The U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan
said Monday it has found no evidence to support allegations that American
special operations forces were involved in the abuse of Afghan civilians in a
restive eastern province that serves as a gateway to Kabul.
The statement came as the Afghan government moved ahead with an order to
expel the special operations forces from Wardak province within two weeks,
undeterred by fears the decision could leave the area and the neighboring
capital more vulnerable to al-Qaida and other insurgents.
Provincial officials and analysts expressed concern the already dangerous
province could bec
ome more unstable without the American firepower, although
they agreed with President Hamid Karzai’s decision to investigate the
allegations.
Karzai issued the order on Sunday after a meeting of the National Security
Council at which Wardak provincial governor Abdul Majid Khogyani and other
local officials blamed Afghans working with U.S.
special operations forces for the disappearance of at least nine men and the
murder of an Afghan university student. The U.S.
forces are being expelled because of their association with the Afghan groups.
Khogyani and the other officials also alleged that the Afghans working for
the American special operations forces were involved in abusive behavior
including torture, killings and illegal detentions.
The armed Afghans are not part of the Afghan security forces, the government
has said, implying that they are members of secret militias working with the
Americans.
Coalition spokesman German Gen. Gunter Katz said the International Security
Assistance Force found no evidence showing foreign forces were involved in
abuses, but he did not comment on the Afghans allegedly linked to the
Americans.
“We take all allegations of misconduct seriously and go to great lengths to
determine the facts surrounding them,” Katz told reporters. “Over the past few
weeks there have been various allegations of special forces conducting
themselves in an unprofessional manner” in Wardak.
He added that “so far, we could not find evidence that would support these
allegations.”
Katz said he would not comment on the allegations until the coalition talks
to the Afghan government “in the near future.”
An ISAF spokesman, Jamie Graybeal, said that “in recent months, a thorough
review has confirmed that no coalition forces have been involved in the alleged
misconduct in Wardak province.”
He said that the two sides had agreed to a joint commission to look “into
the current concerns of citizens” in Wardak.
Presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi, however, said the government had asked
NATO about the groups in the past and had not received a satisfactory answer.
Wardak is a lynchpin province that connects the capital to southern Afghanistan,
and the country’s main north-south highway and trade route runs through its
hills and desert plains. It is considered a transit point for insurgents coming
from the south — the Taliban heartland — and from the east along the Pakistani
frontier where insurgents retain safe havens.
The area outside the provincial capital of Maidan Shahr — an hour’s drive
from the capital — is so dangerous that local officials reported they often
can’t go to their offices by road.
It has been the focus of counterinsurgency efforts in recent years and the
site of many attacks against coalition and U.S.
bases, including one in November that killed three Afghan civilians and wounded
90. In August 2011, insurgents shot down a Chinook helicopter, killing 30
American troops, mostly elite Navy SEALs, in Wardak. The crash was the single
deadliest loss for U.S.
forces in the war.
At least 100 insurgent groups operate in Wardak, including al-Qaida, the
Taliban and fighters loyal to the Pakistan-based Haqqani militant network,
according to Jawed Kohistani, a political and military analyst. He said recent
suicide attacks in the capital were an indication that the situation could
deteriorate if special forces withdrew from Wardak.
“They can attack convoys, destabilize the security situation in Kabul,”
he said. “It is giving them opportunity to get stronger in Wardak, and that
will be a real threat to the security of Kabul
city.”
The Afghan government has said it is confident its own security forces,
which took the lead for security in Wardak last December, can deal with the
insurgents and stabilize the province.
It is unclear how many of the extremely secretive U.S.
special operations forces are operating in Wardak.
“We never talk about special operating forces. We don’t about their numbers
either,” said Katz.
Afghan forces have been in control of Kabul
for years and Katz said then government had assured them that “they are capable
enough to provide security” for the capital.
Sher Shah Bazon, a member of the Wardak provincial council, said there were
many complaints about Afghan groups working with U.S.
special operations forces, but “we must find a solution for this sort of issue
here by talking with the U.S.
special operations forces, which did not happen. Instead a decision was made
which I believe most people are not happy with it.”
He said that Wardak was so insecure that local officials had problems
getting around.
“A district governor or a district police chief in many districts can’t go
to their offices by road, and if they go they must have a big convoy of
security forces with them. So with a security situation like this, the withdrawal
of the foreign forces is not a good idea,” he said.
Most of the complaints are aimed at the Afghans working with the U.S.
special operations forces, provincial officials said.
“I can say a lack of coordination between the Afghan and foreign forces
caused all these problems in Wardak. The withdrawal of the U.S.
special forces from Wardak would not be to the benefit of people, government
and security of Wardak province. I am sure that would have a negative impact on
the security of Kabul city as well,”
said Mohammad Hazrat Janan, deputy head of provincial council.
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