Dispute Over Blockades Breaks Up Afghan Talks

A dispute over blockades hemming in thousands of malnourished Afghans broke down peace talks Sunday that had come tantalizingly close to ending two decades of bitter conflict.

“They have been suspended indefinitely,” said James Ngobe, the United Nations representative at the troubled talks.

The Taliban militia, which wants a ruling government of Islamic scholars in place before the blockades are lifted, accused U.N. mediators of favoring its northern alliance enemies, who want the blockades brought down immediately.

The northern-based opposition ostensibly walked out of the talks to protest the Taliban’s decision to reduce its negotiating team from five to one, but it was clear that the roadblocks were at the center of the dispute.

The U.N. says that at least 100 people have died of starvation in a blockaded province in central Afghanistan and that tens of thousands more are in danger of dying.

The Taliban has imposed a harsh version of Islamic law over the 85% of Afghanistan it controls.