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At least 20 personnel of United States special forces have landed in the Dara-e-Souf valley of Samangan province in northern Afghanistan to team up with forces loyal to Uzbek general Abdul Rashid Dostum, CNN reported on Saturday.
Dostum is one of several ethnic warlords who form the loose grouping called the Northern Alliance, which is fighting the Taleban in Afghanistan.
The arrival of the forces may, however, threaten the fragile unity of this alliance, with another commander accusing the US of trying to sideline its leaders and split it.
The Agence France-Presse reported that Mohammed Ata asked why the Americans did not contact Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani, who continues to be recognised as the president of Afghanistan, or Abdul Qassim Fahim, who succeeded the late Northern Alliance commander Ahmed Shah Masood, before sending in the forces.
Dostum shares a very tenuous relationship with the other rebels, thanks to his history of acting independently and switching sides.
Ata said he had discussed the issue with Fahim, Northern Alliance foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah and interior minister Younus Qanooni. "They shared my concerns," he said.
"If the situation continues like this, it will be seen that the US team is trying to create cracks in the United Front [aka the Northern Alliance]," he warned.
EARLIER REPORTS: US ground forces enter Afghanistan: official 8 CIA experts in Dostum's camp The War on Terrorism: The Complete Coverage
The Terrorism Weblog: Latest Stories from Around the World
External Link: For further coverage, please visit www.saja.org/roundupsept11.html
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