KABUL, Dec. 20 (Xinhuanet) -- The United Nations will continue its duty in Afghanistan for the next five years after the complete transition to peace and democracy, the head of UN's peacekeeping operations said Tuesday.

    "The starting point at the end of 2001 was a very low one and so there is a huge amount of work that remains to be done, whether it be security, whether it be governance, whether it be development, to use the three key pillars of the compact," Under-Secretary-General for UN Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guehenno told a news conference in the capital Kabul.

    Guehenno also said the UN will work closely with Afghan government to continue the reconstruction work and strengthen the central power of the government.

    "I think the Coalition Forces and ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) have done a remarkable job... It's important now to continue the effort. The Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police are making progress, but they still need our support and this support should be forthcoming," he said.

    On the same day, it's reported that US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has on Monday signed orders that will reduce the American troops in Afghanistan from 19,000 to 16,000 by next spring.

    Now there are about 19,000 US troops and 9,000 strong ISAF forces stayed in Afghanistan for anti-terrorism and peacekeeping work. The anticipated reduction on the number of US forces will be replaced by more ISAF troops which will probably increase to 15,000 next year. Enditem