Afghanistan Conflict Monitor

Taliban Attack Road Crew in South Afghanistan

Taliban Attack Road Crew in South Afghanistan, The Associated Press, 19 August 2010

EXCERPT: "Taliban fighters attacked a road construction crew Thursday in southern Afghanistan and several people have been killed and wounded, officials and witnesses said. The attack on the road crew occurred in the Sangin district of Helmand province, according to a company employee, Salam Khan Durrani. He said several people had been killed or wounded but he had no precise figures because fighting was still raging at midday. Provincial spokesman Dawood Ahmadi said the crew and its security guards had called for help by Afghan security forces but he had no other details. The crew was working on the main road from Sangin to the provincial capital Lashkar Gah. Sangin has been the scene of bloody fighting between the Taliban and coalition forces."

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Related articles:
Sniper in Afghan town puts Marines on edge, The Wall Street Journal, 19 August 2010
NATO soldier, two dozen rebels killed in Afghanistan, AFP, 19 August 2010
20 militants killed, over 100 detained in Afghanistan, RTT News, 19 August 2010
Coalition forces strike at the Taliban in southern Afghanistan, The Long War Journal, 18 August 2010

Related posts:
British troops launch biggest offensive of summer in Afghanistan, 30 July 2010
Afghans told to run their own security, 2 June 2010
US aid sparks tension, rivalries in Helmand, 1 June 2010
Retaken Afghan town reports Taliban threats, 17 March 2010

NATO Strike Cited in Afghan Civilian Deaths

NATO Strike Cited in Afghan Civilian Deaths, The New York Times, 14 August 2010

EXCERPT: "There is a 'fair chance' that a NATO jet inadvertently killed five Afghan civilians during a shootout with Taliban fighters in a village in southern Afghanistan earlier this week, an American official said Saturday. Some details were still unclear, but a local Afghan official and two witnesses said that the civilians were killed Thursday afternoon when a NATO aircraft fired on a house after a firefight with Taliban militants who had attacked a NATO convoy. The Taliban were operating in Luchak, a farming village in central Helmand Province, the epicenter of the insurgency. When the convoy arrived in Luchak, about a half-dozen Taliban fighters opened fire from behind a wall next to a house. After a 10-minute exchange of fire, the insurgents ran away, the witnesses said. Then, about 10 minutes later, a pair of helicopters appeared in the sky, the villagers said. Maj. Michael Johnson, a NATO spokesman, said the aircraft was a plane that had come in support of the troops on the ground. The witnesses said the aircraft fired on the house, killing five men inside. Two Afghans were wounded."

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Related articles:
Analysis: Probing war crimes in Afghanistan, IRIN News, 15 August 2010
Afghan attack kills three children, The Sydney Morning Herald, 14 August 2010
Afghans say they're caught in a crossfire, UPI, 14 August 2010

Related posts:
Afghan villagers protest over NATO "civilian killings", 12 August 2010
UN report says Afghan civilian toll up 31 percent, 10 August 2010
Afghanistan says 39 civilians died in disputed NATO attack, 5 August 2010
NATO to blame for rocket attack that killed dozens: Karzai, 26 July 2010
"Unjustifiable" NATO air strike kills 27 civilians, 22 February 2010

Hundreds Displaced in Helmand: Red Crescent

Hundreds Displaced in Helmand: Red Crescent, IRIN News, 11 August 2010

EXCERPT: "The Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) says about 500 families in Helmand Province have been temporarily forced out of their homes following recent military operations there by Afghan government and NATO forces. 'People have been displaced in Garmsir, Nad Ali and Sangheen districts where military operations have been going on,' Ahmadullah Ahmadi, provincial director of ARCS, told IRIN. The Society says it has dozens of workers in Helmand. People had fled to nearby areas, and some had moved to the provincial capital, Lashkargah, to live with relatives, he added. However, the claim is disputed by Dawood Ahmadi, a spokesman for the governor of Helmand. 'Some families that use displacement as a business to receive aid might have moved in some areas,' he told IRIN. UK and Afghan forces recently launched a military operation in Nad Ali District’s Sayedabad area where insurgents are reportedly very active. US forces are also engaged in similar operations in the nearby Marjah area."

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Related articles:
The battle for Afghan hearts and minds, NPR, 10 August 2010
Helmand despatch: "Pakistan is the true enemy", The Daily Telegraph, 1 August 2010
Two Afghan towns, one success story, The Peninsula Online, 26 July 2010

Related posts:
British troops launch biggest offensive of summer in Afghanistan, 30 July 2010
NATO's grand experiment leaves Marjah scrabbling for a future, 30 June 2010
British advances in Afghanistan have escalated conflict: UN, 21 June 2010
Helmand governor clashes with aid workers over IDPs, 3 May 2010
More IDPS than previously thought: Government, 4 January 2010

British Troops Launch Biggest Offensive of Summer in Afghanistan

British Troops Launch Biggest Offensive of Summer in Afghanistan, The Daily Telegraph, 30 July 2010

EXCERPT: "Operation Tor Shezada, or Black Prince, began in the early hours of Friday with helicopters carrying soldiers deep into rebel-held territory in the southern tip of Nad-e-Ali district in Helmand. Their target is the town of Saidabad, which commanders said was the last part of British-garrisoned Nad-e-Ali which remains beyond the Afghan government’s control. The operation is intended to build on Operation Moshtarak, which was launched in February and was the largest operation in the nine-year Afghanistan campaign. The push saw a combined force of 15,000 British, American and Afghan troops attempt to bring peace to the district. However, Saidabad was never cleared and is both a symbolic and tactically significant location. The town is the site of a critical canal crossing where insurgents can freely cross with weapons and motorbikes, allowing the Taliban to resupply Marjah to the south, where US marines have been locked in battle since Moshtarak began. It also houses an insurgent 'shadow government' and is defended by up to 180 fighters, hidden among the 6,000 residents’ scattered mud-walled compounds."

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Related articles:
Nato troops surround Taliban sheltering in Afghan town, The Guardian, 30 July 2010
New UK probe into Afghanistan role, EuroNews, 30 July 2010
UK army "at breaking point" in 2006, Al Jazeera, 28 July 2010

Related posts:
Afghanistan withdrawal possible from 2011, says Cameron, 21 July 2010
UK to pull troops out of part of Helmand, 7 July 2010
British commander in Helmand believes troops need to stay 10 years, 5 July 2010
British army's Helmand mission "began as disaster", 9 June 2010

NATO to Blame for Rocket Attack that Killed Dozens: Karzai

Afghanistan: NATO to Blame for Rocket Attack that Killed Dozens, The Guardian, 26 July 2010

EXCERPT: "The Afghan government today blamed a Nato rocket in Helmand last week for the deaths of at least 45 civilians, including women and children. The allegation came as leaked US military intelligence reports revealed a large number of formerly unreported incidents in which innocent bystanders had been killed by operations involving foreign forces. Despite strenuous recent efforts to stop such tragedies by restricting the freedom with which Nato soldiers can use lethal force, the latest incident happened on Friday as dozens of people from the village of Regey were hiding from nearby fighting between foreign forces and the Taliban, according to a government spokesman. 'The investigation shows that the rocket was fired by Nato and 45 civilians, many of them women and children, have been killed,' Siyamak Herawi told Reuters. Some reports said the toll was as high as 52, including 17 women and seven children. Tonight the government's claim was rejected by the Isaf communication director, Rear Admiral Greg Smith."

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Related articles:
NATO-Afghan probe of attack finds no civilian deaths as Karzai cites 52, Bloomberg, 26 July 2010
Amnesty: Afghanistan leak exposes NATO’s incoherent civilian casualty policy, ReliefWeb, 26 July 2010
US military curbs "reduce"Afghan attacks in some areas, BBC News, 24 July 2010
Diggers could be charged over civilian deaths, ABC News, 23 July 2010

Related resource:
Luke N. Condra, Joseph H. Felter, Radha K. Iyengar, and, Jacob N. Shapiro, The Effect of Civilian Casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq, The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), 1 July 2010

Related posts:
Conflict kills, injures 14 civilians everyday: ARM, 12 July 2010
Civilian casualties rising in Afghanistan, 13 May 2010
Civilian deaths increase by 33%: Govt, 3 May 2010
NATO to reward "courageous restraint" in civilian killings, 4 May 2010
NATO admits four killed were civilians, 21 April 2010

UK to Pull Troops Out of Part of Helmand

UK to Pull Troops Out of Part of Helmand, Financial Times, 7 July 2010

EXCERPT: "Britain is to announce that it will withdraw its 1,000 troops based in the Sangin area of Afghanistan, where the UK has lost about a third of the 311 of its soldiers killed in the war. In a major re-organisation of the Nato deployment in Helmand province, where Sangin lies, Liam Fox, defence secretary, will announce on Wednesday that UK troops are to be replaced by US forces. It is thought likely that the replacement will take place in October, when British troops currently deployed in Sangin will return to the UK. Those that replace them will be posted elsewhere in the country. Nato’s decision will come as a big relief to British forces in Helmand, where the UK has suffered unusually heavy losses this year. Sangin is particularly dangerous because it contains a patchwork of rival tribes and is a major centre of Afghanistan’s opium-growing industry."

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Related articles:
Simon Tisdall: Sangin pullout may be seen as retreat, The Guardian, 7 July 2010
Kim Sengupta: Our 1,400 forces do not need to stay on under US control, The Independent, 7 July 2010
Sangin troop withdrawal: Four years in hell, and Taliban remain undefeated, The Guardian, 6 July 2010

Related posts:
British commander in Helmand believes troops need to stay 10 years, 5 July 2010
UK's Afghan envoy takes leave "amid tensions", 22 June 2010
British army's Helmand mission "began as disaster", 9 June 2010
British Afghan mission to come under US control, 19 May 2010
No "artificial timetable" for withdrawal from Afghanistan, 30 March 2010

British Commander in Helmand Believes Troops Need to Stay 10 Years

Afghanistan: British Commander in Helmand Believes Troops Need to Stay 10 Years, The Sunday Telegraph, 3 July 2010

EXCERPT: "Lt Col Paul James, commanding officer of 40 Commando who are currently fighting in Sangin district, told The Sunday Telegraph there were not enough Nato forces or Afghan police to keep the area safe from a Taliban resurgence. David Cameron last week signalled that he wants British soldiers home by 2015, although Dr Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, has stressed that they will be among the last Nato soldiers to leave Afghanistan. The British Army's view since the start of their deployment in Helmand has been that defeating the Taliban, and building up Afghan forces, will be a long-term undertaking, perhaps lasting many years. General David Petraeus, the new Nato Commander in Afghanistan, gave a rousing call for soldiers and civilians to unite behind the war effort on Saturday, in his first public address since landing in Kabul on Friday to take up his position. Hopes are high in Washington, London and Kabul that the general can work the same miracle he did in Iraq."

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Related articles:
Royal Marine dies in Afghanistan, The Press Association, 3 July 2010
Afghanistan withdrawal date reinforced by William Hague, The Guardian, 1 July 2010
Taliban in Afghanistan rule out Nato negotiation, BBC News, 1 July 2010
Liam Fox on Afghanistan timetable for UK troops, BBC News, 30 June 2010

Related posts:
UK's Afghan envoy takes leave "amid tensions", 22 June 2010
British advances in Afghanistan have escalated conflict: UN, 21 June 2010
British army's Helmand mission "began as disaster", 9 June 2010
Afghans told to run their own security, 2 June 2010
No "artificial timetable" for withdrawal from Afghanistan, 30 March 2010

NATO's Grand Experiment Leaves Marjah Scrabbling For a Future

NATO's Grand Experiment Leaves Marjah Scrabbling For a Future, The Independent, 30 June 2010

EXCERPT: "In a country fractured by mountain ranges and ethnic splits, local government can assume an importance unseen in more benign environments. Turning it into a functioning branch of the state is integral to Western hopes for a stable Afghanistan. Yet months after Nato and the Afghan government first rolled in, Marjah appears to some to be stagnating.It is the slow rate of progress here and across Afghanistan that has helped undermine the relationship between military and political leaders in the West, culminating in General McChrystal's astonishing resignation last week. There is little sign so far that his mentor David Petraeus, who has taken over direct responsibility for the Nato campaign in Afghanistan, will abandon his protégé's strategy – and he has notably failed to endorse timelines set by President Barack Obama to start bringing US troops home. It is what happens in the shadows, though, that will, perhaps, have the largest impact. Night and day, bearded men wearing Afghan robes walk into the Helmand countryside and try to persuade people here to stand up against the insurgents and criminals. They are US Special Operations Forces. And worryingly for politicians still hoping for an imminent exit, they say there is nothing to suggest change will come quickly."

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Related articles:
New US push to secure Marjah area, Financial Times, 30 June 2010
Petraeus on Marjah progress, CNN, 29 June 2010
Insurgents bully bakeries in Marjah, Afghanistan, targeting U.S. strategy, The Dallas Morning News, 26 June 2010
As generals change, will Washington again weigh its strategy In Afghanistan?, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, 25 June 2010
Measuring success and failure in Afghanistan, Asia Times Online, 25 June 2010

Related posts:
Fighting heats up again around Marjah, 20 May 2010
Marjah effort shows values, flaws of Afghan forces, 2 March 2010
Focus in Marjah turns to building government, 1 March 2010
Afghan officials claim control over Taliban area, 25 February 2010
Concern over civilians slows NATO advance, 19 February 2010

British Advances in Afghanistan Have Escalated Conflict: UN

British Advances in Afghanistan Have Escalated Conflict: UN Mission Chief, The Guardian, 21 June 2010

EXCERPT: "Attempts by British and American forces to expand their control over Afghan territory over the past 12 months have been counter-productive and led to a worsening security situation, according to the head of the United Nations monitoring mission on the Taliban. As the death toll of UK troops in the conflict reached 299 on Friday, the former UK counter-terrorism chief, Richard Barrett, told the Observer: 'Most people reckon there's a deterioration.' In an implied criticism of Britain's strategy of expanding its presence in the volatile province of Helmand, he said: 'Foreign troops push into areas where they haven't been before and if the Taliban are there they will start fighting. Then it's not calm. It's not calm because foreign forces have pushed in.' Barrett's comments come amid signs of restlessness from David Cameron over the direction of the Afghan mission. The prime minister said that British and coalition forces should start examining how to go 'further and faster' in order to bring troops home sooner."

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Related articles:
Cost of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan tops £20bn, BBC News, 20 June 2010
Death rate of UK soldiers in Afghanistan "four times higher" than US, The Guardian, 20 June 2010
Helmand: Anatomy of a disaster, Foreign Policy, 15 June 2010
UK PM: Real progress made in central Helmand this year, The Wall Street Journal, 14 June 2010

Related resource:
Anthony King, Understanding the Helmand Campaign: British Military Operations in Afghanistan, Chatham House / International Affairs, 1 March 2010

Related posts:
Britain reaffirms support for Afghanistan effort, 10 June 2010
British army's Helmand mission "began as disaster", 9 June 2010
Afghans told to run their own security, 2 June 2010
British Afghan mission to come under US control, 19 May 2010
Helmand handover to begin next year, 12 November 2009

Afghans Told to Run Their Own Security

Afghans Told to Run Their Own Security, The Guardian, 1 June 2010

EXCERPT: "Britain is putting pressure on Afghanistan to assume full responsibility for its own security as soon as possible, officials said yesterday, as the US took over command of Helmand province. Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, chief of the defence staff, joined Liam Fox, the defence secretary, at the prime minister's official residence, Chequers, for what officials described as a special summit of the National Security Council. 'There were wide-ranging, intensive and productive discussions during the extended session on this, the government's top foreign policy priority,' Downing Street said in a statement. After the meeting, the prime minister, David Cameron, spoke to Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, on the telephone. Karzai told him the peace jirga would be attended by participants representative of the whole country', Downing Street added."

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Related articles:
PM holds "intensive" Afghan talks, The Press Association, 1 June 2010
Afghan talks: general's 10 point plan for Cameron, Channel 4 News, 1 June 2010

Related posts:
British Afghan mission to come under US control, 19 May 2010
No "artificial timetable" for withdrawal from Afghanistan, 30 March 2010
Helmand handover to begin next year, 12 November 2009
Support for Afghan mission drops in UK, Canada, 16 October 2009