MP: Dutch-trained police fighting Afghanistan offensive

Dutch-trained police officers are fighting against the Taliban along with the Afghanistan army in Kunduz. This is despite the explicit agreement that the Dutch-trained officers would not take part in offensive combat operations. In 2011 GroenLinks only agreed to the Dutch mission in Kunduz under the strict condition that there was absolutely no way that the Dutch trained police officers would take part in acts of war. GroenLinks was very clear that only police officers were to be trained by Dutch forces, NOS reports. Now it seems that these officers are fighting with the army. At the end of April the Taliban surrounded the city of Kunduz. The Afghan army is trying to fight off the attack, trying to prevent the city falling into the hands of the Taliban. "During the last attack, not only the combat troops, but all police forces of the Kunduz province, thus also the local police, were involved", police spokesperson Sayed Sarwar Hussaini said in a telephone conversation with Nieuwsuur. According to the police spokesperson, the army was having trouble fighting off the attack because the Taliban was getting help from foreign jihadists, so the police had to help. "Between the remains of the insurgents we found many foreigners. They are people who were taking part in the attack." Hussaini said. The Taliban denies this claim. "That is propaganda from Kabul. They thereby want to draw attention to this area. Only Afghan mujaheddin are present in Kunduz", Zabiullah Mujahed, spokesperson for the Taliban told Nieuwsuur. Hans Hillen, Minister of Defense in 2011, understands why the Dutch-trained officers took part in the fight against the Taliban in Kunduz. "If your city falls back into the hands of terror, you pull out all the stops to prevent it. And that means that anyone who can hold a weapon is deployed." he said in a reaction, NOS reports.