Associated Press

Northern Alliance fighters take a break to dry their clothes as they sit atop a tank in Northern Afghanistan. The opposition alliance fighting Afghanistan's ruling Taliban needs military aid, opposition representative Abdul Qussudy said yesterday.

Wednesday October 3, 2001

MASHHAD, Iran - The northern alliance of Afghan tribes battling to oust the ruling Taliban are galvanized by the need to avenge the death of slain commander Ahmed Shah Massood, a top aide to the fallen leader said yesterday.

Massood was fatally wounded in a Sept. 9 suicide attack by assassins posing as journalists. The alliance is "determined to get revenge for the blood," said Touryali Ghiasi, speaking by telephone from Tajikistan, one of Afghanistan northern neighbors.

Alliance leaders claim Massood was killed on orders of the Taliban and Osama bin Laden, held responsible by the United States for the Sept. 11 suicide hijackings. The United States demands the Taliban hand over bin Laden and eradicate his terrorist training camps in the country or face military action.

The Northern Alliance controlled about five percent of Afghanistan before a recent offensive launched against the Taliban after the terror attacks against New York and the Pentagon. The alliance says it has taken back territory. The Taliban makes counterclaims, and it is impossible to verify the accuracy of battle reports from either side.

Ghiasi, who recently returned from an opposition-controlled part of northern Afghanistan, claimed that many Afghans have turned against the Taliban and would welcome their overthrow.

"The people are ready for any operation to get rid of the Taliban," Ghiasi said. "They are not afraid of war. We are used to war."

Afghanistan has been in almost constant conflict since the 1979 invasion of Soviet forces. U.S.-backed guerrillas who drove out the Soviets after a decade-long war eventually formed the power base for the Taliban, which seized control of the capital, Kabul, in 1996.

In the Tajik capital Dushanbe, meanwhile, an alliance diplomat said promises of military aid were not materializing quickly enough.

"Many of our friends the world over have given a lot of moral support, but so far (military aid) hasn't happened," said Abdul Qussudy, alliance military attache at the Afghan Embassy in Dushanbe.

"We need everything," Qussudy said in an interview. "It is very clear that what we need is armaments of every sort. So far, we have not received what we need, but we have continued our fight against great difficulty," he said. "We think the military situation is to our advantage and we are preparing new offensives."

Alliance commander Rashid Dostum said in an interview with a Russian newspaper that rifles, ammunition and boots were in short supply.

"We desperately need footwear. Many soldiers are barefoot and we have to make long and difficult marches," Dostum was quoted as saying.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last week Moscow would boost military assistance to the alliance. Yesterday, the ITAR-Tass news agency quoted Afghan opposition representative Abdul Wahab Assefi as saying military experts were consulting with Russian officials in Moscow.

On Monday, Afghanistan's former king and the Northern Alliance announced that an emergency meeting of tribal and military leaders would be convened to begin forming a new government that could replace the Taliban if it is toppled.