BRUSSELS: Nato Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer defended on Wednesday allied troops fighting a Taliban-led insurgency in south Afghanistan, following criticism from US Defence Secretary Robert Gates.

Gates told the Los Angeles Times newspaper that international troops deployed in the south — mainly from Britain, Canada and the Netherlands — were not properly trained to fight an insurgency.

“I have the greatest respect for what the allies are doing in the west, the north, the east and the south,” Scheffer, a Dutchman, told reporters at Nato headquarters in Brussels.“And perhaps more specifically for what is being done in the south. All the countries in the south — where the going gets tough — are doing excellent work,” he said. Australia and Denmark also have forces there.

A Nato diplomat said: “We were surprised,” by Gates’ criticism, especially given that Scheffer and the defence secretary had spoken by telephone on Tuesday about a new US troop contribution for the south.

“The tone was good,” the diplomat said.

The remarks by Gates come just after the US administration decided to send 3,200 more marines to Afghanistan, as Nato allies struggle to provide an extra 7,500 troops requested by commanders on the ground.

The commanders, backed by the United States, have regularly called for extra troops and equipment, even though the force the alliance leads there grew from around 33,000 in January 2007 to some 42,000 in December.—AFP