Brussels, Saturday, 04 February 2012: Nato military commanders will beef up security measures to prevent insurgents from infiltrating the Afghan army after French troops were killed by a renegade soldier, the alliance chief said on Friday.

Nato defence ministers endorsed a French proposal to task military authorities with devising new plans before the end of the month as they wrapped up two days of talks focused on the decade-old war.

“We have already taken a lot of steps,” Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told a news conference. “But in light of recent events we agreed to strengthen those efforts.” Six per cent of overall Nato deaths in Afghanistan have been attributed to attacks by Afghan security forces, according to a confidential alliance report leaked to the media last month.

Some 130,000 Nato troops work with more than 300,000 Afghan security forces. “There is a realisation about the need to better control the recruitment to prevent infiltrations in the army,” French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet told reporters.

“These events are rare but they are symbolically important for the credibility of the Afghan army,” he said. “Quantitatively, they are marginal. Media-wise, they are unbearable.” Nato did not provide details about the plans but they are expected to focus on better controlling the recruitment of Afghans, deeper investigations into potential recruits and the use of biometric technology.
(News agency)