Two Slovak military units are set to finish their deployment with the ISAF mission in Afghanistan by the end of this year after parliament moved a proposal to that end to its second reading, the SITA newswire reported.
The main reason given is the fact that the mission in Afghanistan has recently moved to a transition phase, with a gradual transfer of responsibility for the country into the hands of the Afghan government and institutions. The transition plan was approved at the NATO Summit in Lisbon in 2010 and its completion is expected in 2014.
During the recent NATO summit in Chicago, the participants agreed to continue the strategy. After 2014, at the request of the government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, NATO will begin a new operation, which will focus exclusively on training, advising, and supporting the local army and security forces, including the Afghan special forces, SITA wrote.
A Slovak multi-functional engineering unit is currently serving at a base in Kandahar and a guards platoon is serving at a base in Tarin Kowt, Uruzgan Province.
Source: SITA
Compiled by Radka Minarechová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
