×
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

French president: all combat troops out in 2012

Last Updated 04 May 2018, 06:26 IST

All French combat forces will pull out of Afghanistan by the end of the year, France's new president said in Kabul today, but some trainers will remain to help Afghanistan's nascent security forces.

Francois Hollande said that France's troops have carried out their mission in Afghanistan and it is time for them to leave, an early pullout that will be coordinated with the United States and other allies.

"There will be no combat troops" after the end of the year, Hollande said during a joint news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Hollande flew to Afghanistan to meet with troops and to discuss plans with Karzai to withdraw French combat troops more than a year earlier than scheduled. His visit was not announced ahead of time for security reasons, and he was expected to depart shortly after the news conference.

Hollande said that France will pull its 2,000 combat troops, out of a total of 3,300, out by the end of the year.

Some would stay behind to help send military equipment back to France, and others would help train the Afghan army and police. He did not provide a breakdown for the roles of the 1,300 soldiers who will remain past 2012 or how long they would stay.

Hollande said that continued cooperation was discussed over lunch with Karzai "because there will continue to be trainers who will work with (Afghan) soldiers and police."

He said French equipment would be taken out by ground routes, but did not say which ones.

Pakistan closed overland supply routes to Afghanistan for NATO after a US attack on the Pakistani side of the border killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last November. The decision has forced NATO to use a far more costly route running through the north.

ADVERTISEMENT
(Published 25 May 2012, 11:35 IST)

Follow us on

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT