British forces to hand Musa Qala to US

Friday, March 12, 2010

British forces in Afghanistan will hand control of Musa Qala in northern Helmand Province to the US Marines over the coming weeks, it has been announced.

Around 500 soldiers from the Household Cavalry in Musa Qala are expected to be re-deployed to Babaji in central Helmand.

Under the current configuration of forces in Helmand, British forces are responsible for the protection of 70 per cent of the local population with only 30 per cent of coalition troops. The move will improve the ratio of ISAF and Afghan troops to civilians across Helmand's main areas of population, and has been made possible by the increase of ISAF forces in Helmand from around 7,700 in 2009 to over 20,000 today.

The reconfiguration will better support US and ISAF commander General Stanley McChrystal's strategy to win over the civilian population by protecting them from Taliban insurgents. The UK will remain the lead for reconstruction in the town and will now be militarily supported by US Marine Corps.

British troops had been defending Musa Qala in 2006 when a peace deal with local elders was brokered on the understanding that the elders would resist the return of the Taliban. In early 2007, several hundred Taliban fighters reportedly took control of the town, which had to be recaptured by ISAF forces in December 2007.

Defence Secretary, Bob Ainsworth said: "Since British forces entered Musa Qala in 2006, there is no doubt that the town has changed for the better. This is down to the dedication of successive brigades whose courage and professionalism, alongside that of their Afghan counterparts and other ISAF partners, has enabled the district centre to flourish and improve the lives of the people who live there. They should be very proud of the progress that has been made.

"We must never forget the 23 brave service personnel who gave their lives to make Musa Qala an area in which Afghans can go about their daily lives in security and under strong, stable governance."

Major General Nick Carter, Commander, Regional Command South said: "The arrival of the first force package ordered by President Obama prior to Christmas last year enabled Regional Command to mount Operation Moshtarak. It now allows us to rebalance all our forces to achieve much improved force densities in Central Helmand delivering better protection of the Afghan people and support to governance. As part of this force balancing, the final unit of force package one will take over Musah Qalah releasing a British battle group to Central Helmand. This move has been made possible not just by the uplift of forces but also by the improving situation in Now Zad and Musa Qala."