Lashkar Gah residents are optimistic about the Afghan security forces but say they need further help on training and equipment

Residents of Helmand appear optimistic that Afghan security forces are up to the challenge of taking the lead in providing security in the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah, after British troops officially hand it over on Wednesday.

Helmand is one of seven key areas to be handed over to the Afghan security forces. "We are happy with the ANA [Afghan national army]," said Haji Abdul Ahad, a tribal elder. "The ANA has a good relationship with the people and is better than the foreigners because they are Afghan and they can understand the culture of the people."

Ahad said foreign forces had caused resentment among the local population by causing civilian casualties and by conducting house searches.

Another tribal elder, Haji Ahmad Jan Khan, said the ANA was well trained and that "95% of them are good people".

Khan said local people trusted the army more than the police. "We see better results from the army," he said.

Haji Abdul Bari, who works on youth issues in the province, said the police force had shown improvement too, and credited Brigadier General Mohammad Abdul Hakim Angar, who took over as police chief of Helmand province last spring. He said Angar had focused on improving relations between the population and the police.

"Security has been good in Lashkar Gah for one year since the arrival of the new police chief," Bari said. "Before the police were not so good. But now they have been through the police academy."

The Helmand police training centre opened in 2009 and has trained more than 2,200 recruits. The centre is run by the Afghan national police and British soldiers, and recruits learn policing techniques, military skills and receive lessons in literacy and numeracy.

Haji Salih Mohammad, a Lashkar Gah shopkeeper, agreed that the police were improving. "The ANA act like they are our brothers. The ANP has had a few problems but with every passing day, they improve," he said.

"Security is good, especially in the centre. People are happy the foreigners are leaving. People believe that if the foreigners leave, there will be security."

Lashkar Gah residents also praised the Helmand governor, Gulab Mangal, for his role in stabilising the province. "He is very hard-working," said Ahad. "There is construction. Before Helmand was very insecure, unsafe, and now it's not like that. The situation in Helmand is [now] normally better than in the north of Afghanistan."

Mangal, with support from the UK-led Provincial Reconstruction Team, has opened schools and healthcare centres, resurfaced roads, started a food zone programme giving help to farmers who choose not to grow opium poppies, and opened an airport and an agribusiness park.

Said Malluk, commander of the 215 Maiwand Corps in Helmand, described how security would be conducted from Wednesday. The ANA will form a perimeter at the edge of Lashkar Gah with soldiers stationed at checkpoints. In the city centre there will be a joint force comprised of National Directorate of Security officials, Afghan national civil order police, the ANA and the ANP.

Most residents are glad their national security forces are taking over responsibility for security, but they acknowledged the benefits of further training from mentors and asked for assistance in buying equipment and weapons.

"We ask foreigners to [continue to] support the ANA for now because alone the ANA doesn't have the equipment", Khan said.