FAIZABAD: The buildings are still going up and the paint is not even dry but already questions are being asked about the role of German troops stationed in this sleepy northeast Afghan town after rioting this month.
The newly-established German Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Faizabad has been at the center of a controversy over its inability to rescue stranded foreign aid workers who were attacked by an angry mob on September 8.
Workers from the Swiss-based charity Medair were eventually rescued not by German troops or local police but by enterprising and unarmed staff from the United Nations and security firm Global Risk who were stationed in the town working on the elections.
The inaction of the German contingent has caused resentment.
"They came and told us what the situation was on the streets the day after the riot but when we needed their help they were hiding under their beds," said one aid worker who helped rescue others from the rioters.
Weeks after troops arrived in Faizabad, hundreds of rioters poured onto its dirt streets after allegations that four women working for a charity called Focus for Humanitarian Assistance had been raped.
The offices of two foreign aid agencies were set ablaze and 10 aid workers injured in the attacks, two of them badly beaten.
A total of 110 German soldiers are stationed in Faizabad, the reconstruction team of around 40 and extra infantry to provide security before and after October 9 presidential elections. The final strength of the PRT mission will rise to 80 men.
"We are still in a build-up phase and we did everything we could with the small number of soldiers we have here," said Lieutenant Colonel Hans-Dieter Baier, commander of the PRT contingent in Faizabad to enhance security and help build infrastructure.
Unarmed, a group of UN and Global Risk workers filled police cars that were parked in the UN compound with local staff and went in to evacuate the injured Medair workers, several people involved in the rescue told.
"We had to make it look as if we were armed but if anyone had come at us we would have had to run away pretty fast," said one of the rescuers who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The riot itself was broken up when local militia commander Mohammed Nasir stepped in and threatened to shoot the demonstrators, aid workers in Faizabad said.
The evacuation of aid workers was arranged by the United Nations and Global Risk, although Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Scheibe said the Germans had helicopters on stand-by in neighbouring Kunduz.
While many aid workers were critical of the German response during the riot, some also said they were pleased the force was stationed in the town.
"Basically we escaped and sheltered at the German PRT and I think there wasn't a person here who wasn't glad of their presence," said Chris Thoreson of Shelter for Life, which is planning to work with the German troops.
September's demonstration came at a bad time for the German military, which has some 2,000 troops stationed in Afghanistan and is currently in command of the NATO-led international peacekeeping force.
The mandate for German participation in the US "war on terror" and foreign troop participation in Afghanistan is due for renewal on October 13, and expires on October 15.
As debate in the German parliament kicks off on Thursday, questions will be asked over whether German troops are doing enough in their new base in Faizabad. The Afghan riot comes after German troops were also accused of failing to prevent violence in Kosovo in March.
For their part the German troops said they did what they could by sheltering 11 UN staff from demonstrators and treating five of the injured, including two beaten Medair staff.
"Our duty is to protect those who need us and we did it by treating them," said Scheibe.
Military analysts in Afghanistan said the Germans have a non-explicit zero-casualty role and are seen by many as passive and reluctant to intervene in local disputes.
"The Germans are very cautious, and not proactive at all. There is a feeling that they need to phone home before taking action," said one military analyst in Kabul, asking to remain anonymous.
However, their role is complicated because the civil-military PRTs walk a fine line between working with local aid organisations and helping Afghanistan's fledgling security forces.
The 270 German PRT troops in northeastern Kunduz province have established relations with the local community by building roads and schools, and they are hoping to repeat the model in Faizabad and other districts in Badakhshan province.
However, whether the German troops receive the civilian support they want from Berlin will depend on the outcome of domestic political debates. | 
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