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| AFGHANISTAN: THE DEATH TOLL INCREASES 24/02/2010 |
| (2010-02-24) |
| Last updated: 2010-02-25 14:12 EET |
 The Romanian army is supporting the operations of a multinational coalition in Afghanistan. On Tuesday, during a patrol mission on the Kabul-Kandahar motorway in southern Afghanistan, sergeant-major Florin Badiceanu was killed and four of his colleagues were wounded, one of them severely. Badiceanu was serving his second six-month term in Afghanistan, and his death raises the total number of Romanian soldiers lost there to 12, since Romania sent its first troops to the south-Asian country in 2003, in support of its American allies. The death toll is accompanied by a number of 50 people wounded. Every death was the result of the same gruesome scenario: the armoured vehicle that was transporting the Romanian soldiers was destroyed by a remote-controlled improvised explosive device.
Ever since the Taliban were overthrown from power by the American forces in 2001, they’ve been known to dominate the southern part of the country. Most of the 1,020 Romanian soldiers currently deployed in Afghanistan are operating in this region that continues to be destabilized by insurgents. They are taking part both in operation Enduring Freedom, targeted against Taliban rebels and the remains of the terrorist faction Al Qaeda, as well as in the international mission supporting NATO troops. The latter is meant to bring stability to a nation that has been ravaged by war for more than 30 years, ever since the Soviet invasion of 1979.
The Romanian President, Traian Basescu, voiced his solidarity with the family of the fallen soldier and the relatives of his injured comrades. Speaking on behalf of the United States Government, the American ambassador to Romania Mark Gitenstein reiterated his country’s gratitude towards the courage and devotion shown by Romanian soldiers, who play a major part in NATO’s fight against tyranny and extremism, as Gitenstein says. The United States is proud to have Romania as one of its closes allies in Afghanistan, the US diplomat also said. We recall that Romania and the US are linked in operations in the Asian country through a strategic partnership.
Under this partnership agreement, last month Romania decided to deploy an additional 600 soldiers to Afghanistan, following a request made by the Obama administration. Early this year, the multinational coalition fighting against insurgents launched its largest campaign in the region to date, calling for an increase in the number of troops. Military experts say that operations might go on for about a year and a half, with everyone being aware that the death toll could increase.
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