Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 10, 1990 TAG: 9003102537
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN LENGTH: Medium
A military officer revealed that bombing by mutinous air force pilots nearly killed Najib on Tuesday, the day the attack was launched.
Sporadic clashes were reported in Kabul on Friday, although government officials said the situation was generally quiet.
Damage to the city was severe. It appeared almost every window was broken, indicating heavy bombing by renegade air force pilots. Bombs had blasted several government buildings, including the Presidential Palace.
The whereabouts of coup leader Defense Minister Shah Nawaz Tanai, was unknown. Tanai has since teamed up with guerrillas from one of the seven Moslem guerrilla groups battling the Soviet-backed government.
The status of the Shindand air base in southwest Herat province also was in question. A government official said the base had yet to pledge loyalty to Najib.
After a 9 p.m. curfew took effect Friday, security forces arrested scores of people in a neighborhood populated mainly by government employees, said a government official who lives in the area.
The Bakhtar news agency reported that two more high-ranking officials had been purged from the Central Committee of the ruling Democratic People's Party of Afghanistan. At least nine top officials have lost their jobs, including five from the Politburo.
Death sentences were widely expected for people found guilty of supporting the attack. Najib established a special tribunal to hear treason cases.
by CNB