12Dec/09Off
AFGHANISTAN: UK Troops Responsible for Less Than Three Percent of Population
Right Vision (Pakistan) reported 12 December that, despite having by far the second largest number of Nato troops in Afghanistan, Britain's area of responsibility in Helmand province is equivalent to less than three per cent of the country's estimated 28.5 million population.In a written parliamentary reply published Thursday, Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis revealed that the overwhelming bulk of Britain's deployment of more than 9,000 troops covered just over half of Helmand's population."We estimate the population of Britain's area of responsibility in Helmand province to be 750,000 to 800,000," Lewis said without specifying the districts.According to 2003 Central Statistical Office/UNFPA Socio-Economic and Demographic Profile