French troops may withdraw from Afghanistan in 2011, says minister

Nato troops from France and other nations could begin withdrawing from Afghanistan as early as 2011, France’s Defence Minister, Hervé Morin, said Thursday. He insisted the move was not linked to Wednesday’s threat against France by Osama bin Laden.

Reuters/Gonzalo Fuentes

"There's a fixed date for Nato in the framework of its new strategy. That's the start of 2011,

because in 2011 we're going to transfer a whole series of districts to the Afghans," he told France's RTL radio.

"At that moment, there could be the first movements or first withdrawals of allied forces from Afghanistan. In any case, that's the calendar set by Barack Obama, that in 2011 the first American troops could quit Afghanistan.”

Morin said it was “too soon to say” if the bin Laden threat, which was sent to Al-Jazeera television, was genuine.

"It's not impossible," he added. "All of our services and all of our allies believe Osama bin Laden is alive."

In the tape, the apparent voice of bin Laden warns that, by sending troops to Afghanistan and by banning the Islamic full face veil, France had left itself open to retaliation.

He also said that last month's kidnap of five French nationals from the uranium mining town of Arlit, Niger, by Al-Qaeda's North African wing had been intended as a warning.

Two French journalists have been held hostage by suspected insurgents in Afghanistan for more than 300 days, but bin Laden did not refer to them.

France has around 3,500 soldiers in Afghanistan.