Canada to send more troops to Aghanistan

Canadian troops in Afghanistan could increase to 2,700, that is, 200 more soldiers. This announcement was made after a meeting between Ministers of Foreign Affairs from Afghanistan and Canada.

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More Canadian troops for Afghanistan
Sat, 26 Jul 2008 22:57:14

Canadian Foreign Minister David Emerson has said that the country may send more troops to the volatile southern part of Afghanistan.

"Canada does have 2,500 troops here in Afghanistan and that number could expand to 2,700 as more equipment arrives," he said in a joint press conference with Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta in Kabul.

The Canadian minister also said that NATO countries agreed to increase the number of troops to Afghanistan particularly in the Kandahar region.

Pointing out to the Taliban's threat for next years, Emerson said Afghanistan's biggest problems would not be solved by the time Canada ends its current combat mission in 2011.

"The Taliban is not going to go away in my opinion - not in the near term. It will be something that will have to be managed with great care, and vigor, for a long time to come," he added.

Canadian troops came to Afghanistan for the first time in late 2001 as part of a US-led Afghan mission.

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