The new governor of Afghanistan’s riot-hit western province of Herat has told AFP that he hopes aid agency staff, who pulled out of the provincial capital after violent attacks, will return soon.

The United Nations and several non-governmental agencies withdrew staff from the troubled city of Herat on Monday after their offices were attacked in weekend rioting by mobs unhappy over the sacking of governor Ismail Khan. Agencies pulled more than 60 of their workers out of the city after demonstrators attacked their aid offices on Sunday.

Four people were killed and more than 50 were injured in the clashes. "Today I met with the UN staff, they complained about what happened," governor Sayed Mohammad Khairkhwa told AFP by telephone. "I assured them that it will not be repeated again, we will do anything that we can to ensure their safety," he said, noting the aid workers were most needed in Herat.

"They will leave for a few days — I hope they will come back very soon," Khairkhwa said. "I’m very sorry and sad over what happened to the United Nations and non-governmental offices here in Herat."

Rioting by Khan’s supporters began after President Hamid Karzai sacked the regional leader from his governor’s post. Khan, an ethnic-Tajik, remains one of the most powerful Afghan mujahedeen warlords and was prominent in the fight to oust the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban regime in late 2001. He regained power in Herat shortly after their fall, but has since been engaged in fighting with rival warlords from neighbouring provinces.

Khairkhwa said he had been appointed to head the region with the aim of securing peace. "Herat has had problems internally and with neighbouring provinces in the past — the government considered me suitable to resolve these problems," Khairkhwa said.

"The government considered that I can play a role in bringing peace and stability to the region," he said. During his first day at work he met governors of neighbouring provinces who assured him of their cooperation, Khairkhwa said. Herat province, which borders Iran and Turkmenistan, was the scene of fierce factional fighting last month between militia loyal to Khan and those of rival commander Amanullah Khan in which scores were killed. Khan, besides resisting a national disarmament program, had been criticized by human rights’ groups for his Taliban-style restrictions on women.

"I will provide civil rights for the citizens including women," Khairkhwa said of his plans, asking people, including his predecessor, to cooperate in achieving the goals.

Khairkhwa, 50, an English speaker, was Afghanistan’s ambassador to Ukraine before he was recalled to take up the Herat job. Khan’s dismissal marks Karzai’s latest effort, just weeks before October 9 presidential elections, to rein in the powerful warlords who control much of Afghanistan outside Kabul. Khan, the self-styled "Emir of Herat", had been accused of refusing to hand over lucrative duties earned on goods flowing across the border with Iran.


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