"Afghanistan held hostage

by 50,000 partisans"

LONDON, Dec. 23,1997 (UPI) - The U.N.'s troubleshooter in Afghanistan blames 50,000 "partisans'' for a civil war that shows no sign of ending despite a series of peace talks among neighbors accused of fueling the conflict.

The Financial Times today quotes Lakhdar Brahimi as saying "99 per cent of the people have no stake in the war, but 50,000 partisans' of various factions are holding the country hostage and want to perpetuate the crisis.''

Brahimi says the conflict is fed from the outside for "geopolitical interests or personal gain.'' So he set out this autumn to bring Afghanistan's neighbors together for talks.

But Brahimi is bleak about the prospects for success. He says: "I'm not absolutely certain we will continue. I am not sure we have enough to go on.''

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