Election Security Tightened in the North

Far from the southern heartland of the bitter conflict between the Taleban and troops of the United States and the Afghan government, the arrival of camouflaged armoured vehicles in the north has caught many residents by surprise.

But security forces in the north are taking no chances in the run-up to the September 18 parliamentary and provincial council elections. The territory may not be traditional Taleban or al-Qaeda terrain, however the possibility of a surprise attack is not being ruled out.

Among those on the ground since last month in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif is a 750-strong rapid reaction force battalion of Dutch troops under the command of the International Security Assistance Force, ISAF.

Battalion commander Richard Oppelare acknowledges that security in the city is satisfactory, but adds, "Our forces are deployed everywhere they are necessary. In those areas that need greater security, there are greater numbers of troops so they can prevent possible enemy attacks."

The new patrols, which drew mixed reactions from residents in Mazar-e-Sharif, were effectively dress rehearsals for the security measures which will be in place for the elections, as well as an opportunity to help the Afghan police and army maintain security.

The Netherlands officer said that there had been simultaneous deployments of a 750-strong Romanian battalion in central Afghanistan, and a similar-sized Spanish force also under ISAF command in the west of the country.

As one ISAF patrol moved along a street in Mazar-e-Sharif city centre, Khair Mohammad wondered why they were needed there.

"There are no Taleban and no al-Qaeda here. We have complete security. During the [2004 presidential] election we cast our votes by ourselves. I don’t know why the number of foreign soldiers is increasing day by day," said Mohammad, a resident of the Sholgara district of Balkh province, of which Mazar-e-Sharif is the administrative centre.

"I don’t know what all this means. I see their vehicles patrolling three times a day, sometimes on this road and sometimes on that road. During the presidential election I never saw such tanks in Mazar-e-Sharif," he said, referring to ISAF armoured personnel carriers.

Nasrullah, a resident of Mazar-e-Sharif, said he had seen foreign soldiers on patrol in Kabul, so was not alarmed by their presence here - in fact, he was pleased to see them.

"We are going to vote for parliament, and the foreign and national forces must maintain our security on election day. I am happy with the presence of foreign forces to maintain security, but I hope they have really come for that and not just for manoeuvres," he said.

Colonel Jon Briton, commander of the northern Provincial Reconstruction Team, PRT – a military force involved in both security and in helping rebuild infrastructure – agrees that there is less risk of attack in the north, but says this is no reason to let down one’s guard.

"Because election time is a good one for terrorists to try to disturb security, the number of security forces is increasing day by day," he said.

Security on election day mainly rests with the national police and army, with ISAF ready to help them out, said Colonel Briton. He added that some 35,000 members of the Afghan security forces had been deployed in the country’s 34 provinces ahead of the poll.

Defence ministry spokesman General Zahir Azimi said, "The security forces have been assigned to their stations, and all possible types of danger have been assessed. They have the ability to thwart any incident."

General Taj Mohammad, commander of the Afghan army’s 209th Shahin Corps, which has responsibility for security in nine northern provinces, said there was no possibility of a Taleban attack there.

But he said that if "there is any possibility of danger from the Taleban or from local [militia] commanders, we will be able to prevent it", and added that he was prepared to call in the Afghan air force if necessary.

Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi is an IWPR staff reporter in Mazar-e-Sharif.