French troops to withdraw from Afghanistan by year-end: Hollande

KABUL, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The visiting French president Francois Hollande announced in the Afghan capital Kabul on Friday that French combat force would be home within months.

"Around 2,000 French combat troops would be home by the end of 2012," President Hollande said through interpreter at a joint press conference with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai here.

There will no be French combat troops in Afghanistan in 2013, he stated.

However, he pointed out that France after 2012 would continue to support Afghanistan in civilian fields including health, education, culture, agriculture and also assisting defense and interior ministries in providing training.

Francois Hollande who paid a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Friday, visited earlier his troops and also exchanged views with President Karzai on the situation in Afghanistan and enhancing bilateral relations between the two countries.

Hollande had said at NATO's recently concluded summit in Chicago that he intended to keep his promise to withdraw French combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year, which will be two years ahead of the alliance's plan to pull out forces in 2014.

More than 3,800 French troops have been stationed in Afghanistan within the framework of NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to help stabilize the conflict- ridden country.