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KABUL: A United Nations survey indicates the reputation of the Afghan police has deteriorated in the south of the country in the past year, despite an intensive campaign by US troops to build up the Afghan security forces there.

The survey released Thursday says the countrywide reputation of the police is good: 79 per cent of Afghans have a favorable view of the police and 34 per cent say their confidence in the police has grown in the past year.

However, in the south — the center of the fight against the stubborn Taliban insurgency — only 48 per cent of respondents said they had a ‘‘somewhat favorable’’ or ‘‘very favorable’’ opinion of the police in their area. That’s down from 67 per cent a year ago.