Ron Synovitz is a senior correspondent for RFE/RL.
(file photo) The scandal over the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. forces is focusing attention on Washington's use of private contractors to interrogate detainees in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Members of the world's largest Islamic grouping -- the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference -- met in Malaysia today to discuss developments in the Middle East and the latest violence in Iraq.
The cease-fire is shaky but appears to be holding The U.S.-led coalition in Iraq has announced an agreement aimed at defusing a standoff at the besieged town of Al-Fallujah. The accord calls for all anti-coalition fighters in the town to surrender their heavy weapons. But U.S. officials are warning that U.S. Marines who surround Al-Fallujah could launch offensive operations if the insurgents do not disarm promptly.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has suspended most of its funding for public-sector projects in Uzbekistan, saying the Central Asian state has failed to meet democratic and human rights reforms required by the bank's charter. In London, where the EBRD today is conducting its annual board meeting, nongovernmental organizations are welcoming the freeze.
For the second time in a month, troops from the fledgling Afghan National Army are being deployed to quell fighting between a militia backed by the Afghan central government and troops of a powerful regional warlord. RFE/RL correspondent Ron Synovitz takes a closer look at the situation in the northwestern province of Faryab, where government-appointed military commander General Mohammad Hashim Habibi's soldiers are battling for a third day against the private militia of ethnic Uzbek General Abdul Rashid Dostum.
A Kabul musician who managed to study the musical heritage of his country during the Taliban era works to ensure that the fragile traditions take root again.
The London "Sunday Times" correspondent Christina Lamb arrived in Herat one day after the Taliban regime collapsed and discovered an incredible story at the Golden Needle Sewing School -- a secret front for underground women's literature lectures. Since the publication of her book, "The Sewing Circles of Herat" in early 2002, Lamb has won international praise and recognition as a leading author on life under the Taliban. In Kabul this week, Lamb told RFE/RL correspondent Ron Synovitz how she discovered the "sewing circles" of Herat and how, more than two years later, the women who took part in the brave schooling effort have yet to see the happy ending they hoped for in the post-Taliban era.
Demobilized? The United Nations says security-sector reform in Afghanistan is critical to the success of the Bonn peace process. But a vital project aimed at disarming and demobilizing factional militias has so far fallen short of expectations. From Kabul, RFE/RL correspondent Ron Synovitz takes a closer look at the so-called DDR program.
Afghan Transitional Administration Chairman Hamid Karzai has told foreign diplomats that the target date for elections is being pushed back from the summer to September. From Kabul, RFE/RL correspondent Ron Synovitz reports on technical preparations and security concerns, as well as contentious legal issues, that must be resolved before the vote takes place.
This week's fighting in the western Afghan city of Herat has increased pressure for speedier reforms on at least two security fronts -- the disarming of the country's rival militia factions and the strengthening of the Afghan National Army. From Kabul, RFE/RL correspondent Ron Synovitz reports.
Kabul, the dusty Afghan capital, did not always look like a city in the middle of a desert. RFE/RL reports on an international effort to plant nearly 1 million trees in the city.
RFE/RL speaks with an Afghan-American in Kandahar who fled war in his country more than a decade ago, but has returned in his retirement to work with U.S. troops to try to rebuild his homeland.
Kabul, 22 March 2004 (RFE/RL) -- Afghan Defense Ministry officials told RFE/RL today they are sending two battalions of the Afghan National Army to the western city of Herat after a battle linked to a standoff over Governor Ismail Khan's extensive political and military powers.
Kabul, 22 March 2004 (RFE/RL) -- Afghan militia fighters loyal to Herat Province Governor Ismail Khan have seized the barracks of a rival militia faction that is blamed for the killing yesterday of Khan's son.
RFE/RL correspondent Ron Synovitz was embedded with U.S. troops during the first weeks of the Iraq war. In this "Reporter's Notebook," he looks back at the first major battle fought by soldiers from the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division -- the siege of the strategic Talil airfield near the southern Iraqi city of Al-Nasiriyah.
Kandahar, 17 March 2004 (RFE/RL) -- U.S military officials and members of the Afghan central government met today with leaders of an Afghan militia force in Kandahar to discuss where to permanently garrison troops from the fledgling Afghan National Army.
The U.S.-led coalition's spring offensive in Afghanistan, codenamed Operation Mountain Storm, is using unconventional warfare to target Taliban and Al-Qaeda guerrilla fighters. RFE/RL correspondent Ron Synovitz reports from Kandahar on how one commando team is contributing to the overall strategy.
Kandahar, Afghanistan; 13 March 2004 (RFE/RL) -- The U.S. military today formally announced the start of a sweeping new operation across southern and eastern Afghanistan aimed at capturing or killing top Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants. RFE/RL correspondent Ron Synovitz reports from Kandahar.
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