Ghor Province: A Warlord Domain

An Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) investigation has found that Ghor province in western Afghanistan is in the grip of about 40 warlords backed by thousands of paramilitaries. The armed groups carry out crimes with no threat of punishment by the government or police. The total of militia members is about 8 to 10 thousand; with each group ranging in size from 200 to 1,200 men. Many of the groups are leftovers from the civil war period between the Communist regime and the Taliban regime. The various militias compete for control of geographical areas as well as sectors of the economy and criminal activities (drug trade especially). Some militias have instituted their own legal system to replace a corrupt judicial system in place by the government. Read more in "Afghanistan: Lords of Ghor", Institute for War & Peace Reporting, December 10, 2014.