Security Council calls for continued support for Afghanistan

The UN Security Council Friday called for continued international support for the stabilisation in Afghanistan, and urged efforts to build the capabilities of the Afghan army and police.

In a resolution unanimously adopted here, the council underscored the importance of "continued international support for the stabilisation of the situation in Afghanistan" and of "further enhancing the capabilities and capacities" of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces in order to maintain security and stability in the country, Xinhua reported.

The 15-nation organistaion welcomed the agreement between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Afghanistan to establish the post 2014 non-combat Resolute Support Mission (RSM).

The resolution also emphasised the important role that the UN continues to play in support of Afghanistan's full assumption of leadership and ownership in the areas of security, governance and development, welcoming, in this regard, the continued role the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is scheduled to end their combat mission in Afghanistan by the end of 2014, after 13 years of military presence in the country.

The US forces and NATO-led troops will switch from combat to support role -- NATO-led Resolute Support mission (RSM) -- which will be aimed mainly on providing training and support for the Afghan National Security Forces.

The Afghan interior ministry said the Afghan army and police will take full security responsibilities of the entire country from Jan 1 next year.

The new NATO mission will be much smaller than the ISAF mission, having only some 12,000 soldiers, and will be of a non-combatant nature.