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Afghan general looking east

April 5, 2012

The US officer in charge of the ISAF mission in Afghanistan, General John Allen, has said he expects heavy fighting in eastern Afghanistan in the coming months. He said troops would be reassigned accordingly.

https://p.dw.com/p/14YHN
Soldier looking out at the horizon
Image: dapd

General John Allen briefed assembled German journalists in Kabul, saying he expected fierce fighting in the months heading up to the withdrawal of Western combat troops from the country.

"As I look to the numbers of US forces… I will use significant combat power in the east, anticipating we are going to have some good bit of fighting in the east this year," Allen said in his Wednesday interview with the German press. He also told reporters that he expected comparative calm in the south of the country, where forces could now concentrate on defending territory wrested from the Taliban insurgency.

The four-star general also said 2013 would be the most important year in Afghanistan since the decade-old conflict began, as it would mark the piecemeal handover of security duties to Afghan security forces. By the end of next summer, Allen said that the entire population of Afghanistan "will be protected by Afghan security forces in the lead."

General John Allen
Allen made a point of praising German efforts training Afghan forcesImage: picture-alliance/dpa

Allen also alluded to the positive role that German troops, who are sometimes criticized for not taking part in combat operations, had played in helping to train Afghan forces. Training is one of the tasks, like peacekeeping and rebuilding projects, that can be carried out without transgressing strict German constitutional rules on military engagement.

The 130,000 soldiers at Allen's command are gradually dwindling in number, with the US planning to withdraw roughly 23,000 of its 90,000 troops currently in the country by September. Germany, the third-largest provider to the mission in terms of troop numbers, also intends to bring several hundred soldiers home in the coming months.

Despite the looming handover timeline, the security situation in Afghanistan remains fragile. At least eight members of the Afghan security forces were killed in an attack in the west of the country on Thursday. At least ten people, including three US soldiers, lost their lives in a suicide attack to the north on Wednesday. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for both attacks.

msh/rc (AFP, AP, dpa)