””””KABUL, March 5 (Xinhuanet) -- The commander of the International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF) here said on Wednesday that his troops will remain here
even if a US-led war against Iraq breaks out.
””””Norbert van Heyst, the German general who heads the some 5,000 troops
international security troops in the Afghan capital, told apress conference here
that he believes the security situation in Kabul will not change in case of a
Iraq war
””””"I am convinced that the people of Afghanistan are tired of war," the ISAF
commander said, "they care about their daily needs and want to participate in
economic progress."
””””However, he acknowledged that remnants of the ousted Taliban regime,
possibly al-Qaeda fighters and those loyal to Islamic extremist warlord
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, would use the conflict in Iraq as a window of opportunity
to destabilize the situation in Afghanistan.
””””"We are fully aware of this situation and are well prepared to react," van
Heyst said.
””””The former ruling Taliban earlier this week issued a statement in Pakistan
to claim the responsibility for around 50 recent attacks against the US troops
stationed in south Afghanistan for hunting down terrorism operatives and Hamid
Karzai's central government.
””””It also called for a jihad, or the Islamic holy war, against foreign troops
in Afghanistan and those Afghans who are cooperating with foreign elements and
the US-backed government.
””””Denying earlier reports that Germany will withdraw its securitytroops from
Afghanistan in case of an Iraq war, the ISAF commandersaid, "nobody plans to
withdraw or evacuate ISAF, at least not theGerman government."
””””Van Heyst, who took over the ISAF command last month from a Turkish
general, will lead the 28-nation peacekeeping troops responsible for the
security in Kabul and its surrounding areas for a six-month period.
””””He said his troops would also cooperate with the Afghan government to
implement its program to disarm about 300,000 formercombatants by integrating
them into the civil society.
””””"We must effectively direct our resources to the most deservingareas to
provide the basic human needs such as fresh water, electric power and shelter"
to people in this war-destroyed country, the commander said. Enditem
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