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Canada sends fresh troops to Afghanistan
About 60 members of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry are heading to Afghanistan on Monday for six months. These soldiers, part of the 3rd Battalion and 600 other soldiers from Western Canada will replace a battalion from Quebec's Royal 22nd Regiment. Their duties will include assisting patrols in the Kabul area and one set of 15 soldiers will help train members of the new Afghan army. One corporal believes this battle group will find a friendlier climate in Afghanistan compared to the hostilities faced in 2002, but that could change with a fall election approaching. In late June, suspected Taliban guerrillas stopped a bus in the southern province of Uruzgan and killed 16 people who were carrying voter registration cards. Prime Minister Paul Martin has said Canada will maintain a scaled-back military presence in Afghanistan at least until the summer of 2005.A token presence at best, but probably all that Canada can afford. Posted by: Rafael 2004-07-26 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=39015 |