jueves, 29 de diciembre de 2011

British PM Visits Troops in S. Afghanistan - Voice of America (blog)

British Prime Minister David Cameron has vowed that his country will not extend its involvement in military operations in Afghanistan after the 2014 deadline.

Mr. Cameron made his comments Tuesday during a previously unannounced visit to greet British forces in southern Afghanistan. He spoke in Kandahar province after canceling plans to tour neighboring Helmand province due to a dust storm closing the runway.

Britain plans to pulls out 500 troops in 2012, but so far Mr. Cameron has not announced exactly how many will leave the following year. However, he did tell reporters that he does not want to see a sharp dropoff in the number of troops from 2013 to 2014.

While on his visit, the British leader also called Afghan President Hamid Karzai and they agreed to meet face-to-face in London early next year.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Afghan president on Tuesday reiterated Mr. Karzai's call for NATO to stop night raids after the coalition said it would continue them despite recent civilian deaths.

Civilian deaths have been a major source of tension between the Karzai government and international coalition in Afghanistan.

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