Abdul Rashid Dostam
alternative words: Abdul Rashid Dostum, Abdul Rashid Dostom, Dostam, Dostom, General Dostam, General Dostom
keywords: famous person , statesman
related topics: Burhanuddin Rabbani , Gulbuddin Hekmatyar , Mazar i Sharif , Uzbek , United front
related web sites: http://www.pulitzer.org/year/1997/international-reporting/works/5/
explanation: Born in 1954 in Juzjian province of northern Afghanistan. Once he had been a communist general but when Soviets pulled out from Afghanistan in 1989, he betrayed Najibullah's regime and created his own state by occupying the northern region around Mazar-i-Sharif where his ethnic group, Uzbek is in the majority. He made once a coalition with Hekmatyar to fight against Rabbani's government but was then defeated by Taliban and lost his power base. He is now fighting with Northern alliance against Taliban.