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Peacekeeping agreement formalised in Afghanistan

The head of the international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan says foreign peacekeepers will face risks in patrolling the Afghan capital.

Eric Campbell reports from Kabul a formal agreement on the deployment of peacekeepers has been signed.

The formal agreement was warmly welcomed at a signing ceremony in Kabul despite the presence of known opponents of the peacekeeping force such as the interim defence minister, Mohammed Fahim. Britain's Major General John McColl, who will lead a force of as many as 4,500 peacekeepers, acknowledged there were risks associated with the mission. 'We will do the best that we can and the way in which we conduct that this is to minimise that risk. But we cannot eradicate it completely and we need to be aware of that.' Negotiations are meanwhile continuing for the surrender of the last major pocket of Taliban resistance, in the Helmand province north-west of Kandahar. Premier Hamid Karzai denied a claim by one his ministers that the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, had already been captured. But he said he would be handed over to international justice if he were captured or surrendered.

5/01/02 11:31:15 | ABC Radio Australia News

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