Low government presence threatens disbandment of illegal armed groups

A government-led effort to disband illegal armed groups is proceeding slowly in remote parts of Afghanistan where Kabul's writ remains weak, officials at the National Disarmament and Reintegration (DR) Commission say. "In most of the districts where irresponsible regional armed commanders receive money through unlawful means, including illegal tax collection and enforcing people to smuggle narcotics, the public have raised their voices to expedite the collection of arms and establish a stronger administration," Masoum Stanekzai, a minister advising Afghan President Hamid Karzai and deputy head of the DR commission, explained. Following completion of the UN-backed Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) of ex-combatants programmes in late June, the government and the UN have set their sights on getting the guns out of herds of armed men that still roam the countryside. Successor to the DDR effort begun in October 2003, which sought to disarm and dissolve the large private armies maintained by regional warlords, the Disbandment of Illegal Groups (DIAG) effort will address just that. More than 60,000 former combatants were disarmed by the DDR, taking the international community nearly 20 months and over US $150 million to complete. In addition to the decommissioning of ex-combatants, around 35,000 light and medium weapons and 11,004 heavy weapons were collected across the country. Conversely, DIAG aims to dismantle an estimated 1,800 illegal armed bands of men, comprised of up to 100,000 individuals, who continue to pose a major security concern in many parts of the country. Financed by the Japanese government, DIAG is run by the interior and defence ministries and the national security agency, and overseen by the UN. But the challenge in doing so is great. More than three years after a US-led coalition toppled the Taliban regime, these groups are still regarded as a threat to stability. However, according to the DR commission, newly ratified legislation will soon be in force, effectively banning the unlicensed ownership of private arms and ammunitions. Under new regulations only those with the necessary permits issued by the interior ministry will be allowed to bear arms. Moreover, all arms being stored in caches would be collected, in addition to all unlicensed small weapons kept at home, officials at the DR commission explained. Since its launch in early June, more than 20,000 arms have been collected by DIAG across the country, Stanekzai reported, noting that strict measures should be undertaken to ensure an arms-free society through nationwide awareness, adding that they would also seek help from members of the upcoming parliament in this regard. "Weapons registered in the Ministry of Defence have been collected by the DDR. Remaining weapons out of government control would be collected through the DIAG process," Ahmad Jan Nowzadi, public information officer of ANBP in the capital Kabul, added. Meanwhile, 16 former Afghan Military Forces (AMF) commanders, whose units had been decommissioned as part of the nationwide disarmament process, were awarded with one-month business management courses designed by Afghanistan’s New Beginnings Programme (ANBP). The certificates were distributed as a part of the commanders' reintegration programme on Thursday in Kabul.