TAJIK OPPOSITION CAPTURES TAVILDARA.

The Tajik resistance yesterday captured the district center Tavildara and added more villages to those it already controls in that area. Scores of government soldiers lost their lives and many more were captured, together with stocks of government arms and ammunition. Field commander Mirzo Zieyev led up to 500 opposition fighters in the operation. The opposition has offered to turn at least some prisoners over to the Red Cross/Red Crescent operation in Tajikistan. Dushanbe officials, speaking on background, acknowledged the reverses a week after the start of the opposition’s successful offensive, claiming that the government withdrew in order to avoid civilian casualties. The officials professed confidence that the numerical and technical superiority of the Russian-backed Tajik forces would enable them to recover the lost ground. (Interfax, Itar-Tass, May 12)

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