Turf wars, ethnic rifts plague Afghan north and east

And while that contest simmers, portions of the tribal "Pashtun belt" in the east of the country are in disarray after the collapse of Taliban rule. While Karzai is himself Pashtun, his writ seems even less respected in these areas than in other trouble spots. One recent appointment he made of a governor for Ghazni province sparked a return message from the local council that "we'll take any Hindu in the bazaar" over his candidate.

"Karzai isn't getting it right," says a reliable diplomatic source in Kabul, who asked not to be further identified. "He has delayed, dithered and not made the right choices. It is not good." The result in the east is a "big, ugly mess."

In the north, where the three main warlords are meant to "check each other," the source says, "Atta and Dostum sign [peace] pledges, while their lieutenants whack each other."

The warlords are meant to be allies, and part of Karzai's government. But such residual tension is why Karzai is continuing repeated calls for an expansion of the UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). British-led, but currently limited to keeping the peace in the capital, Kabul, the 5,000-strong, 18-nation force may be the key to providing reassurance to Afghans that war will not return.

Echoing a view that is gaining credence in Washington, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan last week called for an expansion of the UN force for the "long haul," beyond its June mandate. Mr. Annan warned that peacekeepers "should never be withdrawn abruptly or prematurely."

"Peacekeepers should leave as soon as they can, once they have helped create the conditions under which a country can maintain stability," Mr. Annan said. "We must be prepared to stay the course ... otherwise all our work will have been in vain."

That is the belief of the Pashtun families in Maslach camp, who say they don't trust their ethnic rivals without foreign troops on the ground.

"We hope that if they [peacekeepers] send their troops to every district, the problem will be solved," says another Pashtun elder in the camp, who goes by the one name Abdurahim. Pashtuns who have stayed in villages under Dostum's Uzbek rule have faced widespread abuse.

Looking for all the world like he could, in fact, be a former Taliban leader, with long beard and dark turban, Mr. Abdurahim says his family had nothing to do with the former Islamic zealots who ruled Afghanistan.

"We were not in the [Taliban] military, but now there is no law, and we are shaking because of these troops, we are so afraid," Abdurahim says, as Pashtun elders surrounding him in the refugee camp tent nod in agreement, big beards bobbing.

"We just hope you can be a big voice, to take our small problems to the peacekeepers."

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