Hamid Shalizi, 'Private security firms a problem in Afghanistan-study', Reuters AlertNet, 12 November 2007
"Private security contractors in Afghanistan add to the sense of insecurity, are often confused with foreign troops, employ former militiamen and may have links to crime, said an independent Swiss study published on Monday. "The number of private security companies has risen steadily since U.S.-led and Afghan forces overthrew the Taliban in 2001, with armed men guarding homes and offices in cities and supply convoys and construction projects in the countryside.
"The Afghan government has failed to introduce proper legislation or regulations to govern the private security companies, but the police have nevertheless begun a crackdown on those operating without a temporary licence. 'The main problem, said Susanne Schmeidl, the author of the Swiss study, is that "nobody guards the guardians'. Private security companies represent a new form of mercenary activity, a United Nations report said last week."
The report estimates that there are 4,000 to 6,000 international PSC employees in Afghanistan, 1,500 to 2,000 'third country nationals', and 15,000 to 20,000 Afghan employees.
To continue reading this article, click here.
To read the full report, 'Private Security Companies and Local Populations: An Exploratory Study of Afghanistan and Angola', click here.
The press conference with one of the report's authors, Susanne Schmeidl, is here.
Related posts:
'Private Military Contractors Also Creating Problems in Afghanistan', 30 October 2007
'Journal of International Peace Operations', 8 August 2007
For more on private security companies, visit the Human Security Gateway
