October 21, 2008

The lack of Afghan soldiers forces Danish troops to pull back from Taleban areas The commander of the Danish forces in Afghanistan, Colonel Keld R. J. Rasmussen, said the soldiers have been forced to retreat from large parts of the.Helmand province.

The government-backed Afghan National Army (ANA) is lacking so many troops in the Taleban stronghold of Helmand province that both the ANA and the international forces have retreated and focused their efforts on the large cities in the area.

Rasmussen said that the pullback from the province was to guarantee the security and reconstruction process in the large cities.

'We must accept that we have to leave some areas in Helmand to the Taleban. In the long term we hope that the positive development in the towns will spread to the rest of the country.'

The ANA has grown to about 50,000 troops, with 4000 stationed in Helmand province, but Rasmussen said they need to double that figure before the local towns can be safely connected.

'If the Afghanistan project is to succeed, it requires the right balance between Afghan and international soldiers. We depend on the ANA so the Afghan people can take over the country themselves. That's our way out.'

The retreat from the advanced patrol bases of Attal and Barakzai means that the Danish Armadillo camp is the frontier post in the fight against the Taleban in western Helmand.

The ANA and international forces will now focus on the five largest towns in Helmand: Garmsir, Lashkar Gar, Sagin, Musa Qala and Gereshk.