Troops mentoring ANP ‘on edge’ after shooting
‘Too easy’ for Taliban to infiltrate
Published:
BRITISH troops mentoring police in Afghanistan said yesterday they were “on edge” following the shooting dead of the five soldiers.
The trust between the Britons and the Afghan National Police (ANP) was put under strain by the mass shooting on Tuesday.
ANP members condemned the surprise attack but said it was all too easy for the Taliban to infiltrate the police.
Soldiers from 2 Company, 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards are training the ANP around Helmand province, staying in the same check points and performing joint patrols.
The men teach basic police skills including weapon handling, arrest procedures, vehicle checks and how to stop and search a suspect.
Some outposts have uniformed police who can be relied on to carry out their duties.
But British soldiers also accuse some ANP of messing around, taking drugs and being unwilling to learn.
Despite the challenges they face the British soldiers said they had a job to do and hoped their training would allow the Afghans to eventually provide their own security.
Platoon commander Lieutenant Ben Rutt, 28, from Oxford, said: “With our work you never trust anyone, you never trust them 100%, but we’re still doing exactly the same job the same way.
“The blokes are perhaps slightly more on edge, more anxious, but they understand that we have to continue with the job.
“It’s crucial we don’t tar all the ANP with one rogue brush. A lot of these guys are just trying to do their duty.
“Unfortunately there’s some really rotten apples in the bunch.”
He added: “It’s their country and it’s their way and we can’t force them to do it our way.
“What I say to them is ’we can learn from you and you can learn from us but we are stronger when we are together’.
“It’s better to not just tell them what to do but to tell them how it’s relevant. Like anyone they don’t want to be barked at.
“Unfortunately, they do need constant supervision – but they are improving.
“The Afghan National Army (ANA) has been a focus for a long time but work with the ANP is still in the early stages.”
Asked about the shooting, Guardsman Carl Pearson, 24, from Pudsey, Leeds, said: “It’s definitely made us a bit more worried.
“It’s left us a bit more on edge.”
