What do People in Kunduz Think of German Troops?

Kunduz in northern Afghanistan was once known as a peaceful province, far away from the war-torn south of the country. But in the past two years, it has witnessed a surge in the activity of Islamist insurgents. Governor Mohammad Omar blames German troops for the worsening situation in the province. "The commanders are changed every six months. Some show initiative, some are reluctant and some are really weak,” says Omar.

The governor says the Germans are not pushing hard enough against the rebels in Kunduz, perhaps because of a fear of political fallout back in Germany. This view is shared by many locals. Habibullah, a teacher, praises the German commitment to the development of the province but insists it is more important to ensure safety. "It does not matter how many soldiers are deployed here, if they do not offer any protection against danger."

Training Afghan forces

Since 2006, Germany has deployed nearly 1,000 Bundeswehr soldiers in Kunduz under the International Security Assistance Force. Berlin is expected to send an extra 120 troops to the province in January 2010.

Habiba Urfan a provincial council member in Kunduz hopes the Bundeswehr will step up its efforts to train the Afghan army and police. "Until we, Afghans, are ready to take control of security ourselves, we will need the Germans."

This opinion is shared by U.S. President Barack Obama and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. They recently reiterated that US and NATO troops would remain until Afghan forces become self sufficient.

In Kunduz, the Afghan army has already led many operations against the insurgents, but so far with only modest success. That is why, people like Yousif, a local dealer, want the foreign troops to remain in the country. "Foreign troops must stay until our soldiers and police are ready to act alone against the Taliban," he says.

Security in Kunduz

The Taliban never completely left the province after their government was ousted in the US-led invasion of 2001. Protected by the Pashtun population, many fighters have returned to Kunduz in recent years. Uzbek allies from the al-Qaeda terrorist network are also operating there.

Moreover, the incident on September 4 this year has also shown in fact a war is raging in the country at the moment. In that incident, the Taliban hijacked two fuel trucks in Kunduz. The commander of the German provincial reconstruction team ordered an airstrike, thinking, as he put it afterwards, that the risk of harming innocent people was small. However, many people were killed in the raid, some of them civilians. Though the number remains uncertain, NATO puts the total death toll at 142.

The incident triggered the resignation of Franz Josef Jung, the then German defence minister, from his new post in the Merkel Cabinet in Berlin, and also caused the Armed forces chief of staff, Wolfgang Schneiderhan, to quit. Residents in Kunduz have drawn their own conclusions over the developments in Berlin. Habibullah is one of them. "These resignations should not have come. Now, the Bundeswehr soldiers will not fight. Their officers will no longer want to get involved in a combat mission,” he says.

In Berlin the affair is still far from over. The government has been accused of covering up the incident. And this week German lawmakers voted in parliament in favour of an investigation into the affair.

Author: Sabina Matthay/Disha Uppal
Editor: Grahame Lucas