Former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar is a city without security, basic services

By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA
Associated Press Writer

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – Built at the base of a mountain of bare rock, the walled complex that used to house the Taliban's now-fugitive leader has become a hub of political activity in a city that endured some of the most sustained bombing of the U.S. military campaign.

U.S. special forces in desert camouflage uniforms and Afghan tribal warriors with old Russian rifles and rusty rocket launchers roamed the compound Wednesday. The Afghan gunmen appeared mesmerized as they watched a dozen U.S. soldiers load rucksacks, sleeping bags and generators onto a truck.

Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar's house survived heavy U.S. bombing largely intact. It has some surprisingly ornate touches considering the Islamic-inspired austerity Omar imposed on Afghans. Some pillars are painted and shaped like tree trunks, of the kind seen at a cheap amusement park. One crude mural depicts a tranquil rural scene, save that in the painted sky above are two green jet fighters.

A wall of the Omar's house is covered by flower murals, and reporters passing through saw crystal chandeliers, tea rose eau de toilette and a copy of a Quran in a drawer. Somebody used explosives to open the doors in the rooms.

In one of the chambers of the complex, Afghanistan's interim leader, Hamid Karzai, sat cross-legged with other tribal leaders and discussed the administration of Kandahar, which was abruptly surrendered by the Taliban last week.

But the negotiating sessions at the compound have yet to translate into a competent leadership for a city that lacks most basic services. Up to three-quarters of the population fled the U.S. aerial attacks on Taliban positions and have yet to return.

"Lots of shops are closed for fear of theft and looting," said Mahdoob, an auto parts salesman. "We want an organized administration, which so far we don't see."

Mahdoob kept his store open, though shutters were pulled down all around Shahedan Chowk, or Martyr's Corner, a busy roundabout that was named after mujahedeen fighters who died in the war against the Soviets.

In an anachronistic symbol of civil authority, traffic policemen in untucked uniforms and high-peaked caps that looked decades old tried to regulate an unruly stream of traffic in the intersection.

But they were for the most part ignored by surging crowds, motorized rickshaws spewing clouds of exhaust fumes and pickups full of gunmen, a routine sight and source of insecurity since the Taliban left town.

The gunmen belong to different factions and appear to have carved up the city into areas of patrol. On one stretch of road, forces loyal to Mullah Naqibullah, a commander who helped Karzai broker the Taliban's surrender, guarded residences where some Islamic militia leaders used to live.

A hundred yards up the street, a truck with an anti-aircraft gun on its bed was parked in a gas station. It belonged to fighters affiliated with Karzai, who was appointed to lead the country's interim government by Afghan delegates at a conference in Germany.

The third and largest faction of fighters in Kandahar belongs to Gul Agha, a former governor of the city and its surrounding province who got his old job back with Karzai's approval.

"These armed men, they give strange looks at the civilians. People are afraid to come out of their homes at night," said Abdul Qadir, a resident. "If you have a gun in your hand, you're the boss."

At Omar's compound, American soldiers who had been staying in the compound rode in a pickup truck with no windshield and flying the red, black and green flag of Afghanistan's long-exiled monarch, Mohammad Zaher Shah. The colors are a popular anti-Taliban symbol in southern Afghanistan.

The Americans rarely spoke when crowds were around.

Anti-Taliban tribal leaders say U.S. soldiers, who have established a base near Kandahar to search for leaders of the Taliban and the al-Qaida terrorist network, have removed boxes of evidence from Omar's compound.

The U.S. bombing in the city was pinpointed: The Taliban's criminal investigation bureau is a pile of rubble, while buildings next to it still stand. However, the empty Pakistani consul's house partly caved in during a U.S. air assault on a house next door that was believed to be owned by Arabs linked to Osama bin Laden, the head of al-Qaida and suspected engineer of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Many of the crumbled buildings and collapsing infrastructure in Kandahar date back to the war against the Soviet Red Army and other conflicts.

There are only a few clues that the Taliban were ever in power: for example, a mosque that was painted blue because the Taliban deemed the original color of red to be communist.

Another clue is Naimatullah, an Afghan who was jailed by the Taliban for 12 days this year for teaching soccer, which was declared frivolous and non-Islamic by the authorities. On a street corner, he said he planned to start coaching again and celebrated his delight in the world's most popular sport with a recitation of its greatest names.

"Franz Beckenbauer, Carlos Alberto, Bebeto, Diego Maradona, Roberto Baggio ..."

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