Hundreds of Afghans handed in their weapons at a northern military barracks on Tuesday to kick-off an ambitious plan to disarm 100,000 militiamen across the country over two years.

But as the pilot project got under way in the largely peaceful northern province of Kunduz, serious question-marks still hang over the United Nations-backed "Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR)" project.

Doubts remain about whether Afghanistan's unruly warlords will really cooperate with the plan, and whether those soldiers taking part will give up for good a life based on the gun.

In the 54th Division headquarters in Kunduz, hundreds of Afghan men in civilian clothes lined up patiently in a dusty square to hand in weapons and tick their name off a list.

But the proceedings had more than a hint of farce.

Many of these men had surrendered their weapons to their own commanders two years ago and their guns have been in a lock-up in Kunduz city for the last year as part of a locally driven disarmament initiative in the quiet, rural province.

Hussain, a 26-year-old farmer and part-time soldier, came to collect an AK-47 from the Kunduz store Tuesday then handed it over to someone else to be bar-coded and put under a different lock and key.

Hussain will collect the same weapon again Friday, parade in front of President Hamid Karzai and assorted dignitaries to officially launch the DDR plan, be formally demobilized, and then hand it back again.

In return for taking part in this ritual he will receive $200 in cash, some clothing and food allowances, a medal and a certificate. Most importantly, he will receive vocational training and help in starting a new life, which the U.N. hopes will make him turn his back for good on the military life.

"Here it is more about reintegration than disarmament," said Sergiy Illarionov, the senior U.N. official in Kunduz.

Like many of those likely to take part in the DDR plan, Hussain was paid infrequently if at all by his commander, but was available to be called upon if trouble started.

So what is to stop him simply going out and spending $100 on a new weapon and secretly rejoining another militia force?

"The incentives we are offering them should be enough motivation to stay on the program," said Jim Ocitti, spokesman for the $200 million Afghan New Beginnings Program.

Some of those demobilized will work as de-miners, others may get work building roads or clinics, but most may just get a cow and some tools and return to their farm.

"We are tired of weapons," said white-bearded 46-year-old Shukr Ullah, as he gave up the gun he used to fight Soviet occupiers in the 1980s and the Taliban regime in the 1990s.

"Now I want the government to help me get on with my life," he said. "But if we remain jobless there may be problems, some people might take their weapons back."

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