Nearly 60,000 Ex-Combatants Disarmed In Afghanistan
UN New York, Jun 9 2005
Almost 60,000 former Afghan military troops have disarmed, and most of them have entered a programme aimed at helping
them to re-join society, the United Nations reported today.
Of the 58,974 officers and soldiers who have laid down their arms, 49,205 have entered the reintegration process known
as the New Beginnings Programme, according to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). The programme offers jobs or skills training and support for establishing small businesses.
The mission said that around 33,500 medium and light weapons were collected from military units which have gone through
the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) process.
Somewhat less than a third of those weapons were transferred to the Afghan Ministry of Defence and the Afghan National
Army. Useable ammunition has been transported to safe storage, the mission reported.
ENDS