Romania and the situation in Afghanistan
A new Romanian battalion has begun a 6-month mission in Afghanistan.
Daniela Budu, 23.08.2017, 12:49
The military of the Brave Hearts Force Protection Infantry Battalion based in Focsani have taken over the Romanian missions in the theatre of operations in Afghanistan. They replaced the Black Wolves 151st Battalion from Iasi and will take part in the NATO Resolute Support mission for the next 6 months. The responsibility of the more than 600 Romanian troops will focus on ensuring the security of the base in Kandahar, carrying out patrols jointly with the coalition troops and the Afghan army and police forces.
The Romanian military will also ensure the security of the biggest airport in southern Afghanistan. The region is still problematic as far as security is concerned. The most recent incident in which a Romanian military was also wounded took place two weeks ago. According to the defence ministry in Bucharest, 25 Romanian soldiers have been killed in operations in Afghanistan, in which Romania has been taking part since 2001.
Another 100 Romanian military have been wounded in this theatre of operations. The takeover of new troops comes after US president Donald Trump announced early this week that he would boost the military campaign against Taliban insurgents. He ruled out a possible US withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying a quick pullout would create a void that may be taken advantage of by the “terrorists”, both from Al-Qaida and the Islamic State.
The Pentagon is still to decide the number of additional troops to be deployed to Afghanistan, while also working on a plan, the US defence secretary James Mattis has announced. According to a number of US officials, Trump authorised Mattis to deploy around 4,000 troops to join the roughly 8,400 stationed at the moment in Afghanistan. Along with other NATO allies, Romania has welcomed Donald Trump’s announcement. Its defence minister Adrian Tutuianu said Bucharest, which is the fourth biggest contributor of troops to NATO, may increase the number of troops taking part in the Resolute Support mission.
The conflict in Afghanistan is the longest in the modern history of the United States. It began after the Al-Qaida attacks of September 2001, when the leader of this terrorist network, Osama Bin Laden, was harboured by Afghanistan’s Taliban regime at the time. The Taliban were quickly defeated by the US forces, but an insurrection began and they are gaining more and more ground recently. The NATO mission to Afghanistan officially came to an end in 2014, while the around 13,500 military there, mostly American, are responsible for the training and counselling of the Afghan security forces.
