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Lithuania to send troops to Iraq, Estonia to stay to 2008
Riga - Estonia said Thursday it does not plan to extend its mission in Iraq, while fellow Baltic NATO and EU member Lithuania announced the deployment of a fresh combat unit to Iraq after a three-month break. 'For the time being, Estonia has no intention of extending the mission beyond 2008,' Estonian defence minister Jaak Aaviksoo told the Baltic News Service (BNS). 'We share the view that the military presence needs to be gradually transformed into a civilian mission, and we hope the plans that have been mapped out will also be effected at the turn of 2008- 2009 or during 2009 at the latest,' he said. Lithuania will send 40 troops of the Iron Wolf motorized infantry brigade on Friday. The Lithuanian unit will serve a six-moth mission together with their US counterparts in al-Khut, south of Baghdad. Before the start of the mission in Iraq, the troops will undergo two weeks of training in Kuwait. Lithuania decided not to renew its troop deployment to Iraq in August after Britain announced reduction of its military presence there and Denmark withdrew its troops. Lithuanians served in the British and Danish units. NATO members Lithuania and Estonia have been serving in Iraq since 2003. Posted by: anonymous5089 2007-10-19 |
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