Afghan Army soldiers in Kabul.AFPSHAH MARAI  

Afghanistan is considering training and arming 20,000 civilians to defend territories where Islamist militants have been driven out, officials say, sparking fears the local forces could become another thuggish militia.

The proposal for a government-backed armed group that would protect its own communities from the Taliban and the Islamic State (IS) group comes as Afghanistan’s security forces, demoralised by killings and desertions, struggle to beat back a rampant insurgency.

Human rights concerns

But the proposal has raised concerns that the local forces could become unruly and turn into another abusive militia terrorising the people it is supposed to defend. “The Afghan government’s expansion of irregular forces could have enormously dangerous consequences for civilians,” said Patricia Gossman, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch.

American and Afghan officials said the fighters would come under the command of the Afghan Army and be better trained than the Afghan Local Police — a village-level force set up by the U.S. in 2010 and accused of human rights violations.

“Right now we rely on commandos and air strikes to retake the lost territories but after the commandos leave we don’t have enough forces to hold onto the territories,” said a senior Defence Ministry official.

“The force will operate under an Army corps and will be used to fill the gaps. They will be recruited from the locals and will be numbered around 20,000.”

Defence ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri confirmed to AFP that a plan for “local forces” was being discussed. A spokesman for NATO’s Resolute Support train and assist mission also confirmed a proposal for an Afghan territorial army was on the table.