Taliban order strict phone blackout in Afghan north

[unhappycamper]

Taliban order strict phone blackout in Afghan north
By Sharafuddin Sharafyar
Fri Jan 21, 2011 3:42am EST

HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - The Taliban have ordered harsh limits on the use of mobile phones in a remote area of northwestern Afghanistan, residents and officials said, a sign of the militants' increasing influence in a once peaceful area.

The Islamist group's order in Bala Morghab, a remote district of Badghis province bordering Turkmenistan, follows similar edicts in recent years in the south and east, where the insurgency is strongest, but also more recently in the north.

Residents said the Taliban had ordered mobile phone operators to only turn their networks on for two hours per day, at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., in the most draconian restrictions imposed by the militants on mobile phone use anywhere in the country.

Insurgents say Afghan and foreign troops use the mobile networks to track their fighters and accuse ordinary Afghans of using the devices to spy on the militants.

For years, mobile phone restrictions have been a fact of life for Afghans in more insecure areas in the south and east where phones are usually cut off at night.

[CJvR]

1. Collaborators

"Insurgents say Afghan and foreign troops use the mobile networks to track their fighters and accuse ordinary Afghans of using the devices to spy on the militants."

Really? I thought Allah's champions were universally loved in Afghanistan. After all who wouldn't want religous fanatics roaming the streets looking to beat up people for not being fundie enough.