According to local officials, at least 20 afghan police officer defected following a dispute with the Australian soldiers in Chahar Chino district of Uruzgan Province.
“The Australian soldiers beat the Afghan guards after some verbal disputes in a military camp in Charchino district of Uruzgan province,” Wali Dad, a local police chief said.
He further added that the afghan police officers set fire to security towers and defected to the Taliban, taking weapons and ammunition.
The US-led Australian troops in Uruzgan are slowly relinquishing control to their Afghan counterparts in a security transition.
Insecurity continues to rise across Afghanistan despite the presence of 130,000 US-led forces in the war-torn country.
Washington invaded Afghanistan under the pretext of combating terrorism.
AZA/MAM/MR/JR