British troops to withdraw from Taliban bastion

KANDAHAR--British troops battling the Taliban are to withdraw from one of the most dangerous areas of Afghanistan after a secret deal with the local people.
During the past two months, British soldiers have come under sustained attack defending a remote mud-walled government outpost in the town of Musa Qala, in southern Afghanistan. Eight have been killed there.
It has now been agreed the troops will quietly pull out of Musa Qala in return for the Taliban doing the same.
The compound is one of four district government offices in the Helmand province that are being guarded by British troops.
Although soldiers may welcome the agreement, it is likely to raise new questions about troop deployment.
The new head of the British Army, Sir Richard Dannatt, last month warned that soldiers in Afghanistan were fighting at thelimit of their capacity and could only just cope with the demands.
When British troops were first sent to Afghanistan, it was hoped they would help kick-start the country's reconstruction. But under pressure from President Hamid Karzai they were forced to defend Afghan government district centres at Musa Qala, Sangin, Nowzad and Kajaki.
The move - opposed by the NATO commander in Afghanistan, Lieutenant-General David Richards - turned the four remote British bases into what Lieutenant-General Richards called magnets for the Taliban.
All 16 of the British soldiers killed in action in southern Afghanistan have died at Musa Qala, Sangin or Nowzad.
The soldiers risk sniper fire and full-scale assaults from experienced Taliban fighters who blend into the local population after each attack.
The peace deal in Musa Qala was first mooted by representatives of the town's 2000-strong population.
About 400 people living in the immediate area of the district centre compound have been forced to evacuate their homes, most of which have been destroyed in the fighting.
Brigadier Ed Butler, commander of the British taskforce, flew into Musa Qala 18 days ago, protected only by his military police close-protection team, to attend a shura, or council of town elders, to negotiate a withdrawal.
Brigadier Butler was taken in a convoy to the shura in the desert southeast of Musa Qala where the carefully formulated proposals were made.
The British commander said he was prepared to back a "cessation of fighting" if they could guarantee that the Taliban would also leave.
Fighting in Afghanistan traditionally takes place in the summer and there are concerns that the Taliban could simply use the "cessation of fighting" to regroup and attack again next year. But there are clear signs of the commitment of the people of Musa Qala to the deal, with one Talib who stood out against it reportedly lynched by angry locals.
"There is always a risk," one officer said. "But if it works, it will provide a good template for the rest of Helmand. The people of Sangin are already saying they want a similar deal."
Troops are frustrated that they have been unable to help on reconstruction projects because they have been involved in intense fighting.
An email from one officer published this weekend said: "We are not having an effect on the average Afghan. At the moment we are no better than the Taliban in their eyes, as all they can see is us moving into an area, blowing things up and leaving, which is very sad." --Agencies