UK TROOPS OUT OF AFGHANISTAN ON 2014

London, 14 Safar 1435/17 December 2013 (MINA) – The British Prime Minister, David Cameron stated the British government will withdraw its remaining five thousand troops from Afghanistan by the end 2014.

Cameron said that British troops, 446 who have lost their lives since the operation began in 2001, can “come home with their heads held high.”

In regards to the British government’s promise to withdraw British troops from Afghanistan, Cameron said, “The timetable for the withdrawal of British troops is a plan that we will stick to. I said, back in 2010, that after the end of 2014 there would not be British troops in a combat role and we will stick to that.”

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The ongoing withdrawal of British troops next year will be paused in an effort to maintain stability in the country during the elections on April 5th. Some UK troops are also expected to remain in Afghanistan in order to provide security training for Afghan forces after 2014. Anadolu media reported as quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA).

The prime minister met forces stationed at Camp Bastion in Helmand, a year before the last British combat forces are due to leave the country.

He said a “basic level of security” had been achieved and troops could “come home with their heads held high. But Labour warned against complacency, insisting the “job was not yet done”.

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However, senior military figures are braced for increased activity next year as more troops pull out and expect elections being staged next year to be a particular focus for insurgent groups.

Asked by reporters if personnel were coming home with the message “mission accomplished”, the prime minister, accompanied by former England footballer Michael Owen, said: “Yes, I think they do.”

He added: “To me, the absolute driving part of the mission is a basic level of security so it doesn’t become a haven for terror. That is the mission, that was the mission and I think we will have accomplished that mission and so our troops can be very proud of what they have done.”

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Mr Cameron’s comments come two months after Afghan president Hamid Karzai said there was only “partial” security in the country and foreign troops should have done more to target safe havens in Pakistan.

They also echo former US President George W Bush’s May 2003 declaration that the US role in Iraq was “mission accomplished”, only to see a big increase in sectarian violence which lasted a decade.(T/P04/P03)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)