France/Afghanistan

Defence Minister slams Taliban interview

Article published on the 2008-09-04 Latest update 2008-09-05 07:49 TU

International troops in Afghanistan
(Photo: Reuters/Sgt Anthony Boocock, RLC/Crown Copyright)

French Defence Minister Hervé Morin has accused Paris-Match magazine of falling for a "public relations offensive" in running an interview with Taliban fighters who killed ten French soldiers in an ambush in Afghanistan last month. The report, by RFI's French service correspondent Eric de Lavarène, quoted the men as saying they would kill all French soldiers in the country.

The Taliban "have understood that western public opinion is probably the Achilles heel of the international community in Afghanistan at the moment," Morin told France Inter radio on Wedesday morning. He claimed that the magazine, which is internationally known for its photoreportages, had fallen for a public relations exercise.

Photographer Véronique de Viguerie met the Taliban group, one of whom was wearing a French uniform and two of whom were brandishing guns seized from French soldiers killed in the 18 August ambush.

"While you are in our country, we will kill you, all of you," the group's commander, known as Farouki, told de Lavarène, who submitted written questions to him because the group would only meet one western journalist face to face.

In an interview with RFI, de Lavarène says that Farouki claimed to have planned the ambush hours in advance because of reliable information provided beforehand. Last week Le Canard enchainé weekly claimed that the troops were betrayed, possibly by their interpreter.

He adds that there are several hundred fighters in Laghman province, where the meeting took place, and that they have "considerable help from inside Pakistan", along with support from Al Qaeda and Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

Foreign fighters may have been among the 140 armed men involved in the ambush, he says.

Le Canard enchainé this week claims to have received a leaked French intelligence report which slams the military operation which ended in the ambush.

"How can one allow these kind of operations to be launched on this terrain without a minimum of observation and surveillance ahead of the advancing units?" the report from the French National Intelligence Cell in Kabul allegedly asks, before crticising the lack of heavy-weapons, backup and support from Afghan and US troops.