From: "mart" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> UK Troops Stationed In 28 Countries Following Macedonia Deployment London, Aug. 18, IRNA - The first batch of some 400 British soldiers started to arrive in Macedonia this weekend, bringing the total UK troop deployments worldwide to 28 countries, excluding military advisers. According to the latest edition of Military Balance, published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, British forces are already involved in peacekeeping operations in 12 countries, mainly concentrated in the Balkans and the Middle East. The deployment in Macedonia, which will rise to between 1,000 to 1,500 troops, increases the number in Balkan countries to some 6,000, more than half of which contribute to Nato's presence in Kosovo. In the Middle East, the number is thought to be over 1,300 concentrated in mainly non-UN approved operations against Iraq, with facilities and personnel based in Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. British forces are also involved in peacekeeping missions in Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of Congo, East Timor, Georgia, and Sierra Leone. In addition, 455 UK > military advisers are said to be located in 30 countries. Military Balance also lists 20,610 British troops still stationed in Germany and 196 air force personnel in Belgium. Apart from a force of some 3,200 at the UK base in Cyprus, there are also contingencies in Gibraltar, Canada, Belize, Brunei and Nepal. There is a British air force presence on the Ascension Island, a naval patrol on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, and another for the Antarctica as well as a force of 1,650 remaining on the Falkland Islands in the south Atlantic. Islamic Republic News Agency ( IRNA) _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
