- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 210
Allison Lampert , CanWest News Service
Published: Thursday, December 20, 2007
ZHARI DISTRICT, Afghanistan - A plan to run the first independent Afghan police station in Kandahar province was sacked this week, just days after the officers were allegedly caught robbing villagers, CanWest News Service has learned.
Canadian soldiers were transferred Wednesday to mentor Afghan officers at a recently constructed station near Howz-E-Madad, even though the initial plan was to allow the police force to run the station alone, two high-ranking Canadian officers said.
The Afghan National Police was supposed to be manning the station with support from Afghan National Army and Canadian soldiers located at a nearby outpost, the officers, who spoke on condition of anonymity said. But after less than a week, the police officers allegedly began robbing and harassing residents in the area, prompting the Canadian Forces to quietly transfer soldiers there to provide supervision, they said.
The incident highlights concerns over the corruption and lack of discipline that continues to plague the fledgling Afghan police force. Poorly paid and under-equipped, the police force has been marred by nepotism, the presence of underage officers as young as 13 and absenteeism by its Afghan leaders.
Improving the police force is essential because the Afghan officers, along with Afghan soldiers are to eventually take the place of the overstretched Canadian army in Kandahar province.
Capt. Sylvain Chalifour, a spokesperson for the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan, insisted that the transfer of the Canadian officers to support the Afghan police was a question of availability. The officers were free to train the Afghan police, so a commander decided to move them.
The allegation of Afghan police officers stealing from residents "was a rumour, but there's no proof at all," Chalifour said.
The Canadian Forces, eager to build a stronger presence on terrain won during battles with insurgents, has set up a total of seven police stations in Kandahar's Zhari and Panjwaii districts.
Six of the stations are manned by Canadian soldiers and military police officers through a mentoring program. This newest station was set up with only Afghan police officers because it was located near the outpost with Afghan and Canadian soldiers.
" Depending on the situation, we decide what's the best way to have them on the ground and how we should be mentoring them," Lt.-Cdr. Pierre Babinsky, a spokesperson for the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan, said.
Unlike the Afghan army which has benefitted from years of training, the country's police force has been exposed to Canadian mentoring for the last few months. Afghan police officers will be rotated through training programs during the new year.
alampertthegazette.canwest.com
Montreal Gazette
Published: Thursday, December 20, 2007
ZHARI DISTRICT, Afghanistan - A plan to run the first independent Afghan police station in Kandahar province was sacked this week, just days after the officers were allegedly caught robbing villagers, CanWest News Service has learned.
Canadian soldiers were transferred Wednesday to mentor Afghan officers at a recently constructed station near Howz-E-Madad, even though the initial plan was to allow the police force to run the station alone, two high-ranking Canadian officers said.
The Afghan National Police was supposed to be manning the station with support from Afghan National Army and Canadian soldiers located at a nearby outpost, the officers, who spoke on condition of anonymity said. But after less than a week, the police officers allegedly began robbing and harassing residents in the area, prompting the Canadian Forces to quietly transfer soldiers there to provide supervision, they said.
The incident highlights concerns over the corruption and lack of discipline that continues to plague the fledgling Afghan police force. Poorly paid and under-equipped, the police force has been marred by nepotism, the presence of underage officers as young as 13 and absenteeism by its Afghan leaders.
Improving the police force is essential because the Afghan officers, along with Afghan soldiers are to eventually take the place of the overstretched Canadian army in Kandahar province.
Capt. Sylvain Chalifour, a spokesperson for the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan, insisted that the transfer of the Canadian officers to support the Afghan police was a question of availability. The officers were free to train the Afghan police, so a commander decided to move them.
The allegation of Afghan police officers stealing from residents "was a rumour, but there's no proof at all," Chalifour said.
The Canadian Forces, eager to build a stronger presence on terrain won during battles with insurgents, has set up a total of seven police stations in Kandahar's Zhari and Panjwaii districts.
Six of the stations are manned by Canadian soldiers and military police officers through a mentoring program. This newest station was set up with only Afghan police officers because it was located near the outpost with Afghan and Canadian soldiers.
" Depending on the situation, we decide what's the best way to have them on the ground and how we should be mentoring them," Lt.-Cdr. Pierre Babinsky, a spokesperson for the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan, said.
Unlike the Afghan army which has benefitted from years of training, the country's police force has been exposed to Canadian mentoring for the last few months. Afghan police officers will be rotated through training programs during the new year.
alampertthegazette.canwest.com
Montreal Gazette
