Wizdom
11-06-06, 16:17
Kabul may arm militia to fight terrorists
By Rachel Morarjee in Kabul
Published: June 9 2006 22:01 | Last updated: June 9 2006 22:01
The Afghan government is considering arming tribal groups across the south of the country, where Nato is set to take command next month, in a move diplomats say would destabilise the country.
As violence in the country’s four southern provinces rises to its worst level since 2001, armed village and tribal groups would be recruited to back up the increasingly overstretched police force and fledgling national army.
Jawed Ludin, chief of staff in the government of Hamid Karzai, said: “The government wants to take measures to strengthen the security situation in the south.
“It is not so much that the terrorists are strong, but that we are weak.”
However, experts say the tribal groups to be armed are likely to be militias commanded by warlords, which would create alternative power bases and weaken an already fragile state.
One western diplomat said: “If this happens it is the beginning of the end for southern Afghanistan and has far-reaching implications for the north and west.”
A senior western security official said: “This is a vote of no confidence in everything that has been done so far to reform the police and army.”
But Mr Ludin said a force of young tribesmen could be used to back up police who have been left on the front line in the fight against the Taliban without adequate arms or equipment.
“This is not militias. It is strengthening the police and making sure the police have a strong community presence,” he added.
By Rachel Morarjee in Kabul
Published: June 9 2006 22:01 | Last updated: June 9 2006 22:01
The Afghan government is considering arming tribal groups across the south of the country, where Nato is set to take command next month, in a move diplomats say would destabilise the country.
As violence in the country’s four southern provinces rises to its worst level since 2001, armed village and tribal groups would be recruited to back up the increasingly overstretched police force and fledgling national army.
Jawed Ludin, chief of staff in the government of Hamid Karzai, said: “The government wants to take measures to strengthen the security situation in the south.
“It is not so much that the terrorists are strong, but that we are weak.”
However, experts say the tribal groups to be armed are likely to be militias commanded by warlords, which would create alternative power bases and weaken an already fragile state.
One western diplomat said: “If this happens it is the beginning of the end for southern Afghanistan and has far-reaching implications for the north and west.”
A senior western security official said: “This is a vote of no confidence in everything that has been done so far to reform the police and army.”
But Mr Ludin said a force of young tribesmen could be used to back up police who have been left on the front line in the fight against the Taliban without adequate arms or equipment.
“This is not militias. It is strengthening the police and making sure the police have a strong community presence,” he added.