Canada's prime minister makes Afghanistan trip

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Visiting Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien said Saturday that his country does not plan to send more troops to boost the international peacekeeping force that is gearing up to expand beyond Afghanistan's capital.

Canada has provided 2,000 of the 5,000 troops in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, making it the largest contributor.

"We are supporting the expansion of ISAF and we will work to convince other nations to send troops here," Chretien said at a news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. "But will we put more troops? We do not have the intention and we are not able to do this at this moment."

On Monday, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to allow the 31-country ISAF coalition to fan out to key cities in some of Afghanistan's most lawless provinces, where feuding warlords hold power and Taliban rebels wage an increasingly bold insurgency.

The disarmament of warlords and other militia forces and the elimination of heavy-weapons within the limits of the Afghan capital are considered key to re-turning stability to Afghanistan.