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Agreement on peacekeeping force in Afghanistan

Afghanistan's interim government has signed a formal agreement for the deployment of a multi-national security force.

Eric Campbell reports from Kabul, the agreement should see police and foreign peacekeepers replace Afghan militias now roaming the streets of the capital.

After weeks of negotiations the agreement was formally signed between the Afghan Interior Minister Yunis Qanooni and the British leader of the peacekeeping force, Major General John McColl. Premier Hamid Karzai said he hoped it would bring Afghanistan the security and peace it had needed for so many years. 'We also hope that the cooperation between the Afghan state and the international security force and the United Nations will bring to an absolute end the presence of terrorism and banditry in Afghanistan'. About 270 British troops and 60 French soldiers have already been based in Afghanistan, but the agreement paves the way for as many as 4,500 peacekeepers to patrol in tandem with the newly-established police force. The agreement would also see thousands of Afghan troops from the various anti-Taliban factions confined to barracks as the new administration develops a national army.

5/01/02 11:00:26 | ABC Radio Australia News

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