KABUL: Islamic rebels overran the defenses of Kabal today, arrested the former President Najibullah from a United Nations compound and hanged him from a lamppost. Seizing ultimate control of a nation tormented by factional war for four years, the Taliban militia set up an acting council to run the country. It also announced amnesty for soldiers and officers who surrender, the bloated and beaten body of the former President hung limply outside the palace, a few blocks from the compound where he had been in hiding since he was overthrown in 1992. Alongside Najibullah was the body of his brother, Shahpur Ahmedzi, who had been his security chief during the six years of his Communist government. A special decree issued by Taliban chief Mullah Mohammad Omar said the old government was dead and a complete pure Islamic administration was in place. The Afghan Islamic Press agency said Mullah Mohammad Rabbani was nominated to head the six member council announced by Omar at his militia headquarters in the southern city of Kandahar, The headquarters have been shifted 20 km outside Kabul. The execution of Najibullah marked the final victory of the Taliban militia over the government of President Baharunuddin Rabbani, which had emerged after Najibullah’s fall. Najibullah had made a frantic call by short ware radio after 3 a.m. to another UN post in Kabul to say that his guards had vanished, an official said on condition of anonymity. “I need some security,” the official quoted Najibullah as saying. He said nothing more was heard until they learned the former President and his brothern had been dragged from the compound by Taliban soldiers.
Shortly after dawn, thousands of Kabul residents ventured from their homes to find Najibullah’s body outside the palace from where Rabbani had fled. A festive mood seized the cheering crowd, apparently hopeful that the Taliban victory would end four years of factional wars and rocketing of the Afghan capital that killed as many as 30,000 residents. The Taliban began as a movement of former Islamic seminary students. In areas they previously captured, they enforced strict Islamic codes, closing girl’s schools, restricting the movement of women unaccompanied by men and imposing harsh criminal punishment of execution and amputations. The whereabouts of Rabbani and his top commander, Ahmed Shah Masood were not immediately known. Most officers had fled during the night, as thousands of civilians and foreign aid workers evacuated the city, A Taliban officer outside the palace, Mullah Farzullah, said rebel forces had captured the Baghram Air Force base 30 km North of Kabul, completing the encirclement of Kabul. During the night, Taliban forces moved into the capital from all directions, climaxing a 15day march that began with the capture of the eastern city of Jalalabad.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 2, 1996
