Faction feud forces Afghanistan militants to defect to government side

Kabul: Dozens of militants defected to Afghan government forces yesterday after armed clashes erupted between them and their one-time Taliban allies in a northeastern province, two police officials said.

Fighters for the Hezb-e-Islami militia, loyal to regional warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, pledged to join the government while under pressure during the fierce fighting with Taliban militants in Baghlan province, the officials said.

At least 50 militants and an unknown number of civilians have died in the battles that have raged for two days and continued yesterday, as militants apparently fought over control of several villages where the government has almost no presence.

The factions were firing rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns in the battles, provincial Gov. Mohammad Akbar Barakzai said.

Violent clashes between anti-government factions are rare, although various militias have their own agendas and power struggles are relatively common.

Battle zone

Provincial police Chief Kabir Andarabi said more than 100 Hezb-e-Islami fighters have pledged to join the government forces that have massed on the edge of the battle zone. The regional police commander, General Gulam Mushtaba Patang, put the number of defecting fighters at 50 but said the situation was in flux and more could defect soon.

It was not immediately clear whether the clashes were a localised militant dispute or represented signs of a rift between Islamist insurgent groups that fight the government of President Hamid Karzai and international forces in the country.