Uzbin Valley Ambush - Situation in Surobi

Situation in Surobi

The sector of Surobi was under French control between 2006 and 2007. At the time, French troops crossed the 35th parallel only once, as the region beyond was considered to be dangerous. Then and until August 2008, responsibility of the Surobi district switched to 140 Italian troops who had undertaken development projects for the local population, as part of ISAF's "comprehensive approach" strategy. The district was considered a successful example of establishing security, and was considered a quiet region despite the known presence of militants loyal to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar in remote areas. The Italian government understands its mandate to be a stabilisation mission, without armed operations.

In August, French troops took over from the Italian force, as part of French president Nicolas Sarkozy's initiative to increase France's commitment to the war in Afghanistan. There had been a fear of militants attacking the three dams that operate in the region. In October 2009, The Times revealed that the relative calm in the region during the previous Italian occupation and since then had been obtained by Italian secret services bribing local Taliban groups into inaction. The French, unaware of the fact, then ventured into areas with an overoptimistic threat assessement and insufficient equipment. A Taliban commander, Mohammed Ismayel, confirmed the existence of a deal with the Italians, though without corroboating the existence of any financial transactions, and explained that the more aggressive attitude of the French troops had caused the guerrilla to attack them. Silvio Berlusconi denied that any bribes were ever paid and refuted the claims as "totally baseless accusations".

In contrast to the purely humanitarian operations carried out by the Italians, the French engaged in armed patrols in an effort to cut off guerrilla groups from their rear bases in Pakistan. On 15 August, a French patrol was dispatched to Spēṟ Kunday, but without exploring the surrounding passes. Local villagers warned them not to stay, due to the presence of Talibans, but the French announced their intention to return. Thus, the guerrilla became aware of the French plans to reoccupy the area.