Dutch troops ended their mission in Afghanistan Sunday after four "proud" years, in a departure experts say signals the beginning of a drawdown of foreign forces that will leave a worrying void.
The pull-out is the first significant drawdown of troops from the Afghan war, now in its ninth year, and comes as Taliban-led violence worsens and US forces suffered their worst month for casualties.
Troops held a "change of command" ceremony at the main military base in central Uruzgan province where most of the country's 1,950 soldiers have been deployed, said a Dutch embassy official. Nato's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), paid tribute to the Netherlands' contribution and said it would maintain its current capacity in the area.