Germany to Decide Soon Date for Troops Deployment in Afghanistan

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, January 05, 2002

Germany to Decide Soon Date for Troops Deployment in Afghanistan

German Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping is expected to make a decision this weekend on the deployment date for 200 German paratroops who will help with preparations for the arrival of a United Nations security force in Afghanistan, a military spokesman said on Friday.

Scharping will make the decision after hearing a report on Saturday from three German officers who traveled to Kabul earlier this week to assess the infrastructure of the Afghan capital and its surrounding area.

The paratroopers are to serve with about 50 service members from other countries. Their mission will be to help build an infrastructure for the 4,500-member security force that is expected to arrive in Afghanistan in late January.

Also on Friday, the German Navy continued its preparations to join the U.S.-led war on international terrorism. In the northern port of Wilhelmshaven, workers began loading five high-speed patrol boats onto ships for the 20-day voyage to the navy's deployment area off the coast of northeastern Africa.

A first group of six German ships, including two frigates, set sail on Wednesday for the Horn of Africa. They will be joined by a third frigate that is already in the Mediterranean Sea. Their mission will be to secure sea lanes, and to interrupt the supply and escape routes of terrorist organizations.