Afghans move to curb private security firms

KABUL, Afghanistan — Echoing a growing problem in Iraq, Afghan authorities are cracking down on lucrative but largely unregulated security firms, some of which are suspected of murder.

Two private Afghan security companies were raided and shut down this week, and a dozen or so more contractors — including some protecting embassies — would be closed soon, police and foreign officials said Thursday.

The government is proposing new rules to tighten control over such firms, after similar efforts by authorities in Iraq to rein in private security contractors often accused of acting with impunity. Blackwater USA guards protecting a U.S. Embassy convoy in Baghdad allegedly killed 17 civilians last month.

Dozens of such security companies also operate in Afghanistan, including Blackwater and DynCorp.

Authorities on Tuesday closed the Afghan-run security firms Watan and Caps, where 82 illegal weapons were found during the two raids in Kabul, police Gen. Ali Shah Paktiawal said.

More companies — "maybe 13, maybe 14" — will be closed next week, including some whose employees may have committed robberies or murder, he said.

Many foreign embassies in Kabul rely on private guards — typically highly trained former soldiers or police officers — because Afghan forces don't have the skills, or the trustworthiness, to carry out high-profile protection jobs.

One security official said the catalyst for the Afghan reforms was the May 2006 anti-foreigner riot in Kabul, which erupted over a wreck involving a U.S. military truck. Some 20 people died in the turmoil, mostly of gunshot wounds.

"Allegedly there were 10,000 guards, but in truth the Ministry of Interior had no idea who they were, who they were reporting to," the official said.

The Interior Ministry says 59 Afghan and international security companies are registered, but the official said as many as 25 other firms could be operating in the country.

The draft rules, which are under discussion by President Hamid Karzai's government, say the main problem is the absence of "checks and balances" over the work of private security companies. The draft also warns that operating as a security company can provide cover for a "wide range of militia and criminal groups."

The U.S. military employs about 1,000 private guards in Afghanistan, said Air Force Lt. Col. Todd Vician, a Defense Department spokesman.

Marines to review

deadly incident

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — The Marine Corps will convene a special court of inquiry to look into a March 4 shooting in Afghanistan in which its troops allegedly killed as many as 19 civilians, the Marines announced Thursday.

The inquiry, which is not a criminal proceeding, was ordered by Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis and will be held at the Marine base at Camp Lejeune, N.C. The court of inquiry, to be made up of senior officers with combat experience, is expected to take two weeks. No date has been set.

The troops cited in the incident were from the Marine Special Operations Unit. Some Afghans accused the Americans of opening fire recklessly at civilians while traveling in a convoy; lawyers for the Marines say they were returning fire from an ambush.

— Los Angeles Times

Also

WASHINGTON — The White House on Thursday said Lt. Michael P. Murphy, a Navy SEAL, will receive the Medal of Honor. Murphy, who was killed as he tried to save three of his fellow fighters on a remote mountainside in Afghanistan in June 2005, is the first armed-forces member serving in Afghanistan to receive the nation's highest military honor.

— Newsday