President Harmid Karzai says he wants control of all Afghanistan troops — even those linked to the United States — in order to root out charges of abuse in the units.
Mr. Karzai has ordered a special delegation to identify all the armed units that have worked independent of the government, and with allied forces, The Associated Press reports. Mr. Karzai has set a deadline of three months for them to be handed over to his control, AP said.
The order exempts Afghan Local Police that are already under the charge of the Interior Ministry, AP said. A spokesman for his presidential office says the order applies to “parallel structures” created by U.S. special operation forces, and the CIA, according to AP.
The order comes amid a slew of complaints from Wardak province villagers who say members of these special units have engaged in torture and illegal detentions, AP said.
© Copyright 2013 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.
Cheryl Chumley is a continuous news writer for The Washington Times. Previously, she was part of the start-up team for The Washington Times’ digital aggregation product, Times247. She’s also a 2008-2009 Robert Novak journalism fellow with The Phillips Foundation. She can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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