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14/10/2009
Brown Announces More Troops for Afghanistan
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced that an additional 500 troops are to be sent to Afghanistan.
Making the announcement in Parliament today, Mr Brown said that the troops were being sent on military advice and he said that this was conditional on the troops having the necessary equipment and training to perform the tasks asked of them.
The Prime Minister also said that two more Merlin helicopters would be sent to Helmand in the near future, as well as more armoured vehicles and other specialist equipment. He also said that other Nato countries also had to provide more troops in Afghanistan and that the country's government also had to increase its troop numbers in Helmand province, in the south of the country.
The announcement was welcomed by Conservative leader David Cameron, while Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg welcomed the announcements, but also said that they would like to know when the helicopters and equipment would arrive in Afghanistan.
Currently, there are around 9,000 British troops in the country, the second-largest contingent after the US, with the majority based in Helmand province.
To date, 221 British soldiers have died in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion began in 2001.
Military commanders have been calling for extra troops in order to build on the progress of this summer's Operation Panther's Claw against insurgents. Heavy casualties have been sustained during the course of the operation.
(KMcA/BMcc)
Making the announcement in Parliament today, Mr Brown said that the troops were being sent on military advice and he said that this was conditional on the troops having the necessary equipment and training to perform the tasks asked of them.
The Prime Minister also said that two more Merlin helicopters would be sent to Helmand in the near future, as well as more armoured vehicles and other specialist equipment. He also said that other Nato countries also had to provide more troops in Afghanistan and that the country's government also had to increase its troop numbers in Helmand province, in the south of the country.
The announcement was welcomed by Conservative leader David Cameron, while Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg welcomed the announcements, but also said that they would like to know when the helicopters and equipment would arrive in Afghanistan.
Currently, there are around 9,000 British troops in the country, the second-largest contingent after the US, with the majority based in Helmand province.
To date, 221 British soldiers have died in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion began in 2001.
Military commanders have been calling for extra troops in order to build on the progress of this summer's Operation Panther's Claw against insurgents. Heavy casualties have been sustained during the course of the operation.
(KMcA/BMcc)
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British troops have now left one of the deadliest districts in southern Afghanistan, handing over responsibility to American forces - with two more tragic fatalities to mark the past weekend. Around 1,000 British troops in Sangin are to redeploy to central Helmand.
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A further two British soldiers have been killed in southern Afghanistan. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed they died in an explosion in Helmand province. Another six members of Nato forces were also wounded in the attack on Wednesday involving an improvised explosive device (IED).
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