Afghan residents, UK troops comment on security situation in Helmand

Описание: (2 Dec 2009)
1. Wide of market in Sangin town
2. Various of British soldiers on patrol
3. SOUNDBITE: (Pashto) Rahmat Ullah, local resident:
"The kind of security we have here is not good. Whenever we want to come to the market or go back home we have to be very careful. There are no safe routes to walk on."
4. Mid of British soldier on patrol
5. SOUNDBITE: (Pashto) Mohammad Hamza, local resident:
"We know that there is fighting every now and then but we cannot even do our daily work because we cannot commute easily on the streets because most of the time the routes to the market and our homes are closed off because of fighting."
6. Mid of British soldiers in the market
7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Lieutenant Colonel Nick Kitson, British commander in Sangin district of Helmand province:
"It depends how you define peace, but I would say that everywhere other than the outskirts, so a kilometre to two kilometres outside the bazaar area is pretty peaceful."
8. Wide of British military convoy driving in Sangin district
9. Wide of helicopters flying over area
STORYLINE:
Afghans in volatile southern Helmand province spoke of their frustration at the insecurity in Sangin town on the day US President Barack Obama announced he was sending 30-thousand more US troops to the country.
Some local residents said their daily routes to work were fraught with danger due to the fighting.
"There are no safe routes to walk on," Rahmat Ullah said.
However, the British commander in Sangin district said the area was relatively calm.
"It depends how you define peace, but I would say that everywhere other than the outskirts, so a kilometre to two kilometres outside the bazaar area is pretty peaceful," Lieutenant Colonel Nick Kitson said.
On Monday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that 500 extra UK troops would arrive in southern Afghanistan next month, telling lawmakers that additional British forces would be in Helmand province within weeks.
Brown's announcement was followed by President Obama's long-awaited new troop strategy on Tuesday.
The main mission of the new US troop plan will be to reverse Taliban gains and secure population centres in the country's volatile south and east.
The addition of some US Marines before year's end would provide badly needed reinforcements to those fighting against Taliban gains in southern Helmand province.
Britain has around nine-thousand regular troops in Afghanistan.
Brown disclosed publicly for the first time that the UK also has about 500 special forces there, and the additional
forces would bring total Britain's presence to about ten-thousand soldiers.
Britain has taken the lead in lobbying for extra reinforcements for the NATO mission in Afghanistan.
Last week, Brown said that NATO nations, not including the US, were prepared to offer about five-thousand more troops for Afghanistan.
So far, Slovakia has offered 250 extra soldiers, Georgia has pledged between 700 and one-thousand soldiers, and South Korea has said it would send "several hundred" to protect its reconstruction teams.
There are about 71-thousand US troops in Afghanistan.
NATO and other allies collectively have an additional 36-thousand troops in the country.
The British mission in Afghanistan is under increasing public scrutiny amid a rising death toll and diminishing public support.
A total of 236 military personnel have died in Afghanistan since 2001, including a soldier from 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards who died early on Monday from wounds sustained in an explosion in the Babaji area of central Helmand.

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