Civil Georgia
December 24, 2014
MPs Endorse Georgia’s Contribution to NATO’s New Afghan Mission
Tbilisi: The Parliament backed unanimously on December 24 ratification of an agreement on Georgia’s participation in the NATO-led new mission in Afghanistan, Resolute Support.
Georgia will continue contributing 750 troops to NATO-led mission in Afghanistan with one battalion stationed at Bagram Air Field under the U.S. command and one company in Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan.
A farewell ceremony for reconnaissance company from the fourth mechanized brigade, departing to Mazar-i-Sharif, was held on December 16; the company will assume the task of rapid reaction force at German army’s Camp Marmal.
Georgia’s first contribution to the Afghan operation came in 2004 when 50 soldiers were briefly deployed there under the German command as part of ensuring security during the presidential elections.
In November, 2009 Georgia deployed about 170 soldiers in Kabul under the French command. In 2010 Georgia increased presence in Afghanistan by sending an infantry battalion in the Helmand province serving along with the U.S. marines in October, 2012 Georgia added one more battalion in Helmand and at its peak Georgia had about 1,600 soldiers in Afghanistan. Georgian troops were withdrawn from Helmand in July, 2014.
Death toll of the Georgian soldiers in the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan is 29 – all killed in action in the Helmand province.
Over 435 Georgian soldiers have been wounded. In the most recent incident three servicemen from the 51st light infantry battalion were wounded in a suicide attack last month while they were on patrol in the Parwan province.
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