Germany begins Afghan pullout in 2011

[unhappycamper]

Germany aims to begin handing over security responsibilities to Afghan local forces in at least one of the country's northern provinces by 2011.


Germany begins Afghan pullout in 2011
Sat, 10 Jul 2010 04:30:03 GMT

The German foreign minister says the country aims to begin handing over responsibility for security for Afghanistan's northern provinces to local forces next year.

In a statement to the Bundestag, or lower house of parliament on Friday, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Germany should transfer at least one of the nine provinces it controls in the war-torn country by 2011, Reuters reported.

"We want to create the conditions within this legislative period that will allow the step-by-step withdrawal of our military presence," he said.

The address came days ahead of an international conference on the region, to be held in the Afghan capital Kabul on July 20.

"Only the Afghan government itself can make peace with those they are fighting," Westerwelle said. "It's also the task of the international community to bring Afghanistan's neighbors into this process."