Afghanistan to disband private armies

The Afghan government has ordered the disbanding of all private armies.

A presidential spokesman said the move was intended to boost efforts to create a national military force, but there was no word on how the order would be enforced.

There's been no reaction from the warlords who control the private armies, and there's likely to be strong opposition fom them. The presidential spokesman said the government hoped to overcome opposition by appointing a leading warlord such as Abdul Rashid Dostam, or the governor of Herat, Ismail Khan, to oversee a commission on the disbandment. Earlier, the American Deputy Defence Secretary, Paul Wolfowitz, inspected potential recruits to a new force being trained by American officers.

He said his talks with President Hamid Karzai focused on the development of an Afghan national army which would prevent the country harbouring terrorists ever again.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service