Soviet Pullout From Afghan War on Hold : Sophisticated Arms Sent In as Muslims Keep Pressure Up

MOSCOW — The Soviet Union said Friday that it has suspended military withdrawal from Afghanistan and has sent in sophisticated weapons because of unrelenting pressure from Muslim guerrillas.

Witnesses have reported MIG-27 ground-attack jets and SS-1 Scud missiles in Afghanistan.

Alexander Bessmertnykh, first deputy foreign minister, repeated Soviet accusations that the United States and Pakistan are violating the withdrawal agreement by sending a constant flow of arms to the insurgents.

“The Soviet troops are being withdrawn due to the good will of the Soviet government,” Bessmertnykh told a news briefing. “They will be withdrawn in honorable conditions.”

He said an atmosphere of bombing, mortar and rocket attacks on civilians, government soldiers and the departing Soviet forces “does not provide the conditions for such a withdrawal of Soviet troops” and declared: “The withdrawal of the troops is being suspended.”

Soviet Frustration

His comments reflected Soviet frustration over how the Afghan army has handled the fight in the nearly three months since the Red Army reached the halfway point in withdrawning its estimated 115,000 men.

Bessmertnykh also appeared to indicate that the withdrawal might not be completed by the Feb. 15 deadline set in the April 14 Geneva agreement mediated by the United Nations. The withdrawal began May 15.

Although reiterating Soviet commitment to the agreement, he said: “If none of the countries violate the accords, they would be fulfilled by the Soviet Union.”

In Washington, White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said the Soviet action “can only increase tensions in the region and raise speculation that they aren’t going to live up to the Geneva accords.”

President Reagan was asked about Bessmertnykh’s comments and replied: “I think we are all disappointed by that. At the same time, I think we should recognize that this is something they have said is necessary and they have re-pledged to bring the troops out by Feb. 15.”

Haven’t Discussed Situation

When asked whether the United States planned steps in response, he said, “We haven’t had a chance to sit down and talk it over.”

Soviet officials have repeatedly threatened the guerrillas and their supporters with serious consequences but have not been specific.

Half the Soviet forces were withdrawn by Aug. 15 under terms of the Geneva agreement signed by Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Soviet Union and United States. The insurgents were not parties to the negotiations and continued the war.

Muslim guerrillas began fighting after a communist coup in April, 1978, and Soviet military forces entered the country in December, 1979. More than 5 million Afghans fled, most of them to border cities and refugee camps in Pakistan that have served as bases and supply points for the insurgents.

Soviet generals say that more than 13,000 of their soldiers were killed and 35,000 wounded.

A pause in the Soviet withdrawal has been evident since Aug. 15, so the immediate effect of Bessmertnykh’s announcement was not clear. A senior Reagan Administration official said privately in Washington that the Soviets had discussed renewing the pullout Nov. 15.

Bessmertnykh said Friday: “What is important is not the date at which the withdrawal will be continued, but when it will be completed.”

‘Flow of Armaments’

He said the insurgents get a steady “flow of armaments of U.S. and other origins,” in violation of provisions in the Geneva agreement against non-interference in Afghan affairs.

New troops are being rotated into Afghanistan with more sophisticated arms and “the Soviet Union is now delivering to the military forces of Afghanistan additional and more powerful means of destruction,” Bessmertnykh said.

He added, however, that the number of weapons and soldiers is not increasing and that Soviet personnel do not participate in attacks on guerrillas.

Soviet soldiers have been subjected to 555 shelling attacks, including 88 with rockets and mortars, he said, and Soviet outposts have come under attack 400 times. Bessmertnykh said the Soviet forces had suffered casualties, but he would not say how many.

Insurgent attacks killed 230 civilians in October, Bessmertnykh said.

MIGs, Missiles Seen

Witnesses said earlier last week that they saw MIG-27s attacking guerrilla positions near the southern city of Kandahar, and that Scud missiles were seen in Kabul for the first time.

Scuds have a maximum range of about 180 miles and are intended for use against “concentrations of hardware and arms used against Soviet military units and towns in Afghanistan,” not against Pakistan, Bessmertnykh said.

A senior Western diplomat in Moscow said privately: “It is difficult to win a war against guerrillas with ground-to-ground missiles, long-range bombers or even ground-attack aircraft based close by. Some of what is happening is intended (more) to convey a political message than (to) achieve a military objective.”