UNITED NATIONS, March 5: With competing warlords threatening the peace in Afghanistan, the United States and its allies are considering doubling the number of foreign peacekeepers, perhaps under US command, diplomats said on Tuesday.

So far the international security force has been confined to Kabul and its environs, with some 4,500 troops, despite pleas from Hamid Karzai, head of the UN-backed interim Afghan government, to expand the force to other cities.

Diplomats said talks were intensifying among US and British officials on extending the effort to a few urban centres, such as Mazar-i-Sharif and Kunduz, to the north, and Jalalabad, to the east of Kabul, with a decision possible in two weeks. Numbers could reach another 4,500 soldiers.

The United States has been considering this option, but was seen as unlikely to commit peacekeepers, particularly while its forces are involved in heavy combat in the mountains south of Gardez.

Training of an all-Afghan force is still the focus, but all admit this may take more than a year. As a result, expanding the international force has emerged as possible interim step to quell fighting among rival warlords and help the Karzai administration expand power outside of the capital.

The current International Security Assistance Force, known as ISAF and made up primarily of NATO troops, is led by Britain, with Turkey expected to take over the command. However, Turkey has has made clear it does not want any mandate changed under its leadership.

A meeting is due this week or next among U.S., British and Turkish officials in Ankara on final details before Turkey officially accepts the operational command.

The United States is currently in overall command of ISAF but one key Western diplomat said, “They might want to be in tactical command of an outside force also” if the current international force is expanded.

“The most likely scenario is the placement of ISAF-type forces in urban centers outside Kabul to ensure that no warlord can take over,” the diplomat said.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld last month acknowledged discussions were taking place about whether the foreign troops should expand their mission beyond Kabul.

“The discussion taking place in the government and in Afghanistan and the government here up at the UN and among the various interested coalition parties is what’s the best way to do it?” Rumsfeld said.—Reuters