Northern Alliance forces have given Taliban soldiers holding out in the northern city of Kunduz until tomorrow morning to surrender.
"The Taliban have until Thursday morning to give themselves up. After that, they will have to take responsibility for the consequences," said General Nazir Mahmad in Khanabad, some 20 kilometers east of Kunduz.
The ultimatum came as talks appeared at a standstill on the surrender of thousands of Taliban fighters clinging to Kunduz, their only stronghold left in the country's north.
US warplanes today kept up their pounding of the area where local sources said between 3,000 and 9,000 fighters were trapped, including Arab, Chechen and Pakistani fighters from terror suspect Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
The Northern Alliance has put the number as high as 30,000, but the sources said this could include a sizeable civilian community of ethnic Pashtuns in the area.
A Taliban commander has said the militia fighters would be willing to give themselves up, but only under UN supervision. However, UN, US and British officials have all said they could not get involved.
With chances increasing of a major push on Kunduz by the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance, fears grew that the fighting could break down into a bloody settling of accounts.
Northern Alliance General Mohammad Daoud said yesterday that the evacuation of foreign "mercenaries" might be possible from Kunduz, but added that "those who have committed crimes will be brought to justice."
The United Nations said yesterday it could not mediate the surrender of Taliban troops in Kunduz but urged all sides to avoid as much bloodshed as possible.
"We are appealing to everyone in the country to respect humanitarian law and the laws of war and keep the killings to zero if possible," said Mr Fred Eckhard, spokesman for UN Secretary General Mr Kofi Annan.
The Security Council had already issued a statement calling on all Afghan forces "to refrain from acts of reprisal and to adhere strictly to their obligations on human rights and international humanitarian law."
Pakistani President Mr Pervez Musharraf raised the plight of Taliban fighters in Kunduz with British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair and US Secretary of State Gen Colin Powell on Monday, the state-run media in Islamabad said.
In Washington, Rear Admiral John Stufflebeem, deputy director of operations of the Joint Staff, said US planes were bombing Kunduz at the request of the Northern Alliance but were ready to stop if it would help to negotiate a surrender.
But Defense Secretary Mr Donald Rumsfeld reiterated US opposition to any deal that would allow foreign nationals fighting alongside the Taliban to walk free from Kunduz.
"It would be most unfortunate if the foreigners in Afghanistan, the al-Qaeda and the Chechens and others who have been there working with the Taliban, if those folks were set free and in any way allowed to go to another country and cause the same kind of terrorist acts," said Mr Rumsfeld.
AFP