Taliban fighting rises ahead of NATO force

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said yesterday that his government will recruit local tribesmen to fight the biggest increase in Taliban violence in years.

A US-led coalition soldier and seven Afghan civilians were killed in the latest violence in the south of the country, which has been hardest hit by the rise in insurgent attacks.

Speaking to a group of tribal elders from eastern Afghanistan, Mr Karzai said he did not want to form militias that could clash with rival tribes.

“We just want to strengthen the districts to safeguard them from terrorist attack,” he said.

The president said tribal recruits would strengthen police ranks across the south, and they would take their orders from the government.

Karim Rahimi, Mr Karzai’s spokesman, described the new recruits as “community police.”

“They are to strengthen the security setup in Afghanistan,” he said.

Though not giving an exact figure, the president said there would be a dramatic increase in the ranks of security forces in some areas.

He said in one district in southern Kandahar province that there were only 45 police for a population of 65,000.

“We need about 150 police in that district for it to be strong, so we need to build the force from within the community,” he said.

Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak told reporters that the tribal forces would “take their command from each district police chief.”

He said local security forces would also be given better weapons and bulletproof jackets.

More than 500 people, mostly militants, have been killed since mid-May.

Mr Wardak said the rebels have stepped up attacks to deter NATO countries from deploying some 6,000 troops to the region.

“They just want to take advantage of this period of transition from coalition to NATO and they want to have maximum impact,” Mr Wardak said of the insurgents.

The soldiers are scheduled to resume responsibility for the region from the US-led coalition next month.