More than 1,700 Taliban give up their arms - NATO
US: More than 1,700 former Taliban combatants have turned in their
weapons to join a reintegration programme started by the Afghan
government nearly a year ago, the NATO general in charge of the program
said Thursday.
"So far we've got about 1,740 former fighters who have formally
joined the reintegration process," said British Major General Phil
Johns, the director of the Force Reintegration Cell of the International
Security Assistance Force.
"On top of this, the High Peace Council has at least another 40 to 45
groups in negotiations across the country," said Johns, referring to the
Afghan agency in charge of political reconciliation.
"That may be as much as 2,000 fighters," added Johns, who was talking
to reporters in Washington via teleconference from Kabul.
The peace process provides amnesty to former Taliban members who
agree to renounce violence, sever ties with terrorist groups, and live
under the Afghan constitution, said Johns. The Afghan insurrection is
composed mostly of Taliban fighters and members of the Haqqani network,
which total around 25,000 men, he said.
Most of the time, a Taliban chief, accompanied by several men or
sometimes several dozen men, decide to give up fighting, he said. "These
are life-changing decisions that people are making, and it is all built
on trust and confidence," said Johns. The program is financed with $141
million from the international community, of which $58 million comes
from the US. Washington expects to spend some $12.8 billion in 2012 to
help build the Afghan army.
Washington, Friday, AFP |