http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-45021020091228
Reuters
December 28, 2009
Bosnia says to send troops to Afghanistan in 2010
SARAJEVO: Bosnia is planning to send troops next year to join the NATO-led
mission in Afghanistan, Defence Minister Selmo Cikotic said on Monday.
"We expect to have a unit in ISAF next year," Cikotic told a year-end news
conference, referring to the International Security Assistance Force. He
said that his ministry has been drafting a new plan proposing to the
country's presidency potential partners for a Bosnian unit in ISAF.
He did not elaborate but local media reported that a Bosnian unit could be
part of either the German or Turkish contingent in ISAF. The Balkan country,
which is not a member of the NATO military alliance, seconded 10 army
officers to Danish and German contingents in Afghanistan this year.
Bosnia has united its rival ethnic armies that fought each other during the
1992-95 war and its NATO-sponsored defence reform....
Cikotic told Reuters that a unit slated for Afghanistan would have up to 100
soldiers.
Earlier this month, NATO declined Bosnia's application for its Membership
Action Plan (MAP), saying it needed more democratic reforms and a more
effective military. The country hopes next year to get into MAP, a roadmap
for accession.
(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Elizabeth Fullerton)
Serbian News Network - SNN
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http://www.antic.org/
