Czech troops leave for Afghanistan

Over thirty Czech soldiers left for Afghanistan on Sunday where they are to join the Czech military contingent tasked with protecting Camp Haridan in Uruzgan province. The Czech military contingent is to remain there until the end of March when they are to be replaced by Slovak troops. However the future of all 400 Czech troops in Afghanistan is now hanging in the balance after Parliament rejected a bill on the army’s foreign missions in 2009. Their mandate in the country was temporarily extended by the government and a new vote is expected in the lower house shortly. The government has had to cut back on plans to extend the country’s forces abroad, promising to cut back on the number of troops serving in ISAF and to end Czech participation in the US-led operation Enduring Freedom by the end of the year.