OTTAWA (AFP) — A Taliban spokesman has called on Canada to pull its troops out of Afghanistan and end its "inhumane" mission there, the CBC broadcast network reported Friday.
"I ask the Canadian people to ask their government to stop their destructive and inhumane mission and withdraw your troops," Yousuf Ahmadi, speaking from an undisclosed location in Afghanistan, told CBC via cellphone.
"Our war will continue as long as your occupation forces are in our land," said Ahmadi, CBC reported on its website.
"I invite you to contact these people in the villages; you can find out for yourself," added Ahmadi, considered to be a legitimate spokesman for the radical Islamist movement battling the Kabul government and allied forces.
Canada has about 2,500 troops in Afghanistan, mostly in the southern province of Kandahar where some of the toughest fighting with the Taliban has occurred.
Since 2002 85 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed inside the country.
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