Afghan troops fear loss of US air cover

5,000 US troops may pull out from Afghanistan in the coming months 28K

Afghan soldiers and policemen have been killed since 2014

ghazni — For hard-pressed Afghan troops, uncertainty over a planned withdrawal of US forces has raised fears that they will lose American air support, one of the few decisive advantages over increasingly confident Taleban fighters.

Afghanistan has been shaken by reports that more than 5,000 US troops may pull out in the coming months in a reversal of a strategy announced in 2017 to step up pressure on the Taleban to accept peace negotiations.

More than 14,000 American troops are serving in Afghanistan as part of the Nato-led Resolute Support training and advisory mission and a separate counterterrorism operation mainly fighting Daesh and Al Qaeda.

While peace talks between US officials and Taleban representatives continue, it is unclear which troops may be withdrawn and whether they will go before a permanent ceasefire.

For frontline Afghan forces, one fear prevails.

“If air support from the Americans is stopped, it will be a disaster

for us,” said Shamul Haq, a policeman in Ghazni, a central Afghan city that was overrun by hundreds of Taleban fighters in August who were driven off with the help of US air strikes.

More than 28,000 Afghan soldiers and police have been killed since Nato ended its combat mission in 2014, and US commanders say the losses are “unsustainable”. Despite peace talks, fierce fighting has continued and dozens of troops

are killed and wounded every day.

Poor leadership, low pay and irregular supplies in the face of Taleban fighters armed with sophisticated weaponry, including night vision gear, have demoralised Kabul’s frontline troops.

While unable to take a major city, the Taleban have increased their hold in rural areas, and now control or contest more than a third of the country, according to US estimates, and much more by less conservative reckoning. “It is not possible to fight with an empty stomach and less weapons and ammunition than the Taleban,” said Ekranuddin, a soldier in Ghazni, who like many Afghans, goes by one name.

No matter how bad things got for their frontline soldiers, Afghan commanders at least knew they could rely on American air power to prevent a stalemate from turning into a rout. —