Japan Sends SDF Planes, Troops to Jordan for Iraq Relief

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, July 10, 2003

Japan Sends SDF Planes, Troops to Jordan for Iraq Relief

Two Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) transport aircraft carrying 41 Self-Defense Force (SDF) officers left Japan on Thursday morning for Jordan to help deliver relief supplies for the Iraqi people.

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Two Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) transport aircraft carrying 41 Self-Defense Force (SDF) officers left Japan on Thursday morning for Jordan to help deliver relief supplies for the Iraqi people.

The 41 SDF members will be joined by 49 others who are traveling on a commercial airline, according to Kyodo News.

Japan is sending the troops to help transport the relief goods to Iraq, although they will not enter that country, following a request by the World Food Program (WFP).

Japan is considering sending SDF troops to Iraq for the country's reconstruction later this year under a special law now before the House of Councillors and expected to be enacted this month.

The two C-130 planes took off from the ASDF's Komaki base in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan. They will stop in Okinawa, Thailand and India for refueling before reaching Amman on Monday.

The SDF team will start July 17 shuttling between Jordan and Italy, where the WFP has a supply base, to transport medical supplies, food, tents and other relief goods for Iraq, Kyodo said.

The mission is scheduled to last until August 18. If the UnitedNations so requests, the planes will also be used to transport goods between other countries neighboring Iraq, such as Egypt, andEuropean countries, said the report.

Japan has so far dispatched C-130 transport planes overseas on 29 occasions since 1992 for peacekeeping activities as well as forrefugee aid operations.

Japan has 16 C-130 planes, each of which can carry up to 92 people or 20 tons of cargo and can fly some 4,000 kilometers without refueling.

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