Twelve killed in Afghan-Pakistan border clash
by Emranullah Arif Mon May 14, 7:35 AM ET
KHOST, Afghanistan (AFP) - Afghan and Pakistani forces traded fire across their disputed border for a second day Monday, as officials announced that eight policemen and four civilians had died in the fighting.
The clashes, described by the Afghan defence ministry as the worst for decades between the two countries, erupted early Sunday in Paktia province, about 120 kilometres (74 miles) southeast of Kabul.
"Eight policemen and four civilians have been killed since yesterday," Afghan army general Sami-Ul Haq Badar told AFP.
Reinforcements armed with artillery and armoured tanks were dispatched to the area Monday, as "scattered firing" continued, he added.
A provincial police official, Ghulam Dastgir, gave the same death toll.
The interior ministry in Kabul said the clashes "erupted due to a misunderstanding between two Afghan and Pakistani border posts." It did not give details.
Pakistani troops had occupied two Afghan border posts for two hours on Sunday but were later repelled, it said.
Afghan troops and tribesmen later seized and held two Pakistan posts for four hours. The ministry did not give any information about the casualties.
Both sides accused each other of initiating the clashes on Sunday. The Afghan defence ministry said Pakistan forces had pushed up to four kilometres into Afghan territory.
The two sides had exchanged fire into the night, Pakistani military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told AFP in Islamabad. He said there had been no casualties.
Commanders from both militaries and their counterparts in the
NATO and US-led coalition forces in
Afghanistan met Monday to solve the issue, said Arshad.
NATO's force in Kabul confirmed it was facilitating a meeting.
Arshad on Sunday rejected Afghan allegations that Pakistani soldiers or helicopters had crossed the border.
"Our position is very clear -- there is no question of entering into Afghan territory and there was no such attempt made," he said.
The rugged 2,500-kilometre frontier between the Islamic neighbours is one of the main sources of tension between them.
Afghanistan does not accept the frontier, which it calls the Durand Line after the British colonial official who involved in its drawing up in the early 1890s.
It says the line was demarcated when Pakistan did not exist and cuts through Pashtun tribal land that had once been part of Afghanistan.
Kabul also accuses Islamabad of not doing enough to stop Taliban-linked militants from crossing the border to carry out attacks as part of a growing insurgency.
The weekend's clash was the second in less than a month.
On April 19 security forces from both sides fought for several hours after Afghans tore down part of a 38-kilometre fence being erected by Pakistan that it says will stop the movement of militants.
The Afghan government objects to the barrier, saying it will not help stop the rebels. Analysts say Kabul is also wary of any effort to formalise the border.
There have been minor clashes between security forces on the border in the past years.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/2007051...stanborderclash;_ylt=A0WTcVeOU0hGnFwAfwNvaA8F
