TAJIK ARMY REBELS SAID TO LOSE GROUND.

Tajik government forces yesterday continued their offensive against the 1st army brigade of the mutinous Col. Mahmud Hudoiberdiev. Both camps include paramilitary units from rival factions of the former Popular Front. Government officials claimed that the rebels are falling back toward the Uzbek and the Afghan borders. President Imomali Rahmonov’s chief spokesman, Zafar Saidov, stated yesterday that the government has exhausted the possibilities for a negotiated compromise and is pressing for a military solution. (Russian and international agencies, August 18) The colonel and his allies in southern and western Tajikistan control major economic assets and sources of illicit income, which they now seem set to lose to the central government in Dushanbe and its supporters. Hudoiberdiev recently criticized certain points in the peace agreement signed by the government with the United Opposition.

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