KABUL, Afghanistan - NATO says the international force is trying to speed up the creation of a special Afghan police unit to take over private security companies.
The move follows an assessment that the Afghan government is unlikely to meet its March deadline for kicking out the privately run firms.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai last year ordered the security companies disbanded because they were flouting Afghan laws and creating the equivalent of paramilitary forces. But the process has been slow.
A NATO official told reporters Wednesday that the coalition is working with the Afghan government to speed up training and do what's needed to meet that target.
Brig. Gen. Edward Dorman says NATO is assigning an additional 150-170 advisers to get the program back on track.
