Hungary to send 150 troops to Iraq under NATO command

WAR.WIRE

Hungary to send 150 troops to Iraq under NATO command
BUDAPEST (AFP) Dec 08, 2004
The Hungarian government has approved sending 150 non-combat troops Iraq the middle of next year, where they are to serve under NATO command, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.

"The government agreed to send a military contingent as part of a NATO mission to Iraq, where they will serve from June 1, 2005 until September 30, 2006," Boglar Laszlo was quoted as saying by MTI news agency after a cabinet meeting.

She said the non-combat troops would help provide security to a NATO training base on the outskirts of Baghdad.

The alliance aims to train around 1,000 senior Iraqi military officers a year at the base, but even though NATO approved the mission in June, some of its members -- divided still over the war -- have refused to allow their officers to be sent to Iraq.

Laszlo said the cabinet rejected a NATO request for the troops to also carry out logistics work there.

Hungary currently has 300 soldiers serving in Iraq as part of the US-led coalition, and their mandate runs out at the end of the month.

Parliament in November voted against extending their mission until March 2005, as requested by the Socialist-led government. The government does not need the permission of the legislature to contribute troop to NATO missions.