Afghanistan Fighting for the Road to Khost

By John Greenwald

The town is little more than an overgrown village, with ramshackle buildings huddled along dirt streets. Yet the road to Khost (pop. 15,000) was the scene last week of some of the most furious fighting in the Soviet Union's eight- year drive to crush Muslim rebels in Afghanistan. Although accounts of the battle differed, all reports indicated that Soviet and Afghan forces had mounted a desperate effort to break the latest guerrilla siege of Khost. Supported by Soviet Sukhoi-25 attack jets, an estimated 20,000 troops repeatedly struck rebel positions along the 50-mile highway that connects Khost and the provincial capital of Gardez.

Both sides claimed victory in the battle, which immediately became a symbol of the stalemated wider war. In a rare Moscow briefing on the Afghan conflict, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Gennadi Gerasimov said last Tuesday that government forces broke the siege and killed or wounded 1,500 rebels. Insurgent leaders in Pakistan called the statement a "bluff" and a "blatant lie."

Western diplomatic cables from the Afghan capital of Kabul seemed to back them up. The reports put guerrilla casualties at no more than 50 dead and several dozen injured. According to the dispatches, the rebels were in good spirits and had ample supplies, while the morale of Afghan soldiers was "very low" at the time of the attack. Medical authorities in the capital said "hundreds" of dead Soviet and Afghan soldiers were brought to Kabul two weeks ago, and spoke of a "record number" of casualties from the fighting around Khost.

Since the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan to prop up a Moscow-installed Communist regime in 1979, more than 20,000 Soviet fighters have died. An estimated 1 million Afghans have lost their lives. Weary of such bloodshed, Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Rogachev said last November that Moscow had made the "political decision" to pull out its 115,000 troops, but a timetable remains to be worked out.

Though government forces have occupied Khost since the beginning of the war, control of the surrounding area has shifted between the rebels and Soviet- backed troops. The mountain-ringed town lies just 21 miles from Pakistan, the main smuggling center for rebel supplies. Control of Khost would give the insurgents command of the border region and ensure a free flow of food, weapons and medical equipment.

The latest rebel siege began about six weeks ago, forcing Kabul to airlift up to 50 tons of food a night before rebel antiaircraft fire halted the flights. To smash the blockade, Soviet and Afghan troops launched a major assault on Dec. 19. Sources said the attackers quickly punched through the Sataw Kandaw Pass on the twisting Gardez-Khost road. But the rebels soon dug in. With 6,000 to 10,000 guerrillas deployed along the road, the insurgents claimed to have halted the drive before it could pick up speed.

Afghan officials put a brave face on the fighting even while issuing contradictory statements. Sulayman Laeq, Minister for Tribal Affairs and Nationalities, reported early last week that the "security of the Gardez- Khost highway has now been ensured" and "traffic is now normal." Two days later, however, Radio Kabul said that "fierce" and "heavy" fighting was raging on the highway. On New Year's Eve, the station reported victory again and said that bunting-clad relief trucks were rolling into Khost.

White House Spokesman Marlin Fitzwater expressed disappointment that the Soviets had launched an offensive instead of beginning a troop withdrawal. In a White House statement, President Reagan congratulated Mikhail Gorbachev on being named TIME's Man of the Year, but he also called on the Soviet leader to announce firm plans for a pullout. The State Department, though, speculated that Moscow may be planning to withdraw even as the fighting intensifies. Said one official: "It's entirely possible that the Soviets are planning to shorten the withdrawal timetable while the military people in Kabul are plugging away at the war. That's what they're ordered to do."

Washington dispatched Under Secretary of State Michael Armacost to Islamabad for weekend talks with Pakistani leaders on ending the war. Washington and Islamabad will then present their views to the Soviets when United Nations- sponsored peace talks resume in Geneva, probably in February. While the U.S. and the Soviets both hope that the round will be the last, each side is holding to its position. The White House wants Moscow to withdraw completely in less than a year; the Soviets say they will do so only after the U.S. and other countries stop aiding the rebels.

At week's end Afghan government troops, backed by Soviet forces, penetrated the Khost blockade and Pentagon officials expected a second column to follow shortly. According to one line of Pentagon speculation, the Soviets "may be creating the circumstances to declare victory and go home." But even if they do precisely that, the rebels seem determined to maintain their supply routes from Pakistan and to secure enough weapons to continue fighting whatever Communist government the Soviets leave behind. The rebels may end their siege and melt into the rugged countryside around Khost, but they are virtually certain to return.

With reporting by Mohammed Aftab/Islamabad, with other bureaus