12 April 2004	Monday	21 Safar 1425

GARDEZ, April 11: US President George W. Bush's special envoy to Afghanistan Sunday called for the disarmament of private militias, as factional tensions increased in the north of the country.

US ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad said that while the country had come a long way since the fall of the repressive Taliban regime in late 2001, disarmament needed to continue.

"Private militia must be demobilized," he said. "The recent agreement on civilianizing the militia forces must be implemented and former combatants should be integrated into society," Khalilzad told reporters. Under a presidential decree, 40 percent of an estimated 100,000 militiamen will be disarmed and reintegrated into civilian life by June.

Khalilzad's statement came as forces loyal to powerful warlord General Abdul Rashid Dostum on Saturday fought with a rival militia in northern Mazar-i-Sharif city and days after Dostum's troops overran the provincial capital of another northern province, forcing the governor to flee.

Speaking at an inauguration ceremony for a courthouse in southeastern Gardez, the ambassador said that the rule of law was vital for any country's stability. "To ensure security for the people of Afghanistan, the country needs a single well-trained army and a national police," he said.

Disarming private militias is one of the priorities for President Hamid Karzai as he attempts to extend his authority to the provinces which have been troubled by factional fighting and rights abuses by commanders.

Some of the disarmed militiamen will be integrated into the new national army, which currently numbers around 7,500 against a projected strength of 70,000.

KIDNAPPED: Meanwhile, Taliban fighters captured an Afghan provincial security chief and his two bodyguards in central Afghanistan, a spokesman for Taliban militia said on Sunday. -AFP/Reuters