German Troops Ready for Afghan Mission

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, December 29, 2001

German Troops Ready for Afghan Mission

The German troops are ready for a peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan and the first contingent will march to Afghanistan soon, said the Defense Ministry on Friday.

The German troops are ready for a peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan and the first contingent will march to Afghanistan soon, said the Defense Ministry on Friday.

An exploration group comprising five people will set for Afghan capital Kabul on Saturday to do some investigations for the main German troops who will be stationed in Kabul next January, defense ministry spokesman Joachim Cholin told reporters in Berlin.

A contingent of 250 paratroopers will head for Kabul early next month and the main troops will be there in late January, the spokesman said.

The German parliament endorsed last week with an overwhelming majority a government decision to send up to 1,200 soldiers to Kabul as part of a multinational peacekeeping force to protect the interim Afghan government there.

The exploration group will try to find out whether the international airport in Kabul, which was destroyed by U.S. military strikes, could be repaired soon and put into use again, Cholin said.

They will also investigate how the main troops would be supplied and accommodated and whether the troops must transport lodging materials to Kabul and build billets there, he added.

The mission in Afghanistan will not be carried out at the costs of the current operation of the German armed forces in Balkan, Cholin stressed, saying the defense ministry didn't intend to " withdraw forces or military materials from the ongoing deployments. "

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