Afghan Truce Village - Peace Works

War's a farce in Afghan truce village

KAPISA PROVINCE - Mar 31, 2011 - Alasay district in this province northeast of the Afghan capital Kabul, is the scene of an unusual arrangement where local government officials and the Taliban turn a blind eye to one another.

Recognizing that neither side can defeat the other, the two have effectively decided to coexist as peaceably as conditions will allow.

Taliban guerrillas and government policemen, both armed, wander around the open-air market in the district center without bothering one another. They have even been known to attend each other's weddings and funerals.

To ease relations further and remove any embarrassment, a decision was taken recently to have the insurgents do their shopping in the morning and the security forces theirs in the afternoon.

"It's better this way," market stallholder Reza told the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), "because we used to be scared that they'd start shooting at each other. It's a good thing they're now coming separately at different times".

A local policeman, who asked to remain anonymous, commutes to the district center every day from his home village, where the Taliban are in full control, but they never give him any trouble despite the arms and equipment he carries with him. {continued}