The first Afghan National Army (ANA) recruitment centre will be in the eastern city of Jalalabad, David Singh told reporters Sunday.

It will be followed shortly by a second one in the southeastern city of Gardez, with plans for others in Bamiyan in central Afghanistan, Kandahar in the south, Kunduz in the north and Kabul, he said.

"The centres, which will be run by the ministry of defence, aim to recruit young Afghans directly to the ANA. Until now most soldiers have been recruited to the ANA through provincial governors and commanders," he said.

The United Nations has called for the urgent implementation of reforms to make the defence ministry and army more representative of the country's ethnic and regional mix.

Defence Minister Mohammad Qasim Fahim has been accused of packing the ministry and new army with fellow Tajiks.

Singh said the new centres would make it easier to reach potential young recruits from across the country.

New recruits would undergo a 10-week basic training course at Kabul Military Training Centre and would be offered literacy classes and the chance to learn a trade, he said.

The United States is leading efforts to train and rebuild the new national army, which currently numbers 5,500, against an expected eventual strength of

While the army aims to have a central corps of some 10,000 troops by next year's elections in June, it is expected to be three or four years before Afghanistan's own army and police can fully take charge of security.

Attacks over the past week in which around 60 people died have highlighted the continuing lack of security outside Kabul, particularly in the south and southeast where members of the ousted Taliban continue to launch regular attacks on military and humanitarian targets.

WAR.WIRE