Afghanistan is another step closer to abolishing private security firms operating in the country as the deadline for them to be replaced with the Afghan Interior Ministry's new Afghan Private Protection Force approaches.
In Syria, the memo about the latest UN Security Council peace plan doesn't seem to have reached government murderers, as at least 60 civilians are reportedly killed today. The US is trying to block Iran from sending materiel to Syria.
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Afghanistan
Afghanistan is another step closer to abolishing private security firms operating in the country as the deadline for them to be replaced with the Afghan Interior Ministry's new Afghan Private Protection Force approaches.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has long been opposed to the large number of private security companies in the country, set the end of March as the deadline for the move, although that timeframe has been extended for up to 90 days to facilitate the transition.
A spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force, Brigadier General Carsten Jacobson, said Thursday this is an important milestone in the process of transferring all security responsibilities to Afghan forces before coalition combat troops leave Afghanistan in 2014.
Jacobson said “the APPF is focusing now on taking over security for development projects, convoys and commercial businesses.” He said that by March 2013, all security for ISAF bases and construction sites are scheduled to transition to the Afghan force.
Mr. Karzai has said that private guards undermine his nation's army and police and also expressed concern about the conduct of some private security companies.
Some international organizations and private security companies have privately expressed reservations about whether the Afghan Interior Ministry guards can be trusted to provide the same level of protection and security. There are also concerns about the potential for corruption by ministry officials who will have exclusive control of the industry, as well as how much the service will cost.
Private development companies say that if security concerns do develop or associated costs increase significantly, they will delay or cancel projects which could cost Afghanistan billions in U.S. aid.
Syria
The United States wants Iraq to stop Iran from using Iraqi airspace to ship weapons to Syria. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is one of the last major suppliers of military intelligence and weapons to embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
U.S. officials say Iran's support for the Syrian government, along with help from Russia, is one of the biggest reasons that President Assad has survived a year-long uprising. Most of those Iranian weapons are flown to Syria through Iraq, which also supports Assad.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland says Baghdad should prevent the shipments.
"We are making the point that any export of arms or related materials from Iran, frankly, to any destination would be a violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1747, and that any arms sent to the Syrian regime at this time would obviously be used in the brutal repression that the regime is exacting on its own people," said Nuland.
Foreign policy analyst Malou Innocent says Iran enhances its regional power by supporting President Assad.
"Assad's government has been seen as a sort of an arm of the Iranian government in terms of assisting proxy forces in Lebanon through Hezbollah and also with Hamas," said Innocent.
Fresh clashes broke out across Syria, a day after the United Nations Security Council called for the government and opponents to enact a peace plan proposed by a U.N. envoy.
Opposition and rights groups Thursday said the latest wave of violence had killed at least 60 people, more than half of them civilians.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told VOA a bus carrying 10 people was attacked in Idlib province by unidentified assailants. Activists say at least five women and children were killed. A separate group, the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria (LOC) said the bus had been heading for a refugee camp across the border in Syria. Syria's state-run news agency SANA blames armed terrorists for the incident.
The groups also blamed the Syrian government for shelling and clashes with rebels in Hama Thursday and a deadly ambush by opposition forces in the southern province, Daraa. Activists also reported government troops killing three people in the Homs' district town of Qusair.
They said other fatalities included Syrian soldiers who had refused to fire on civilians.
Based on VOA New reports