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Romanian Troops in International Operations
(2011-06-29)
Last updated: 2011-06-30 16:23 EET Print
Romania’s Higher Defense Council has decided to downsize by 106 the number of Romanian troops in international theatres of operation. However, Bucharest will place 357 military under the command of the EU, the OSCE, NATO and the UN, for operations in Afghanistan and the Western Balkans. In Bucharest, the Higher Defense Council decided to downsize by next year the number of Romanian troops in theatres of operations outside Romania. Even though the number of soldiers in these theatres will drop by 106, next year the Romanian Interior Ministry will put at the disposal of the EU, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the North-Atlantic Alliance and the UN, 357 troops for missions in Afghanistan and the Western Balkans. The Council’s decision comes after the US, France and Italy announced last week they would start pulling out of Afghanistan. According to the deputy chairman of the Armed Forces Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, Eugen Bejinariu, even though Romania has not yet made any decision in that respect, a withdrawal from Afghanistan would be beneficial. He believes this would be positive for that country in the first place, because domestic issues are to be solved by the population with the support of elected bodies. A withdrawal from Afghanistan would be beneficial for Romania as well, because a lot of soldiers have died in operations there. Nineteen Romanian soldiers have died in Afghanistan since 2002, when Bucharest first sent troops to that country. It was actually the first foreign operation of the Romanian army since WWII. Southern Afghanistan, a Taliban stronghold, is now destabilized by the Islamist insurgence, and most Romanian troops are deployed in that area. They are participating both in operation Enduring Freedom, targeting the Taliban rebels and the remains of Al Qaida, and in the NATO Security Assistance Force, aimed at strengthening and rebuilding the country, devastated by 30 years of war, starting with the Soviet invasion of 1979. Two of the Romanian soldiers killed in Afghanistan died this year in May, in Zabul province, in the explosion of an improvised explosive device, while carrying out a ground reconnaissance mission. Between 2002 and 2011, 57 Romanian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan, most of them during patrol missions, by bombs set by the Taliban. At present, there are some 1780 Romanian troops deployed in Afghanistan, accounting for the largest contingent sent abroad. According to data provided by the Defense Ministry, Bucharest has another 61 soldiers in Bosnia Herzegovina, 60 in Kosovo, 2 in Iraq and 260 in other missions.

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