DUSHANBE. Nov 20 (Interfax-AVN) - The leadership of the Northern Alliance has categorically refused the Taliban terms of surrendering the city of Konduz, where a 10,000 strong elite Taliban force is concentrated.
The alliance will not offer Taliban fighters a corridor to leave the city, aide to the military attache of the Afghan embassy in Tajikistan Zamonuddin Shahobuddin has told Interfax.
He said when the Northern Alliance put forward an ultimatum last week offering partial amnesty in exchange for unconditional surrender, it expressed readiness to offer a corridor to members of armed formations and local home guards to guarantee the demilitarization of the city.
The Taliban responded by taking all the leaders and some of the members of home guards hostage and demanding a corridor for all armed formations.
As a security guarantee they expressed intentions to use the disarmed home guards as a live shield while leaving the city.
Shahobuddin said that the Northern Alliance regards the demands as absolutely unacceptable.
He said the fighting for Konduz continues. In his opinion, the talks on Konduz with the Taliban will not resume.
He said that the only effective way of liberating the city is to destroy the Taliban strongholds, arsenals, food depots and the armed units of the Taliban itself. And this will be done even if it requires a lengthy period of time, he said.