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.

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