Hollande: France's combat troops to exit Afghanistan by end of 2012
Source: Agencies |
May 26, 2012, Saturday
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ALL French combat forces will pull out of Afghanistan by the end of the year, France's new president said in Kabul yesterday, but some trainers will remain to help Afghanistan's nascent security forces.
Francois Hollande said that France's troops have carried out their mission in Afghanistan and it is time for them to leave, an early pullout that will be coordinated with the United States and other allies.
"There will be no combat troops" after the end of the year, Hollande said during a joint news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Hollande flew to Afghanistan to meet with troops and to discuss plans with Karzai to withdraw French combat troops more than a year earlier than scheduled.
Hollande said that France will pull its 2,000 combat troops, out of a total of 3,300, out by the end of the year. Some would stay behind to help send military equipment back to France, and others would help train the Afghan army and police. He did not provide a breakdown for the roles of the 1,300 soldiers who will remain past 2012 or how long they would stay.
Hollande said that continued cooperation was discussed over lunch with Karzai "because there will continue to be trainers who will work with (Afghan) soldiers and police."
He said French equipment would be taken out by ground routes, but did not say which ones.
Pakistan closed overland supply routes to Afghanistan for NATO after a US attack on the Pakistani side of the border killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November. The decision has forced NATO to use a far more costly route running through the north.
Talks to reopen the routes have been stuck over fees - Pakistan is demanding US$5,000 per truck. The fee had been US$250 a truck before the attack.
France has signed an agreement with Afghanistan that calls for cooperation after 2014. Other countries, including the United States, have signed similar accords.
"We want France to have a presence in Afghanistan differently from how it did in the past," Hollande said. France wants to be "useful in a different way," in economic and cultural matters, he said.
During a meeting with French troops, Hollande said, "the time for Afghan sovereignty has come. The terrorist threat that targeted our territory, while it hasn't totally disappeared, is in part lessened."
Hollande announced plans at a NATO summit this week to pull out French troops by the end of the year, well ahead of the alliance's 2014 withdrawal date.
Francois Hollande said that France's troops have carried out their mission in Afghanistan and it is time for them to leave, an early pullout that will be coordinated with the United States and other allies.
"There will be no combat troops" after the end of the year, Hollande said during a joint news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Hollande flew to Afghanistan to meet with troops and to discuss plans with Karzai to withdraw French combat troops more than a year earlier than scheduled.
Hollande said that France will pull its 2,000 combat troops, out of a total of 3,300, out by the end of the year. Some would stay behind to help send military equipment back to France, and others would help train the Afghan army and police. He did not provide a breakdown for the roles of the 1,300 soldiers who will remain past 2012 or how long they would stay.
Hollande said that continued cooperation was discussed over lunch with Karzai "because there will continue to be trainers who will work with (Afghan) soldiers and police."
He said French equipment would be taken out by ground routes, but did not say which ones.
Pakistan closed overland supply routes to Afghanistan for NATO after a US attack on the Pakistani side of the border killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November. The decision has forced NATO to use a far more costly route running through the north.
Talks to reopen the routes have been stuck over fees - Pakistan is demanding US$5,000 per truck. The fee had been US$250 a truck before the attack.
France has signed an agreement with Afghanistan that calls for cooperation after 2014. Other countries, including the United States, have signed similar accords.
"We want France to have a presence in Afghanistan differently from how it did in the past," Hollande said. France wants to be "useful in a different way," in economic and cultural matters, he said.
During a meeting with French troops, Hollande said, "the time for Afghan sovereignty has come. The terrorist threat that targeted our territory, while it hasn't totally disappeared, is in part lessened."
Hollande announced plans at a NATO summit this week to pull out French troops by the end of the year, well ahead of the alliance's 2014 withdrawal date.
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