* Joint British, German, French call for Afghan conference * Goal is for Afghans to take on more responsibilities * Merkel says NATO troop levels can fall as Afghans step up (Adds quotes, background) By Noah Barkin BERLIN, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Germany and Britain called on Sunday for a U.N. conference on Afghanistan this year to set new targets for transferring security responsibilities to the Afghan authorities as a prelude to reducing NATO troop levels. Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister Gordon Brown told a news conference in Berlin they were launching the initiative together with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and had already consulted with Washington and NATO. "Our plan is to prepare the Afghan government, over the coming transition period, to take on an increasing number of responsibilities itself," Merkel told reporters. "We will help with training and civilian reconstruction but the goal is not to lose sight of a sustainable security structure in Afghanistan," she added. "We must move forward decisively on this and as the Afghans take on more responsibility for their security, then the international engagement can be reduced." Brown made no mention of a reduction in troop levels and when pressed on the issue, Merkel declined to give a timeframe, saying only that decisions must be taken together with allies. Afghanistan is mired in an 8-year-old conflict pitting Afghan and NATO-led forces against Taliban insurgents. The country has been the subject of numerous international conferences, most recently in March this year, but NATO casualties are at record levels and public doubts about the war are growing in the United States, Britain, Germany and elsewhere. Afghanistan held elections last month and partial results show President Hamid Karzai inching towards a first-round victory. His main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, has alleged massive fraud. SHARING THE BURDEN Brown said the U.N. conference would bring together the next Afghan government, the United Nations, NATO and key countries that have contributed to the NATO mission there. The goal, he said, was to look ahead at the next phase of the mission in the areas of security, governance and development and to see how Afghans could "play a bigger role in the future". "Germany and Britain are major contributors to the 41-nation coalition on Afghanistan," Brown said. "We have shared the burden with many other countries and one of the issues is of course that we need people to accept their responsibilities and share the burdens in the future." Without naming countries, Brown said in a speech last week that NATO allies should "ask themselves if they are doing enough." Britain, with 9,000 troops in Afghanistan, has the second-largest contingent after the United States. Germany is third with 4,200 troops there. Merkel, who faces an election in three weeks, also called for a "quick, comprehensive and transparent" investigation into a preemptive NATO air strike near Kunduz last week that was called in by German troops. Local officials have said it killed scores of people, including many civilians. "If there were civilian victims I would deeply regret this," Merkel said. "You know that our entire strategy is focused on winning the trust of the population." (Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
An Afghan villager injured lies in hospital after Friday's NATO air strike on a Taliban target in northern Kunduz September 4, 2009. NATO aircraft opened fire on hijacked fuel trucks in ...
