The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Kabul

France's defence minister told President Hamid Karzai in talks in Kabul Saturday that his country would stand by Afghanistan, which is battling an extremist insurgency, the president's office said.

Defence Minister Herve Morin visited Karzai after arriving on a surprise two-day trip to meet French reinforcements deploying to a base near Kabul as part of a NATO-led force battling Taliban and other insurgents. In their talks, Morin "assured his government stands by the people of Afghanistan," Kazai's office said in a statement.

"The president thanked the French government for supporting Afghanistan in security and reconstruction," it said.

Morin later flew to Kapisa, northeast of Kabul, to meet soldiers from an extra battalion of about 700 soldiers deploying at a base there that also has Afghan and US troops, an AFP reporter said.

France announced reinforcements to NATO's 40-nation International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in April and the soldiers started arriving this month, taking to about 2,000 the number of French soldiers in Afghanistan.

They are due to be in place by the end of next month. Kapisa province, which adjoins Kabul, does not suffer the regular insurgent violence plaguing southern Afghanistan, but has seen some attacks.