Nato’s training of Afghan forces maintained beyond drawdown

Ongoing military support to shield Afghanistan from threat of Taliban

US Marines on the frontlines of a US Marine Corps base, near a cardboard sign reminding everyone that Taliban forces could be anywhere, in southern Afghanistan, December 1, 2001. Reuters

Afghan Army soldiers break the fast at their military base, during Ramadan, amid the coronavirus pandemic in Herat, Afghanistan, April 17. EPA

A man waits for customers at his shop in Kandahar, Afghanistan, April 15. EPA

Afghan security officials pat down vistors at a roadside checkpoint in Helmand, Afghanistan, April 15. EPA

Children collect recycleable waste to be sold for a living, in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, April 15. EPA

An Afghan man who was injured in a bomb blast, receives medical treatment at a hospital in Arghandab district of Kandahar, Afghanistan, April 15. EPA

A US Army soldier near Command Outpost Pa'in Kalay in Maiwand District, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, February 3, 2013. Reuters

A shoe polisher boy holds an umbrella as he waits for customers under graffiti on a wall in Kabul, Afghanistan April 15. Reuters

Captain Melvin Cabebe with the US Army's 1-320 Field Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division stands near a burning M-ATV armored vehicle after it struck an improvised explosive device near Combat Outpost Nolen in the Arghandab Valley north of Kandahar, Afghanistan, July 23, 2010. Reuters

Youths take pictures near an Afghan flag on a hilltop overlooking Kabul, Afghanistan, April 15. Reuters

Two Northern Alliance soldiers watch as dust and smoke rise after explosions at Taliban positions on Kalakata hill, near the village of Ai Khanum in northern Afghanistan, November 1, 2001. Reuters

Afghan policemen stand next to a captured Taliban fighter after a gun battle near the village of Shajoy in Zabol province, Afghanistan March 22, 2008. Reuters

US Marine Lance Corporal Chris Sanderson, from Flemington, New Jersey shouts as he tries to protect an Afghan man and his child after Taliban fighters opened fire in the town of Marjah, in Nad Ali district, Helmand province, Afghanistan, February 13, 2010. Reuters

Ryan Lemm salutes the casket of his father, NYPD officer Joseph Lemm, who was killed on duty in Afghanistan. New York, US, December 30, 2015. Reuters

A US soldier of 2-12 Infantry 4BCT-4ID Task Force Mountain Warrior takes a break during a night mission near Honaker Miracle camp at the Pesh valley of Kunar Province, Afghanistan, August 12, 2009. Reuters

US soldier Nicholas Dickhut, from 5-20 infantry Regiment, attached to 82nd Airborne, points his rifle at a doorway after coming under fire by the Taliban while on patrol in Zharay district in Kandahar province, Afghanistan April 26, 2012. Reuters

Sgt William Olas Bee, a US Marine from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, has a close call after Taliban fighters opened fire near Garmsir in Helmand Province of Afghanistan, May 18, 2008. Reuters

Lesleigh Coyer, of Saginaw, Michigan, lies down in front of the grave of her brother, Ryan Coyer, who served with the US Army in both Iraq and Afghanistan, at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, US, March 11, 2013. Reuters

US President Joe Biden walks through Arlington National cemetary to honour fallen veterans of the Afghan conflict in Arlington, Virginia on April 14. AFP

Nato will continue to train Afghan soldiers even after the Alliance ends its 18-year mission in Afghanistan this year.

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said support would be given to Afghan special forces outside the country, although he did not say where.

Nato has already begun withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, where about 10,000 were stationed to advise and train Afghan security as part of the Resolute Support Mission.

Mr Stoltenberg, speaking in Paris alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, said the Alliance would continue to provide such assistance.

“As we end our military presence, we are opening a new chapter. Nato’s future support will have three main pillars,” Mr Stoltenberg said.

“First, we plan to provide advice and capacity support to Afghan security institutions, as well as continued financial support to the Afghan security forces.

“Second, we are planning to provide military education and training outside Afghanistan, focusing on Special Operations Forces.”

Mr Stoltenberg said Nato also planned “to fund the provision of services, including support for the functioning of Kabul airport”.

“All this will enable Nato allies and the broader international community to continue to help the Afghan people and contribute to the peace efforts,” he said.

US President Joe Biden wants American troops out of Afghanistan by September 11, 20 years to the day since the Al Qaeda attacks on US soil that sparked the initial invasion.

But there are fears that the drawdown could lead to the Afghan government being overrun by the Taliban, given the rising levels of violence in the country.