International clowns to amuse Afghan people

An international contingent of clowns is planning a trip to Afghanistan to teach the country's people how to laugh again.

Australian clown Jean-Paul Bell, co-founder of the Humour Foundation, says they will visit hospitals, orphanages and refugee camps.

He hopes the shows will have a therapeutic effect on a population scarred by years of war.

The group will spend three weeks in the country. They plan to start the tour in late January.

Mr Bell said: "I've always believed there has to be a sort of humanitarian arm of what performers need to do."

Of the Afghan people, he said: "They love to see westerners acting silly because they usually think of westerners trying to kill them."

He spent four weeks in Afghanistan in 1975 and says he fell in love with the country and its people.