.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/16/nato-forces-afghan-militias
Nato forces rely on illegal Afghan militias, report says
Troops in Afghanistan said to use private armies for detention and interrogation
Julian Borger, diplomatic editor
guardian.co.uk
16 September 2009 19.19 BST
Nato forces in Afghanistan are increasingly reliant on illegal militias, often run by warlords responsible for human rights abuses and drug trafficking, according to an independent report published tomorrow.
New York University's Centre on International Co-operation (CIC) reports that the use of private security companies and militias is growing exponentially and accounts for up to a fifth of the funds spent on Afghan reconstruction.
The CIC report, called The Public Cost of Private Security in Afghanistan, says many of the troop contingents in Nato's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) use private militias not only to guard their camps and secure convoys, but also for "black ops", including detention and interrogation.
The militias function entirely outside Afghan law, which bans unlicensed armed groups, nor is there any legal basis for their employment in the "status of forces agreement" with the Kabul government, the CIC says in its report.
"The absence of effective oversight of the private security sector in Afghanistan undermines the credibility and safety of the government and the international stabilisation effort," the report argues.
"Many of these private security providers serve as ready-made militias that compete with state authority and are frequently run by former military commanders responsible for human rights abuses or involved in the illegal narcotics and black market economies."
"Financing armed, alternative power structures fulfils security needs in the short term at the cost of consolidating government authority in the long term," the CIC report says. It gives examples of private paramilitary groups hired by US, Australian, Canadian and German forces, and refers to an incident in June in which 41 militia fighters hired by US special forces in Kandahar killed the provincial police chief and five other police officers in a gun battle to free a militia member who had been arrested earlier the same day.
Jake Sherman, one of the report's authors, said today: "The Kandahar incident shows these groups are being employed by US special forces, and we know they are engaged in black ops."
"I know these guys go out with them on the operations. They provide the human intelligence about the environment in which the international military are operating. But the [international forces] don't necessarily know who they are aligned with – which political and tribal groups."
He argued that once Nato leaves, the militias are likely to return to drug trafficking and other black market activities, better trained and better armed. "Once they are set up and armed, they are never disarmed," Sherman said. "They become new threats to the state."
A Nato spokesman said today it was impossible to comment on a report that had not yet been fully read and analysed.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/16/nato-forces-afghan-militias
Nato forces rely on illegal Afghan militias, report says
Troops in Afghanistan said to use private armies for detention and interrogation
Julian Borger, diplomatic editor
guardian.co.uk
16 September 2009 19.19 BST
Nato forces in Afghanistan are increasingly reliant on illegal militias, often run by warlords responsible for human rights abuses and drug trafficking, according to an independent report published tomorrow.
New York University's Centre on International Co-operation (CIC) reports that the use of private security companies and militias is growing exponentially and accounts for up to a fifth of the funds spent on Afghan reconstruction.
The CIC report, called The Public Cost of Private Security in Afghanistan, says many of the troop contingents in Nato's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) use private militias not only to guard their camps and secure convoys, but also for "black ops", including detention and interrogation.
The militias function entirely outside Afghan law, which bans unlicensed armed groups, nor is there any legal basis for their employment in the "status of forces agreement" with the Kabul government, the CIC says in its report.
"The absence of effective oversight of the private security sector in Afghanistan undermines the credibility and safety of the government and the international stabilisation effort," the report argues.
"Many of these private security providers serve as ready-made militias that compete with state authority and are frequently run by former military commanders responsible for human rights abuses or involved in the illegal narcotics and black market economies."
"Financing armed, alternative power structures fulfils security needs in the short term at the cost of consolidating government authority in the long term," the CIC report says. It gives examples of private paramilitary groups hired by US, Australian, Canadian and German forces, and refers to an incident in June in which 41 militia fighters hired by US special forces in Kandahar killed the provincial police chief and five other police officers in a gun battle to free a militia member who had been arrested earlier the same day.
Jake Sherman, one of the report's authors, said today: "The Kandahar incident shows these groups are being employed by US special forces, and we know they are engaged in black ops."
"I know these guys go out with them on the operations. They provide the human intelligence about the environment in which the international military are operating. But the [international forces] don't necessarily know who they are aligned with – which political and tribal groups."
He argued that once Nato leaves, the militias are likely to return to drug trafficking and other black market activities, better trained and better armed. "Once they are set up and armed, they are never disarmed," Sherman said. "They become new threats to the state."
A Nato spokesman said today it was impossible to comment on a report that had not yet been fully read and analysed.
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