Marjah locals welcome Op MOSHTARAK as a 'new dawn'
19 Feb 10
As Operation MOSHTARAK enters its second week, local people in Marjah have voiced their thanks to the ISAF troops involved in clearing the area of insurgents.
Gifts are handed out following a shura led by the Afghan National Army
[Picture: Staff Sergeant Mark Jones, Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]
In a briefing to the media today, Friday 19 February 2010, UK military spokesman Major General Gordon Messenger said that locals within the agricultural population of the town are welcoming troops arriving in the area.
Operation MOSHTARAK is being conducted in the Marjah area by predominantly American and Afghan troops, while British troops and their Afghan partners have been concentrating in the Nad 'Ali district.
Maj Gen Messenger said about the situation in Marjah:
"The locals that the troops are encountering are talking about being oppressed both by the Taliban in that area and the narcotics community in that area for some time.
"The legitimate agricultural population in that area are welcoming the forces arriving and see it as a new dawn."
More than two thirds of the clearance phase of Operation MOSHTARAK have now been completed. Maj Gen Messenger explained that plans to provide extra security to key roads between Nad 'Ali and Lashkar Gah were now a high priority for Commander of ISAF Regional Command South, Major General Nick Carter.
Maj Gen Messenger said:
Soldiers of the Afghan National Army and Fire Support Company, 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh, in the Garbay Noray area of Nad 'Ali, Helmand province
[Picture: Staff Sergeant Mark Jones, Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]
"Freedom of movement is vital so that locals can go about their business without fear of IEDs on the road and so we can bring key supplies into the area, and so the Afghan governors can get out to do their business.
"Clearing routes 604 and 608 from Lashkar Gah is at the front of Nick Carter's mind to improve access."
But, as Maj Gen Messenger explained, Taliban resistance has increased over the past few days which has slowed down the progress of ISAF troops:
"With the clearance phase happening in Marjah", he said, "resistance in that area has increased. We did expect the enemy to up the level of resistance and that has happened.
"ISAF and Afghan forces are being directly targeted more now than they were before, but the enemy is still uncoordinated.
"Major General Nick Carter has told me that as far as he is concerned, that level of resistance will not in any way threaten the progress of the mission.
A soldier from Fire Support Company, 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh, talking to Afghan children
[Picture: Staff Sergeant Mark Jones, Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]
"He sees the clearance taking some days yet and the reason for that is that it is being done in a systematic way with the intention of avoiding civilian casualties as much as possible, and minimising the risk to his own people."
As the clearance phase continues, troops are also consolidating by ensuring routes are clear of IEDs and conducting intelligence-led compound searches with the help of locals.
ISAF troops are in the very early stages of the immediate stablisation of Marjah, with some areas showing signs of being stabilised earlier than others.
In Nad 'Ali, around 200 more Gendarmerie (formerly known as the Afghan National Civil Order Police) will arrive in the coming days. Governor Mangal expects shortly to release the Nad 'Ali District Plan, which will outline community engagement for the future.
There have been three UK fatalities, ten US fatalities and two Afghan National Army fatalities during Op MOSHTARAK.