Paris, Wednesday 9th February 2011
France will not send more troops to Afghanistan, even after requests from the US.
With US-led soldiers struggling to win the nine-year-old war, the French government has said it will not increase force numbers from the 4,000 already in Afghanistan.
French Defense Minister Alain Juppe met with US Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Washington on Tuesday when he said France would continue to redeploy some of its existing troops to pave the way for handing over the security missions to Afghan forces.
The French minister later said France had already made a considerable effort to fight the war in Afghanistan, after having been there at the beginning of the US-led occupation in 2001.
Attacks on US-led forces in Afghanistan have significantly increased over the past months.
In 2010, as many as 711 foreign troops, including 53 French soldiers lost their lives in Afghanistan, an average of two a day.
With US-led soldiers struggling to win the nine-year-old war, the French government has said it will not increase force numbers from the 4,000 already in Afghanistan.
French Defense Minister Alain Juppe met with US Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Washington on Tuesday when he said France would continue to redeploy some of its existing troops to pave the way for handing over the security missions to Afghan forces.
The French minister later said France had already made a considerable effort to fight the war in Afghanistan, after having been there at the beginning of the US-led occupation in 2001.
Attacks on US-led forces in Afghanistan have significantly increased over the past months.
In 2010, as many as 711 foreign troops, including 53 French soldiers lost their lives in Afghanistan, an average of two a day.
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