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Written question asked by Ann Winterton (Conservative) on Tuesday, 8 December 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 10 December 2009. It was answered by Bob Ainsworth (Labour) on Wednesday, 16 December 2009 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Afghanistan: Armed Forces

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information his Department holds on the tribal origins of the (a) officers and (b) other ranks in the (i) present and (ii) expected future Afghan National Army; and what proportion are (A) currently serving and (B) expected to serve in Helmand province.
Answer

The tribal origins of the Afghan National Army are provided in the following table.

Percentage
Pashtun Tajik Hazara Uzbek Others
Officer 43 40 8 4 5
Non commissioned officers 42 40 8 6 4
Enlisted 39 33 12 9 7
Overall ANA 41 36 11 7 5

We expect the future tribal origins of the Afghan National Army to be consistent with the tribal targets for the Afghan National Army set by the Government of Afghanistan in 2002 which are Pashtuns—42 per cent; Tajiks 27 per cent; Hazara—9 per cent; Uzbek—9 per cent; Other—13 per cent.As announced by the Prime Minister on 14 October 2009, last year there were only 4,200 Afghan soldiers in Helmand; this year numbers have increased by an extra 50 per cent, to more than 6,000.As announced by the Prime Minister on 30 November extra Afghan soldiers have started to arrive in Helmand this month with 600 arriving which equates to an extra company for each Afghan battalion there. A further 10 Afghan companies (1,000 more troops) will soon reinforce the Afghan army's 205 corps across southern Afghanistan.We will continue to work closely with the Government of Afghanistan and the international community to build the capacity of the Afghan national security forces.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
502 c1201-2W; 306746
Session
2009-10
Related items
Afghanistan: Armed Forces
Monday, 8 February 2010
Written questions
House of Commons
Subjects
Armed forces Afghanistan
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk