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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Armenian military gears up for Iraq deployment |
| 2004-09-05 |
| Armenia will send a team of military officials to Iraq in September that will prepare for the deployment of a small Armenian army contingent in the war-torn country by the end of the year, a senior official said September 3. Deputy Defense Minister Artur Aghabekian told RFE/RL that the delegation comprising commanders of the Armenian army's special peace-keeping battalion and U.S.-funded demining center will "take a close look at the location where our contingent will be stationed and ascertain on the spot the tasks which it will perform." "We expect that after the completion of all formalities the Armenian contingent will leave for Iraq at the end of the autumn or at the beginning of the winter to start carrying out its mission," he said, confirming that it will be made up of U.S.-trained sappers, doctors and a company of military truck drivers. The chief of the army staff, Colonel-General Mikael Harutiunian, said earlier that a total of about 50 Armenian servicemen will be sent to Iraq. Aghabekian revealed that the non-combat military personnel will be based in the central southern region of the country administered by a Polish-led multinational force. He said Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian will pass a relevant official note to his Polish counterpart during President Robert Kocharian's visit to Warsaw which begins on Sunday. The Polish government, which has 2,500 troops on the ground, is facing strong domestic opposition to the military presence in Iraq and is gradually scaling it back. In August Polish troops handed over some of the zone they control to U.S. forces, including the restive province of Najaf. More such handovers are expected next year. Unlike NATO member Poland, Armenia did not back the U.S. invasion of Iraq last year. Nonetheless, it decided in principle to join the U.S.-led occupation force there shortly after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime. Official Yerevan has said it is undaunted by continuing unrest in the embattled country where deadly bombings and hostage taking are a common occurrence. The dispatch of the servicemen to Iraq will mark Armenia's second military mission abroad. Thirty-three Armenian soldiers and officers began the first such mission last February when they joined the NATO-led peace-keeping force in the breakaway Serbian province of Kosovo. Aghabekian said they will return home and be replaced by another platoon of the Armenian peace-keeping battalion in the coming days. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #4 Psssst... Murat. Now' your chance to do some serious back shooting. Shipman, you're sick, twisted and perverted ... and I respect that in a man. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-09-05 8:34:35 PM |
| #3 Psssst... Murat. Now' your chance to do some serious back shooting. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-09-05 7:27:25 PM |
| #2 Nice to see that Armenia finally understands how it has a dog in the fight against terrorism. Maybe Beslan had something to do with their decision. FIVE ARMENIANS AMONG HOSTAGES IN SCHOOL IN NORTHERN OSETIA 02.09.2004 19:26 /PanARMENIAN.Net/ According to the latest data, there are five Armenians among the hostages in one of the schools in Northern Osetia. One of the Armenian schoolchildren is in the first form. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-09-05 2:21:40 PM |
| #1 Thank you, Armenia, for joining our "unilateral" mission. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-09-05 1:55:10 PM |