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CNN Live Saturday

Deadly Hot Spot of Mazar-e Sharif Examined

Aired December 15, 2001 - 16:22   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Mazar-e Sharif in Afghanistan has been a deadly hot spot in the war on terrorism. For example, the Taliban revolt at a nearby prison compound led to the first U.S. combat casualty. Hundreds of Taliban and Northern Alliance fighters were also killed there. Journalist Robert Young Pelton recalls his experience in the area.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT YOUNG PELTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Getting into Afghanistan is never easy. Officially, the borders were closed in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and Iran, but through a contact I made in the States, we managed to go from Tashkent, which is the capital of Uzbekistan, and drive south to the border. When we were at the border, there was a problem because the bridge had been closed. We managed to wait just for a few hours, and then we were taken across the Friendship Bridge.

Once we headed south, you pass through an area of blowing sand dunes and ruined cities. It's almost as if you'd entered another world. Mazar-e Sharif, the largest city here, is the second largest city in Afghanistan. It's also an area that has a number of industries, including gas refineries. They do a lot of agriculture here. It tends to be one of the more powerful areas, and it's not usually included in regional politics.

It was also an area that was controlled by the Taliban. There had been a lot of fighting, and when we came here it was just at the tail end of the offensive that drove the Taliban to Konduz.

Now, I had never met Dostum before, and I was intrigued by his descriptions in the Western media. He was described as a brutal warlord, a man who changed sides easily, a man who'd flee at the first sign of trouble.

A lot of his bad press came from his alliance with the Soviet- backed government of Najibullah. He had a reputation for being very powerful and very brutal to his enemies. The fact that he was fighting in the hills and gaining ground on the Taliban intrigued me greatly.

When we got here, we were very warmly welcomed. I was surprised how quickly we were taken to Dostum and how openly he greeted us, and almost immediately welcomed the idea of us traveling with him, watching him live, staying with him and just getting a general idea of what he was doing. Much of the idea I had of him was shattered in my first meeting. He seemed like a very shy, engaging, open person.

He had just come from negotiating the surrender of thousands of Taliban fighters in Konduz. One of the interesting events that I later witnessed was the Khali Jungi (ph) uprising. We had heard the fighting from our guest house, which was a few kilometers away, but when we actually got to see the devastation it was quite extraordinary.

There were about 40 dead bodies littered around the ground, and a large number of forces, which I later found out belonged to the special forces that fought with General Dostum.

You notice the presence of Americans here. You'll see one or two accompanying Dostum. You'll see groups of them driving by in cars.

I later learned their story, and it was quite an interesting story about how they had taught for two months, coming 75 miles through the Saripo (ph) area and finally through the Tinyu (ph) Pass and into Mazar. And the thing that impressed me the most was that Dostum had embraced these 14 men as his brothers and fellow warriors, and he very much considers himself aligned with American interests at this point.

I'm Robert Young Pelton for CNN in Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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