Afghanistan timeline April 2000

April 30, 2000

• During talks with the Kazakhstan Prime Minister, Iranian Vice President Habibi said the situation in Afghanistan posed threats to the security of the neighboring nations.
• Pakistani forces near South Waziristan prevented smugglers from bringing in from Afghanistan arms that included anti-aircraft guns, mortar guns and over shells.

April 28, 2000

• Fransesc Vendrell, the United Nations Secretary General's special envoy for Afghanistan, visited Kabul to promote peace. Vendrell met with Afghan Foreign Minister Maulvi Wakil Ahmed Murtawakel.
• The United Nations Comprehensive Disabled Afghans Program launched an appeal for US$1 million dollars extra funds for rehabilitation of 10,000 more landmine survivors in Afghanistan.

April 27, 2000

• The World Food Program reported that the drought situation in Kandahar province and Zabul province were desparate. The Koochis had lost up to 80% of their cattle and irrigation systems built to collect rainwater had dried up. Apricot and almond trees had withered and were without fruit. Camels were dying. Since February, the WFP had been feeding 30,000 families in the region and planned on adding another 10,000 families in May. The WFP was offering Afghans additional flour as an incentive if they remain in their villages.
• In Afghanistan, Taliban forces thwarted Northern Alliance offensives on the Bagram Air Base]], Kala Masroor, and Ghorband front, killing six and arresting 18.
• In Kabul, Afghanistan, a 6-member Finnish parliamentary delegation visited the Afghan Foreign Minister Maulvi Wakil Ahmed Mutawakel.
• The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was not invited to the two-day summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in Islamabad, Pakistan. Ministers met to discuss transportation and communication.
• Dozens of Afghans awaiting the decision of their requests for asylum staged a demonstration in front of the Parliament House in Stockholm, Sweden. They called on officials to quicken their requests for immigration and positively respond to them.

April 26, 2000

• Under a decree by Supreme Leader Mulla Mohammad Omar, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan released approximately 300 opposition prisoners from the Pulicharkhi jail in central Kabul. Many of those released were elderly. The decree was described as a goodwill gesture to mark the anniversary of the defeat of Afghanistan's communist government in 1992. About 1,500 prisoners remained in the jail.

April 25, 2000

• In an attempt to bolster the afghani, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan banned the use of foreign currency to buy and sell goods.
• The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan foreign ministry accused the United Nations of being an enemy of Islam and of favoring the Northern Alliance.
• The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and Iran signed a cooperation accord to check growing drug trafficking along their mutual border.

April 24, 2000

• In the Darra-e-Noor area of the Khewa district in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, dozens were killed in a clash between Taliban forces and supporters of Hazrat Ali, commander of the defunct Eastern Shoora. Taliban forces made a two kilometer advance in the area.
• Northern Alliance forces captured three Taliban military posts in Parwan province. Five of Taliban militiamen were killed in the attack. The Taliban claimed these offensives were illegal under international rules because they occurred during an agreed cease fire meant to allow the U.N. to carry out a polio vaccination campaign. The Taliban voiced concerns that the U.N. made no condemnation of the breach by the Northern Alliance.

April 23, 2000

• At a U.N. guesthouse in downtown Kabul, Afghanistan, an Easter service was held for International aid workers.
• In Peshawar, Pakistan, three gunmen killed Siddique, a commander of Hizb-e-Islami.

April 22, 2000

• The Northern Alliance accused the Taliban of executing at least 26 people in the Gusfandi district of Afghanistan after the area fell to Taliban forces.
• Swarms of locusts descended on drought-hit wheat crops and fruit orchards in Baghlan province, Afghanistan.
• The Revolutionary Association of the Afghan Women appealed to Pakistan to change its policy towards the Taliban and to condemn Taliban atrocities against Afghan women.
• In Taluqan, Takhar province, Afghanistan, Ahmed Shah Masood, Abdul Rashid Dostum, Abdullah, Waheedullah Sabawoon and Hisamuddin met to discuss attack strategies against the Taliban.

April 21, 2000

• Warring factions in Afghanistan agreed to a three-day cease-fire (starting May 1) to allow the U.N. to carry out a polio vaccination campaign.
• In Dushanbe, Tajikistan, U.N. Special Envoy for Afghanistan Frances Venderill held peace talks with Northern Alliance commander Ahmed Shah Masood, former Nangarhar province governor Haji Abdul Qadeer and former member of the ousted Rabbani government Syed Hussain Anwari.
• Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan leadership distanced itself from posters circulating in Pakistan in which Osama bin Laden called for a holy war against the United States.

April 20, 2000

• Three people were killed and a number wounded in a clash between the Taliban and Hezb-e-Wahdat forces in Dara-e-Souf district Samangan province, Afghanistan.
• Three people were killed and ten others injured in fighting between the Taliban and Ahmed Shah Masood forces in Parwan province, Afghanistan.
• Fatima Gilani, the head of the Association of the Women of Afghanistan, met in Islamabad, Pakistan with members of Amnesty International.
• UNICEF announced that over the past three weeks the measles had killed nearly 100 children in Tolak district, Ghor province, Afghanistan, and over 50 children in Yaftalafain district, Badakhshan province, bringing the toll of the outbreak to more than 1000. The outbreak first erupted in Dara-e-Souf district, Samangan province in January. UNICEF dispatched vaccine and other medicines to the areas.
• A six-month repatriation program designed by Iran and the UNHCR for Afghan refugees began. Under the agreement, 3000 refugees would be repatriated to Afghanistan every week.

April 19, 2000

• The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan shut down the money market in Kabul, Afghanistan to stop a freefall of the Afghani currency. Valued at 55,075 to the U.S. dollar on March 31, by April 19 it traded at 75,000.
• Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan authorities signed agreements with the UAE-based SURIA Satellite Company and the mainland China-based EIIC Company to revive communication sector in Afghanistan.

April 18, 2000

• The afghani lost over 25% of its value, increasing food prices in Afghanistan.

April 17, 2000

• Speaking at the Tashkent University of World Economy and Diplomacy, United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright promised $10 million in aid to Uzbekistan to help secure its border with Afghanistan. She called on the nations bordering Afghanistan to form open and democratic societies as a defense against extremism and terrorism. Albright also announced that the U.S. government was giving US$3 million apiece to help train border patrols in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan and to buy four-wheel drive vehicles for the rugged terrain.
• Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan aircraft carried out a number of sorties over the regions of Khasor and Lama (in the vicinity of Gusfandi City) in Saripul province, Afghanistan.

April 15, 2000

• Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan authorities in Afghanistan arrested two Arabs on suspicion of spying. The suspects were flown from Kabul to Kandahar and were being held there under tight security.

April 13, 2000

• After reaching an agreement with the UNHCR, Iran started a repatriation program that would send 7,700 Afghan refugees back to their homeland over the next three weeks.

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