NATO to equip fledgling Afghan army

NATO has agreed to equip the fledgling Afghanistan National Army (ANA) to enhance its capacity, Afghan Defense Minister General Abdul Rahim Wardak said Thursday.

It was our demand to replace our weapons with those used by NATO forces, Wardak told reporters.

He said agreements had been reached at a recent meeting of NATO defense ministers in Spain, which Wardak attended, to give more support to Afghan soldiers.

Turkey would donate three artillery batteries, Czech to provide 20,000 Kalashnikovs machine guns, and Slovak also to donate machine guns, while Norway, Denmark, Holland and Italy have promised to help boosting the ANA's capability, Wardak said.

However, he did not say when the NATO states would deliver the military equipment to Afghanistan, only saying "We would have the equipment soon."

Last month, the United States announced to seek 10.6 billion U. S. dollars from the Congress to boost the Afghan army and other security institutions as well as to aid reconstruction here.

Source: Xinhua