(29 Jul 1999) Natural Sound
Fighting has intensified in Afghanistan, only a week after peace talks in Uzbekistan failed to yield a ceasefire agreement.
The ruling Taliban militia has launched a major offensive against opposition forces, using artillery, aircraft and ground troops on three fronts north of the capital, Kabul.
The latest onslaught has claimed the lives of many and has caused widespread damage.
Worst hit were a number of priceless Buddha statues - estimated to be 15-hundred years old - in the central province of Bamiyan.
This ancient stone statue of Bhudda bore the brunt of fighting between the Taliban forces and the northern opposition alliance.
This film was recorded in secret as the Taliban - which rule 90 percent of the country - have banned foreign media.
The central Afghanistan province of Bamiyan where the statue is located is now controlled by the Taliban.
When the fighters took charge, they said they would protect the priceless Buddhist statues - which are a designated World Heritage Site.
But as these pictures show, the statues have all but been destroyed.
Under the stone carving is an entrance which leads to a cave said to have been used as an ammunition dump by the Taliban.
Holes in the ancient artwork are said to be bullet holes caused by target practice.
The stone Bhuddas are among the world's largest and were built long before Islam became the dominant religion in Afghanistan.
Pilgrims used to protect the statues before the Taliban moved in but now the giants are only visited by children who love to climb up them, despite the danger.
Designs of the statues date back centuries - they adopt a Grecian style imported into India by the soldiers of Alexander the Great when he invaded the region in 334-327 B.C.
Bamiyan is a picturesque province and is a place which the fighting forces have been keen to control.
Heavy fighting around the area has continued to take its toll on the scenic region.
These pictures show the Buddha statues before damage.
Caves nearby were used as shelter as the ongoing war destroyed much of the country.
Taliban means "students of Islam".
The group emerged in 1994, pledging to bring peace to Afghanistan after years of civil war triggered by a Soviet invasion.
Two (m) million people - one tenth of the population - were killed in the past 18 years.
Another one and a half (M) million are so badly injured that they are permanently disabled.
But under the Taliban, the fighting continued and even intensified.
The Taliban fighters espouse a severe brand of Islam that has made women prisoners in their own country, locked inside their homes, forbidden from working and going to school.
Music is illegal, murderers are executed in public and thieves have their limbs amputated.
They have also banned sculptures and paintings or any other type of artwork - so the existence of the Bamiyan World Heritage Site means little to them.
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