January 15, 1999

 Anti-Taliban Offensives to Be Launched Soon
ISLAMABAD (Jan. 15) XINHUA - Anti-Taliban commanders in eastern provinces of Afghanistan have decided to coincide their offensives against the Taliban with advances from the north after the religious festival of Muslims, Eid-ul-Fitr.

Six Afghan fighters punished with amputations
09:40 a.m. Jan 15, 1999 Eastern
KABUL, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Six fighters from Afghanistan's ruling Taleban movement had their right hands and left feet cut off on Friday for highway robbery.

Afghan opposition frees 58 Taleban prisoners
09:47 a.m. Jan 15, 1999 Eastern
KABUL, Jan 15 (Reuters) - An Afghan opposition commander has freed 58 prisoners from the ruling Taleban Islamic movement and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) flew 20 of them to Kabul on Friday, an ICRC official said.
Afghanistan : Imminent risk of death for Afghan personalities in Pakistan
Source: Amnesty International
Unless immediate action is taken to protect them, two prominent Afghan personalities living as refugees in Pakistan could be killed for their activities in support of peace and human rights in Afghanistan, Amnesty International said today.

Tajik leader says Afghan drugs are a major threat
06:00 a.m. Jan 15, 1999 Eastern
By Sergei Yakovlev
DUSHANBE, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov said on Friday increasing quantities of drugs flooding into the ex-Soviet republic from neighbouring Afghanistan represented a social and security threat.

Afghan opposition claims gains in northern province
The News: Jang
ISLAMABAD: The Afghan opposition alliance said on Thursday its forces captured a key district from the Taliban militia in the northern Faryab province after heavy fighting. "More than 200 Taliban fighters have been taken prisoner

CAL THOMAS: The terrors of the Taliban
Copyright © 1999 Nando Media
Copyright © 1999 Los Angeles Times Syndicate (Opinions)
(January 15, 1999 4:00 a.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - When the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Union collapsed, most people thought the days of oppression were largely over. Not in Afghanistan,