European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 11, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Afghan Freedom fighters when things Are bad they eat grass 9 new York times photo guerrillas at prayer in Kunar province As the War seems stuck in bloody stories by Barry Renfrew associated press Ajdar Khan and his men have been fighting in the mountains of Afghanistan for almost seven but he says the War against the communists has just begun and he Doest think of going Home the guerrilla commander slowly stroked his Beard and held a machine gun in his Lap As he spoke of the years of fighting and death that have shattered his native Kunar province and left it the islamic guerrillas fighting the soviet army and Afghanistan communist regime will he but Victory is far it will take a Long time to push the russians out of Khan there a great Power and sometimes our people Are fighting with Little but their the russians have the artillery batteries of the fortified government town of Baritot further Down the Kunar Valley were firing into the surrounding the blast of the guns echoed up the Valley As Khan in june a soviet Force of backed by scores of aircraft and blasted its Way through the Kunar Valley in one of the biggest offensives of the the guerrillas who tried to Stop them were beaten Back into the the densely forested hillsides of the Kunar Valley were set ablaze in Many places by the soviet weeks later parts of the Forest were still they dropped Many when they bombed an area it was covered in recalled Abdul a Young you could see nothing but flames where our Brothers had it is impossible to independently verify guerrilla accounts of what has been going on inside Afghanistan government in the bars Western news correspondents from visiting War in Kunar scene of some of the worst fighting of the afghan the War appears to be stuck in a bloody stalemate that is being repeated in Many the guerrillas and their communist opponents attack each other with the loss of Many Bur neither Side appears to be anywhere close to the soviets have the military strength and advanced weapons to mount offensives almost anywhere across the country and there is often Little the poorly armed and ill trained guerrillas can do to Stop a major but the with an estimated troops in Lack the manpower to Blanket the entire mountainous country and their forces Are quickly with drawn for duties elsewhere when an offensive is almost immediately guerrillas Start trickling Back and soon there is a return to the indecisive running War Between roving guerrilla bands and isolated govern men held towns and the or warriors of the say their greatest weapon against the jets and tanks of the soviet army is their islamic they Are fighting in gods holy they and so they must ultimately its a sometimes it is sometimes it is but we must Bear said Gul a guerrilla religious Leader in the guerrillas aim is to install a government based on islamic Khan and his men Are sunni As Are More than 80 percent of Afghanistan population and All the major guerilla the sunni guerrillas have Strong ties to saudi Arabia and other conservative Arab coun More militant shiite groups live in Southern Afghanistan near a few afghan shiite guerrilla groups operate from Kunar which runs along the Northwestern Border of is almost deserted after seven years of a traveler can go for Miles through the winding valleys and Beautiful Pine covered Hills and mountains without meeting a few tiny groups of nomads live on the highest Mountain keeping watch Over their flocks of sheep and ready to flee in a a few families from the Kunar Valley live in tiny Rock shelters in the Mountain clinging to life in once Kunar was Home to tens of thousands of at least 90 percent of whom have fled to according to guerrilla now the mountains and Hills Are left to the guerrillas while a few peasants remain in a handful of government controlled villages in the main hindu Kush the people in the government villages Are our prison boasted one Young if they try to come out to feed their animals or to work in the Fields we shoot at them and kill them and drive them Khan and his family fled from their Village six years he it has been destroyed by the All the people of my Village Are the russians destroyed my Village is no he there Are about million afghan refugees in Paki and More than one million in according to United nations millions More Are thought to be refugees inside which had a population of about 20 million before the the Mujahideen see their families in Pakistan for per haps two or three weeks in a the men say they miss their but they must fight and even the dangers of Afghanistan Are better than the empty life of the refugee the Mujahideen of the Kunar Are mostly former Farmers and landless hard working men with Little or no their lives were built around scratching a meager living from the Rocky raising their families and performing their religious the Mujahideen now talk of Little but the it hangs Over everything and a conversation can never last Long before straying Back to the no one seems to discuss life before the in the guerrillas Range from 9 to most fighters Are Between 20 and a guerrillas equipment consists of Little More than what he wears and he provides nearly All of it the guerrillas Wear traditional tribal costume of baggy pants and a Long shirt reaching to the a few possess waistcoats and use blankets As Over bedding and makeshift most Wear the cheapest kind of plastic a pair of socks is the greatest luxury a guerrilla can food is scarce in the Kunar As it is in Many parts of Little is grown now because of the fighting and the flight of the the guerrillas carry in nearly All their food along with everything else they need to most meals con Sist of Little More than unleavened bread and Tea with sometimes a Little Buttermilk or some wild when things Are bad the guerrillas eat it is a hard Many said one the guerrillas weapons Are almost As battered As their other most carry German or English world War ii rifles that Are older than they a few carry old sport the guerrillas most prize weapon is the soviet Semi automatic Kalashnikov perhaps one in six have such a larger such As heavy machine guns and rocket launchers to fight aircraft and Are scarce in the handful of antiaircraft machine guns that Are the Only defense against soviet jets and helicopters Are often out of action because the guerrillas do not have the skill or spare parts to repair the aging weapons that often an internal up afghan fighter recovering from his wounds in a Hospital across the Border in a photo in the past the soviets have been making greater use of elite commando units and paratroopers who can operate in the difficult terrain of the afghan these troops specialize in Hunting Down guerrilla soviet forces also have begun to adopt guerrillas tactics and guerrilla Supply convoys Are regularly the soviet commandos Are adept at helicopter raids and Surprise attacks that catch the guerrillas unaware in their night raids Are also becoming increasingly Khan counts off on his fingers the advanced weapons the soviets have tanks and mines and then shakes his head As he looks at his mens antiquated collection of they have we have so but we fight them and we can beat them because we have Allah behind he a the Little Mujahideen Page 14 the stars and stripes Abdul Khaliq is barely taller than his old but he says he has seen enough of life in his 10 years and knows he will go to heaven if he is killed in the War against the soviet army in i want to fight for my if i die i will be a the curl haired Little boy softly explained at a guerrilla base in the Kunar twice this summer Abdul and other Young boys Ages 9 and up were thrown into the fighting against soviet commandos and who spearheaded a major assault on the More than soviet soldiers seized control of the narrow Valley in Eastern Afghanistan after More than two weeks of Savage fighting in which hundreds Are thought to have been killed and wounded on both the soviet Union began sending military forces into Afghanistan in december installing the marxist government of Babrak Karmal and staying to support the afghan army in its Effort to crush the moslem there Are Well Over soviet troops in the i went to the front and shot at the said holding his world War a Vintage the russians have come to my so i must fight he is one of the Little Mujahideen serving and fighting with guerrilla units in the Eastern Kunar like the Abdul joined at age 9 and is a oneyear Veteran of the much of the time the boys act As bearers or servants for their carrying cleaning weapons and preparing and serving but when there is no allowance is made for age the boys go with the Ajdar a top guerrilla commander in the says he has about 30 boys Ages 10 to 12 serving with his the boys must fight because the War against the soviets has been very bloody this year and the guerrillas need every last he we have to train for who will continue when we die he Khan was puzzled by questions of Why children Are being thrown into the to fight for Afghanistan Freedom in or holy is the highest attainment anyone of any age can they anyone who Dies in the struggle is a photo children fighting for the assured of instant martyrdom and its not strange for us to Send our children to we must train them for the holy maybe it is strange for but you Are living in a free Khan when we have a free country then our children will not fight he but there Are Many years of War left and Many More children will become Khan has two Ages 14 and the older son first saw action at age 9 and joins the fighting each his father the younger son will fight for the first time next he he will be a the father said with a proud evidently a considerate Man loved and admired by his followers of All says he can think of nothing better As a father than to Send his sons to the when we Send our children to the front we know that if they Are martyred it is in the cause of if they kill the enemy it is the Way of Khan i am pleased As a he we Are glad that our children Are fighting for the the boys take the same chances As the other the guerrillas in the Kunar have no medical personnel or Medicine and the Only Chance for the wounded is to be tied to a Stretcher and carried Over the mountains into Pakistan for up to 20 on the other Side there is a Long trip by truck Over Mountain roads to refugee hospitals 200 Miles Ghulam Jan is a awkward teenager of 15 who first saw action when he was he now goes to a refugee school in Pakistan in Winter and returns to fight with the guerrillas each the War in the Kunar is very much a family Ghulam Jan is khans youngest brother and two More Brothers Are part of the guerrilla while other relatives fight in other Ghulam also took part in the bloody Battles in Kunar in june and was caught several times in the fierce soviet air attacks and artillery i am Happy when i am it is for he squirming uncomfortably while being the Little Mujahideen say they have missed sports and play Are for very Little a luxury they cannot have when there is education for most boy children of the Mujahideen is Little More than a grounding in islamic holy War is better than going to Ghulam August the stars and stripes Page 15