Slovakia will dispatch another 100 soldiers to Afghanistan later this year, Defence Minister Jaroslav Baška said after government's session on Wednesday, January 27, the TASR newswire wrote.
“We want to form two operational training teams, with an eye towards training the Afghan National Army. We plan to send a military police team there – whether it be to train the Afghan Army or Afghan National Police,” said Baška to TASR, adding that 244 Slovak soldiers currently serve in the ISAF Military Operation in Afghanistan and this is bound to increase to more than 400 in 2010.
In addition to increasing the numerical strength of Slovakia's military presence in Afghanistan, Baška said that mandate restrictions on Slovakia’s unit should be lifted in future - thus expanding the unit's operational range to the whole of Kandahar province and the Uruzgan area.
Slovakia should also dispatch a guard unit to provide security for the troops. The Slovak government agreed on January 27 to deploy a guard unit featuring 57 members to the ISAF Military Operation.
“This is just the first batch,” said Baška. He added that the mandate for Slovakia's guard units has been subject to change lately, allowing guard units to operate both in the Kandahar and Uruzgan provinces. The deployment will cost Slovakia €3.4 million. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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