A number of Afghans who worked as interpreters for Dutch forces are unhappy with their treatment and want compensation, two of their number told tv news programme Nieuwsuur on Sunday night.

The interpreters have been working with Dutch soldiers stationed in Afghanistan since 2002.

The two men who appeared in Nieuwsuur said they had to eat pork, were not given permission to pray and had to sleep in containers which were not protected against attack.

In addition, two other Afghan interpreters who are in the Netherlands were threatened with death after the defence ministry published their photos, the two men told the programme.

All this has led to psychological problems for which they are seeking compensation.

The ministry would not comment on the specifics of what the men said, but recognises that ‘things could have been better in a number of cases’.

According to the ministry, around 25 of the 70 interpreters have health problems and are being given help.

The ministry is in talks with the interpreters to ‘solve the problem and to see how things can be improved in future missions.’