PAN, February 5, 2013

Taliban run training camp in Deshu: Naeem

He said if the Taliban-prone residents in the border area were provided with work opportunities, they would not join the insurgents and would continue to live a normal life

By Shams Jalal

The Taliban are running a training camp, with fighters receiving practical guidance, in the Deshu district of southern Helmand province, the governor said on Tuesday.

In an exclusive interview with Pajhwok Afghan News, Mohammad Naeem said the Taliban had established a training centre in the Bahramcha area that borders Pakistan.

A screen grab from a propaganda video released by the Taliban, reportedly from a training camp in Afghanistan along the Pakistani border. (Photo: Nefafoundation.org)

He said the camp posed a serious threat to the security situation in several provinces. "The rebels organise their plans from the camp," claimed Naeem, who called on the central government to launch a major operation to dismantle the rebel's facility.

He said if the Taliban-prone residents in the border area were provided with work opportunities, they would not join the insurgents and would continue to live a normal life.

“They should be offered jobs through initiating development projects,” said the Helmand governor, who said situation in his province had a direct impact on the security situation in Kandahar, Farah, Nimroz, Ghor, Herat and Badghis.

Naeemi said insurgent activity had surged in districts including Nahr-i-Saraj, Sangin, Kajaki and Nad Ali.

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