German-Afghan peace alliance: 'Troops out!'

While details are scarce, it appears that public figures in Afghanistan have joined with German peace activists in calling for the withdrawal of German troops from their country:

German-Afghan alliance calls for withdrawal of troops

BERLIN, Sept 7 (NNI) - A newly formed German-Afghan peace alliance has urged the withdrawal of all German soldiers from Afghanistan, while calling for boosting of civilian aid to the war-stricken country.

The group titled ‘German-Afghan Peace Cooperation’ is composed of 50 German peace activists as well as representatives of the Afghan loya jirga.

The German-Afghan peace group called also on German legislators to vote against extending the Afghan military mandate which is up for renewal next month. “Peace is possible in Afghanistan but not by continuing the war and the steady escalation of combat actions,” the German-Afghan peace group was quoted saying in a press release.

It pointed out that a widening of the military conflict in Afghanistan had led to a rise in the number of civilian casualties. The Afghan government was also urged to engage in direct negotiations with the radical Taliban militia. It pleaded also for the formation of an international Afghan peace conference, comprised of Afghanistan’s neighbors.

Germany has been the scene of various Afghan peace demonstrations over the past months amid the surge in the number of civilian victims in the Afghan war... (link)