Germany to withdraw troops from Afghanistan in 2011
Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:54 GMT
BERLIN, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Germany aims to start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan at the end of 2011, a decade after the start of the war, a government report showed on Monday.
NATO leaders agreed at a summit in Lisbon last month to begin transferring security responsibility in some areas to Afghans from mid-2011, and hand over control of the whole country by the end of 2014, allowing foreign troops to leave.
"In the process of handing over responsibility for security, the government intends to reduce some capacities that are no longer needed by the end of 2011, beginning of 2012 -- as long as the situation allows this," the report by the four relevant ministries read.
Germany is the third-largest troop contributor with around 4,600 forces based in the north, which has seen a spike in violence over the past year.
The war, which faces wide opposition among Germans, already brought down the chief of the armed forces and a minister over a German-ordered air strike against the Taliban last year in which civilians were also killed.
A German president also had to resign earlier this year after saying during a visit to Afghanistan that Germany should use its armed forces to back its foreign trade interests. (Reporting by Sabine Siebold, Writing by Sarah Marsh; Editing by Maria Golovnina)
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