2 Afghan private security firms shut down

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — Afghan authorities this week shut down two private security companies and said more than 10 others, including some suspected of homicide and robbery, would soon be closed, Afghan and Western officials said Thursday.

The Afghan-run security companies Watan and Caps, where 82 illegal weapons were found during raids, were shut down Tuesday, police Gen. Ali Shah Paktiawal said.

A Western security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said some major Western firms were among at least 10 others tapped for closure. He would not name them.

The crackdown echoes efforts by authorities in Iraq to rein in private security contractors often accused of acting with impunity. Blackwater USA guards protecting a U.S. Embassy convoy in Baghdad are accused of killing as many as 17 Iraqi civilians in a Sept. 16 shooting. The incident enraged the Iraqi government, which has demanded millions of dollars in compensation for the victims and the removal of Blackwater.

The incident in Iraq has focused attention on the nebulous rules governing private guards and added to the Bush administration’s problems in managing the war in Iraq.

Dozens of security companies also operate in Afghanistan, some of them well-known U.S. firms such as Blackwater and DynCorp, but also many others which may not be known even to the Afghan government.

The U.S. military employs about 29,000 private contractors in Afghanistan. About 1,000 of those are security contractors, said Air Force Lt. Col. Todd Vician, a Defense Department spokesman.

The Afghan government’s main complaints against the companies are lack of accountability, intimidation of citizens, disrespect of local security forces and failure to cooperate with authorities, according to a set of rules being debated by the Afghan government.

Up to 10,000 private security guards are estimated to operate in the capital, Kabul, but the Interior Ministry, which is responsible for the Afghan police and domestic security, has little idea who some of the guards are, said the Western official.

“There are some companies whose work permits have expired, and there are some companies who have illegal weapons with them,” said Paktiawal, the police official. “We do not want such private security companies to be active in Afghanistan. It doesn’t matter if they are national or international.”

The Interior Ministry said 59 Afghan and international security companies had registered with the ministry, although the Western official said as many as 25 other security firms could be operating in the country.

Some of the 59 companies are suspected of involvement in criminal activity such as killing and robbery, and the police were investigating these cases as well, Paktiawal said. He was unable to specify how many of the companies were Afghan and how many were foreign.

According to the rules, the main problem faced by the government is the absence of “checks and balances” over the work of private security companies.