German MPs give nod to one-year extension of Afghan mission
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Berlin, Dec 4, IRNA -- German lawmakers here Thursday approved the one-year extension of the Afghan military mission amid growing popular opposition to the disputed NATO-led military operation in the war-stricken country.
Some 445 MPs voted in favor of extending the mission, 105 parliamentary deputies opposed it and 43 abstained.
The mandate allows the German government to deploy up to 4,500 soldiers in Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force.
Under pressure by the US and other NATO allies to send more troops to Afghanistan, Berlin is to decide on such a move in late January after the international Afghan conference in London.
On Wednesday, the daily Leipziger Volkszeitung quoted German government officials as saying that Obama had asked Germany to dispatch 2,000 more troops to Afghanistan.
The additional German soldiers could be used as part of a planned major US-led military attack in Afghanistan during the first half of 2010.
According to the report, the German military is already planning to boost the troop size in the war-ravaged country.
The German contingent could be based in hard-fought southern and eastern Afghanistan where NATO forces are fighting a fierce Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgency.
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