Afghan Training Mission Headed to Volatile North

The Canadian Forces' new training mission will see them based in Mazar-i-Sharif, where protests against Qur'an-burning killed 12 this month.

When the Canadian Forces shift the focus of their Afghan mission from combat to training this summer, they'll be doing so out of one of the most volatile cities in the country – Mazar-i-Sharif, home to the deadly protests held earlier this month in response to a Qur'an-burning pastor in the U.S. The army's mission was to be based in Kabul, but concern that the Taliban are gaining strength in the north of Afghanistan could have contributed to the shift in focus, which was quietly approved by Defence Minister Peter MacKay before the election. The mission will see Canada provide 950 soldiers until 2014 to train Afghan army recruits and officers.