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KABUL, Dec 23: Foreign troops could begin arriving in the Afghan capital next week, but the bulk of the multinational security force may take up to four weeks to deploy, a senior military source said on Sunday.
The source said Britain planned to send in an “enabling team” of up to 200 military personnel, including air traffic controllers, later this week to prepare for the deployment.
That team would be sited either at the Bagram airbase, 40kms north of the capital, or preferably at Kabul’s own airport to establish a bridgehead for troops arriving by air.
The source said the first troops of the U.N.-mandated force, initially to be led by Britain, could start flowing in next week but “it could take 20 to 30 days to get the bulk of the force in”.
A small group of British Royal Marine commandos is already on the ground but left Kabul for Bagram on Saturday after assisting with security at the installation of the new interim government because it had nowhere in the capital to stay.
The precise role and size of the main force, which some estimates have said could be up to 5,000 strong, have yet to be finalised in talks with the new post-Taliban authorities.
“I think we have a very good agreement in principle,” the source told a group of reporters.
“All we need to do essentially is find the time to close the loopholes and we’re pretty confident we can pull that off in the timeframe before people arrive.”
Differences over the deployment have dogged discussions between Britain and other likely contributor nations and Afghan Defence Minister Mohammad Fahim, military chief of the Northern Alliance whose forces control Kabul.
The international force had initially been expected to guard government buildings and meetings, but is now likely to adopt a lower profile and patrol together with Afghan escorts.
“Having access to the city at large and engaging with the population at large...is a far more penetrative way of providing security than standing outside the Interior Ministry,” the source said.
“SOFTLY, SOFTLY”: He said a softly-softly approach was vital to building confidence among the authorities and with the population, given sensitivities to foreign forces stemming from the Soviet occupation from 1979 to 1989.
“We don’t want to find at the first hurdle that we misunderstand each other, so we’re not rushing it for that very reason,” the source said.
Fahim has suggested 1,000 troops will be enough for the force and that they should be restricted to one base.
The source said force planners had proposed several locations including disused factories on the outskirts of the city, devastated by factional fighting the last time the Northern Alliance was in control of Kabul from 1992 to 1996.
Apart from providing security, the force is also expected to help with reconstruction of air traffic facilities, and other infrastructure.—Reuters
