The Afghan vice-president Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim, formerly one of the country's feared warlords, has died of natural causes. The Afghan government has declared three days of national mourning.
Fahim, a leader of the Tajik ethnic minority, served as senior vice-president to Hamid Karzai, who is due to step down as president at elections next month. Nato combat forces are also to pull out ofAfghanistan after 13 years of fighting the Taliban.
Fahim, 56, was accused of being a ruthless strongman who maintained his own militia forces, but he also received American support as Afghanistan sought stability after the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.
"With deep sadness, the 1st vice president, Marshal MQ Fahim has passed away. May his soul rest in peace," the presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi wrote on Twitter.
"The government of Afghanistan has called for a three-day national mourning, during which the national flag will be half-hoisted for his demise."
Source/Fuente: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/09/afghan-vice-president-dies-...
