- News>
- World
Afghan fighters surrender their weapons in exchange for food
Gardez (Afghanistan), Nov 18: Hundreds of Afghan fighters have exchanged weapons for cash, food and clothes over the past week under a UN-sponsored programme hailed by the defense minister as the key to improving security in Afghanistan.
Gardez (Afghanistan), Nov 18: Hundreds of Afghan fighters have exchanged weapons for cash, food and clothes over the past week under a UN-sponsored programme hailed by the defense minister as the key to improving security in Afghanistan.
The USD 41 million initiative, mostly funded by Japan, aims to decommission 100,000 battle-hardened militiamen in a step toward lasting peace and creation of a new national army and police force.
"Implementation of this programme will take Afghanistan out of its problems," Defence Minister Mohammed Fahim said yesterday.
Soldiers paraded on a field yesterday outside Gardez in eastern Afghanistan, where surrendered weapons, ranging from rifles and rocket-propelled grenades to anti-aircraft missiles and more than 20 tanks, were put on display.
"Implementation of this programme will take Afghanistan out of its problems," Defence Minister Mohammed Fahim said yesterday.
Soldiers paraded on a field yesterday outside Gardez in eastern Afghanistan, where surrendered weapons, ranging from rifles and rocket-propelled grenades to anti-aircraft missiles and more than 20 tanks, were put on display.
The arms were handed in over the past week by 595 Afghan fighters, said UN spokesman Jim Ocitti. A similar ceremony in October saw nearly 1,000 soldiers turn in their weapons in the northern province of Kunduz.
The disarmament is meant to help restore stability two years after a US-led coalition ousted the hardline Taliban regime. But in a country wracked by more than two decades of war - including the soviet invasion in 1979 and bitter factional fighting - it could prove difficult.
Bureau Report