Afghan warlords 'threaten poll'

By Andrew North
BBC correspondent in Kandahar

The report says warlords have used intimidation to get their way

The power of Afghan armed factions means elections there will go ahead in an environment of fear and repression, US-based Human Rights Watch says.

A 51-page report released on Tuesday says local warlords are involved in widespread intimidation aimed at affecting the 9 October poll results.

Most are former mujahideen leaders and are resisting efforts to disarm them.

The study says warlords are using threats of violence to ensure people vote for their preferred candidate.

While the continuing Taleban insurgency often gets more headlines, it is the grip these commanders retain that worries more people here.

'US complacency'

In some areas the report, entitled The Rule of the Gun, argues the power of the warlords is so entrenched that political activists and journalists are censoring themselves for fear of retaliation.

The US group also attacks the American government for complacency about the country's election process and for continuing to work with many of these warlord figures in its war on terror, a strategy it calls self-defeating.

Speaking just before the report's release, the US ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, acknowledged the issue.

However, he said progress is being made in what he called breaking the back of warlordism.

But it is partly because so many militia commanders are still in power that many believe it is too dangerous to hold polls in Afghanistan now, including several candidates who have called for the polls to be postponed.

And Human Rights Watch says the risks have been increased by serious shortcomings in the election organisation process as well as with the level of independent monitoring.