Operation to clear Afghan mines

The Taleban has made gains in the last couple of days

By Kate Clark in Kabul

An emergency mine clearing operation is beginning in an area of northern Afghanistan, the most heavily mined country in the world.

About 30,000 families were forced to leave their homes in the Alburz mountains and head down to the plains after the harvest failed and drinking water supplies dried up.

The Halo Trust mine clearing group has now relocated teams from the rest of Afghanistan because of what it says is an emergency.

In all, it has sent eight teams of de-miners plus surveyors and mine awareness instructors to the area.

The trust says mountain villages either did not know about the minefields or felt they had no choice but to risk everything to get access to water and pasture for their animals.

The people brought what remained of their sheep and goat herds - minefields proved a deadly attraction, the grass high and ungrazed. People and livestock have been injured as a result.

The minefields which are now being cleared belong to the Soviet occupation of the 1980s, but all sides have planted mines during the last 22 years of war.

Taleban gains

Meanwhile, Afghanistan's ruling Taleban and opposition Northern Alliance have both said the front line in the north of the country is quiet following two days of fighting.

Over the weekend, the Taleban captured territory straddling a vital supply route to the opposition. The Taleban said on Monday that it had been forced to defend itself against an opposition offensive, but that it was now consolidating its position.

The issue of who started the fighting is important in the propaganda war.

The United Nations has told both factions to refrain from fighting, but only the Taleban has been threatened with more sanctions if it launches offensives.

The Taleban has an interest in playing down its conquest, while the Northern Alliance has been openly publicising its setbacks.