War-weary villagers in the northern province of Kunduz in Afghanistan have been left to battle the Taliban alone.<br /><br />In villages across Kunduz province, residents are forced to form their own local militias in a bid to protect their families and keep the Taliban at bay.<br /><br />Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, said his country must reach out to its "disenchanted brothers" in an effort to stabilise the war ravaged nation during his address to a one-day international conference on Afghanistan's future in London.<br /><br />Karzai and officials from more than 60 countries are meeting this week to examine ways to bring an end to nearly a decade of war in Afghanistan.<br /><br />Al Jazeera's David Chater reports on the security vacuum left behind by German troops and Afghan forces who have failed to protect local residents in Kunduz.<br /><br />[January, 28, 2010]
