Afghanistan recruits Iraq-style militia force
The Afghan government said yesterday it had begun 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 Afghan villagers in a bid to guard against Taliban attacks in their communities.
Deputy interior minister Mohammad Munir Mangal told reporters the US-backed initiative was under way in south-central provinces Wardak and Uruzgan, both of which have been hit hard by Taliban violence.
"It will expand in the rest of the country very soon," he said. "From what we see on the ground and seeing the eagerness of the people I can tell it'll take two months or even less," he said, referring to the recruiting process.
Recruitment would begin in the southern, eastern and southwestern regions of the country where insurgent violence is most intense, Mangal said.
Once fully in theatre, the force will number about 10,000 men who will undergo three weeks of training in their villages by Afghan trainers, he said.
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