Desertion Blow to Afghan Military

12/01/2004| IslamWeb

Thousands of Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers have deserted the fledgling service after completing training given by instructors from the United States, France and Britain, defence ministry officials said yesterday. "Some 3,000 ANA soldiers have fled the army," ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi said. "The defence ministry has announced that they have to come back and join the army otherwise they will have to pay for all the expenses spent on their training." The desertions are a serious blow to the nascent ANA which, according to Zahir Azimi, numbers around 10,000 troops. However, international observers believe the real strength of the ANA is closer to 7,000. Even though it is forecast to grow to be about 70,000-strong, the ANA's numbers are small in comparison to the 100,000 armed militia currently being disarmed and demobilised by government authorities. Tough training, low wages and factional links to the private militias which still control wide swathes of the country outside Kabul are believed to be behind the mass exodus from the ANA. A rocket was fired toward an airport used by American troops in eastern Afghanistan, but failed to explode, the Afghan military reported. **PHOTO CAPTION*** A military commander checks the weapons of soldiers from the 7th Division of the Northern Alliance prior to turning them in to a U.N. disarmament facility Sunday, Jan. 11, 2004, about 20 kilometers southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Ed Wray)