DATE=3/1/2000 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=AFGHAN FIGHING (L ONLY) NUMBER=2-259713 BYLINE=AYAZ GUL DATELINE=ISLAMABAD CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: Reports say fresh hostilities have broken out in Afghanistan, where forces of the ruling Taleban movement and the opposition alliance are locked in heavy fighting north of the capital, Kabul. Ayaz Gul has details from neighboring Pakistan. TEXT: Reports say fierce fighting is raging on a broad front on the Shomali Plain, about 50 kilometers from the capital. Both sides are said to be using heavy weapons in the fighting. An Afghan news agency (Afghan Islamic Press) quotes a Taleban spokesman as saying forces loyal to opposition commander Ahmed Shah Masood initiated the fighting by mounting a midnight attack on a Taleban position in the area. There has been no independent confirmation of the claim, and the opposition accuses Taleban of starting the fighting. Meanwhile, Taleban fighters are reported to have captured a key district (Emam Saheb) in an attack on opposition-held northeastern Kunduz Province, on the border with Tajikistan. The fighting comes as Afghanistan's warring factions are due to face each other at a special meeting called by the Organization of Islamic Countries, or OIC, in Saudi Arabia Monday. The move by the OIC comes after several attempts by the United Nations to broker peace between the two sides failed. Most of the war-ravaged Afghanistan is under the control of the Taleban movement, but it has been unable to dislodge opposition forces from the country's northern provinces. Both sides have used the cold winter months to resupply and regroup forces. As the snows melt, observers say, fighting in Afghanistan is expected to intensify. (SIGNED) NEB/AG/KL 01-Mar-2000 09:21 AM EDT (01-Mar-2000 1421 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .
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