Dutch to Send 1,100 Peacekeepers to Iraq; Ukraine to Send Up to 1,800

The Associated Press breaking ^ | Jun 7, 2003

[Kaslin]

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - The Netherlands will send 1,100 peacekeepers to southern Iraq to join the British-led multinational stabilization force, the Dutch government said.

The Cabinet decided Friday to contribute a battalion of marines under a U.N. Security Council resolution, according to a Foreign Ministry statement posted on its Web site.

The Dutch forces will be stationed in the sparsely populated, southern al-Muthanna region for at least six months and possibly a year. No departure date was set, but Defense Minister Henk Kamp said the forces first may go to Kuwait in August for an acclimatization period.

The operation, estimated to cost $77 million, still needs parliamentary approval.

"With an end goal of maintaining stability in the region, the territorial integrity of Iraq is of utmost importance, as is the re-establishment and maintenance of security and stability within the country," the ministry statement said.

The Dutch government backed the U.S.-led attack on Iraq, but the country did not participate in combat operations because of widespread public opposition to the war.

The Netherlands and Germany jointly command the International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, in the Afghan capital Kabul, but are due to hand over control to NATO in August.

Also, Ukraine said it will send up to 1,800 troops to join the U.S.-led stabilization force in Iraq, the presidential press service in Kiev, Ukraine, said Saturday.

The Ukrainian contingent will head to a zone of central-southern Iraq between the British-run area in the south and the U.S.-controlled zone in the north.

The deployment will cost an estimated $13 million.

[marron]

- The Netherlands will send 1,100 peacekeepers to southern Iraq to join the British-led multinational stabilization force, the Dutch government said.

Just don't ask them to work weekends...