AFGHANISTAN: NATO takes over security in violent Afghan south

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) forces took control of security in southern Afghanistan on Monday (July 31) to begin one of the biggest ground operations in the alliance's history, on the same day that a bomb in a police car killed at least eight Afghans. Afghanistan is going through its bloodiest phase since the Taliban government was ousted in 2001, and the guerrilla insurgency is concentrated in the south and east. The blast occurred in the Eastern city of Jalalabad, far from the transfer-of-command ceremony at a base outside the southern city of Kandahar. Having handed over the south, the U.S. led coalition is expected to transfer responsibility for the east to NATO at the end of the year. The U.S. General in charge of the coalition told ambassadors and military leaders from 37 countries at the formal handover ceremony that Taliban and al Qaeda fighters could not defeat the combined Afghan and foreign forces. "The people of southern Afghanistan can take great comfort in knowing that under NATO, ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) there will be thousands more troops working to build peace and prosperity here and that they will bring even greater capability. These two points are significant as the international community and our Afghan allies continue their unrelenting fight against a ruthless and immoral enemy," said U.S Lieutenant-General Karl Eikenberry. Lieutenant-General David Richards, the British NATO commander now taking over responsibility for the south, spoke of rebel forces perpetuating a cycle of oppression, murder and poverty. But he warned that the NATO presence would change that situation. "These millions of people should be reassured that they will not be let down. At the same time those few thousand who oppose the vast majority of the Afghan people, and their democratically elected government, should note this historic day and understand that they will not be allowed to succeed," he said. Until now, NATO has been in charge of security in the capital, Kabul, and the safer north and west of the country. The mission covering six southern provinces could become the most dangerous in the alliance's 57-year history. NATO peacekeeping troops, mostly from Britain, Canada and the Netherlands, have been taking up positions in the south for the past few months and have already been engaged in heavy fighting with Taliban guerrillas, in some cases allied with drug runners. The alliance will boost its presence in Afghanistan by about 7,000 troops to 16,000. Of more than 70 foreign troops killed this year, at least six of have been involved in NATO-led operations. More than 1,700 people have been killed since the start of the year in attacks by Taliban guerrillas, drug gangs and U.S.-led coalition operations.

ITN Source | August 1, 2006

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