AMSTERDAM - The Dutch government decided on Friday to keep troops in the south of Afghanistan, where they are serving as part of a NATO force, until 2010. The cabinet opted to extend the troops’ mandate in Uruzgan province which is in the front-line of the battle between NATO’s 40,000-strong peacekeeping force and Taliban insurgents. “The cabinet has agreed to keep troops in Afghanistan until 2010,” a government spokesman said. Parliament must now give final approval.
The Dutch government had come under conflicting pressure from NATO to extend its mission and from the Dutch public worried about increasing casualties. The Netherlands has between 1,500 to 1,700 soldiers in Afghanistan, whose mandate was due to expire in August 2008. |