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Afghanistan Recruits Iraq-style Militia Force
KABUL - The Afghan government said Wednesday it had began recruiting thousands of militiamen to strengthen security forces against a resurgent Taliban in remote villages of the war-torn country.
President Hamid Karzai last month approved the establishment of what his administration calls "Local Police Force" -- recruited from among Afghan villagers in a bid to guard against Taliban attacks in their communities.
Deputy interior minister Mohammad Munir Mangal told reporters that the US-backed initiative was underway in south-central provinces Wardak and Uruzgan, both hard hit by Taliban violence.
Once fully in theatre, the force will number about 10,000 men, Mangal said.
Mangal said the recruits would operate under the interior ministry, which has authority over all Afghan police. They will be paid about 60 percent of the regular police salary, he added.
Karzai and the commander of foreign forces in the country, US General David Petraeus, met for days before reaching an agreement over creating the new force, according to Afghan officials.
US media have reported that Petraeus, who took command of nearly 150,000 US and NATO troops on July 4, had been pushing for the establishment of Iraq-style tribal militias to fight Taliban-linked militants in remote Afghan villages.
Critics are concerned about repeating mistakes made in Afghanistan during the 1980s, when local militias were set up during the Soviet occupation to fight the mujahideen uprising, and then morphed into private armies.
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Afghanistan recruits Iraq-style militia force - Yahoo! News
KABUL - The Afghan government said Wednesday it had began recruiting thousands of militiamen to strengthen security forces against a resurgent Taliban in remote villages of the war-torn country.
President Hamid Karzai last month approved the establishment of what his administration calls "Local Police Force" -- recruited from among Afghan villagers in a bid to guard against Taliban attacks in their communities.
Deputy interior minister Mohammad Munir Mangal told reporters that the US-backed initiative was underway in south-central provinces Wardak and Uruzgan, both hard hit by Taliban violence.
Once fully in theatre, the force will number about 10,000 men, Mangal said.
Mangal said the recruits would operate under the interior ministry, which has authority over all Afghan police. They will be paid about 60 percent of the regular police salary, he added.
Karzai and the commander of foreign forces in the country, US General David Petraeus, met for days before reaching an agreement over creating the new force, according to Afghan officials.
US media have reported that Petraeus, who took command of nearly 150,000 US and NATO troops on July 4, had been pushing for the establishment of Iraq-style tribal militias to fight Taliban-linked militants in remote Afghan villages.
Critics are concerned about repeating mistakes made in Afghanistan during the 1980s, when local militias were set up during the Soviet occupation to fight the mujahideen uprising, and then morphed into private armies.
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Afghanistan recruits Iraq-style militia force - Yahoo! News
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