Warring parties in Afghanistan agree to new U.N. peace dialogue

UNITED NATIONS - The warring parties in Afghanistan have signed onto a new U.N.-sponsored effort aimed at bringing peace to the central Asian nation, a senior U.N. envoy announced Friday.

Francesc Vendrell said the Taliban Islamic militia that controls about 95 percent of the country and the opposition United Front pledged in letters to take part in the ''process of dialogue'' and not to walk out until the agenda is exhausted.

The process will involve either direct meetings or indirect contacts through the United Nations, said Vendrell, the personal representative of Secretary-General Kofi Annan to Afghanistan. It will begin next week, when he contacts both sides, and is expected to take a long time.

''Skepticism is warranted because in the last few years there have been attempts at talks, and they have not produced results,'' Vendrell told a news conference. ''The difference ... this time is that it is a written commitment.''

The last round of peace talks in July 1999 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, ended without any agreement except a promise by each side not to block the other side's citizens from receiving humanitarian aid. Those talks focused on establishing a cease-fire, exchanging prisoners of war and opening roads for mutual trade and aid.

Since those talks, the Taliban has gained control of more territory and is battling the northern-based opposition on several fronts in an attempt to capture the rest. The fighting is taking place as millions of embattled Afghans try to cope with the worst drought in decades, which U.N. officials warned has put up to 1 million people at risk of starvation.

Vendrell informed the Security Council about the new agreement between the Taliban and the United Front. Later Friday, he briefed the so-called ''Six-Plus-Two'' group, which has been trying to mediate an end to the conflict. It comprises the six nations that share a border with Afghanistan - Pakistan, Iran, China, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan - plus the United States and Russia.

Since the Taliban took control of the Afghan capital, Kabul, in 1996, there have been numerous efforts to end the fighting. The warring parties have previously agreed in principle to share power and establish a joint judiciary, but the Taliban insist that their Supreme Leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, must keep that post. The opposition rejects the idea.

The Taliban, who have imposed a harsh brand of Islamic law in Afghanistan, are Sunni Muslim and mostly Pashtun - the majority ethnic group in the country. The opposition, led by ousted President Burhanuddin Rabbani, comprises religious and ethnic minorities with varying views.