31 March 2008

'10,000 refugees returns in first month of repatriation from Pakistan', United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 31 March 2008

EXCERPT: "Approximately 10,000 Afghan refugees repatriated from Pakistan under the UN Refugee Agency's first month of assisted voluntary repatriation, a significant decrease compared to the same period last year when nearly 40,000 non-registered Afghans returned. The high number of last year's return...

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31 March 2008

'New Joint Effort Aims to Empower Afghan Tribes to Guard Themselves', The Washington Post, 31 March 2008

EXCERPT: "Afghan, British and U.S. officials have launched a new security initiative to empower tribes and other residents -- including former Taliban -- to guard their communities in southern Afghanistan against insurgents and criminals. The controversial multimillion-dollar program, approved last month by President Hamid Karzai...

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31 March 2008

'NATO: Overtaxed Allies Assess Role In Afghanistan', Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty, 31 March 2008

EXCERPT: "As NATO leaders meet in Bucharest on April 2-4, they will take stock of the situation in Afghanistan and the toll the conflict has taken on the alliance. The patience of the countries that are bearing the brunt of the fighting against the insurgency in Afghanistan's restive south is wearing thin. More than 200 international...

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31 March 2008

'First Pakistan-Afghan-NATO "anti-terror" border centre opens', Agence France Presse, 30 March 2008

EXCERPT: "Afghan, NATO and Pakistan officials Saturday [29 March 2008] opened the first of six intelligence-sharing centres to be dotted along the nations' troubled border to boost anti-terrorism efforts. The centre opened in key Afghan border town Torkham, and the others, will improve coordination between Afghanistan, Pakistan...

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31 March 2008

'Georgia offers 500 Troops to NATO Afghan force', Reuters AlertNet', 31 March 2008

EXCERPT: "Georgia is offering to send a 500-strong force to join NATO operations in Afghanistan, a defence ministry source said on Monday [31 March 2008], two days before an alliance summit considers Georgia's application for membership. "Talks on sending up to 500 Georgian peacekeepers to Afghanistan are now under way," the source, who did not...

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