MUNICH, Nov 11: Germany is to send two frigates, five fast patrol boats, three transport aircraft and a flying hospital to the US forces as its contribution to the war against terrorism, according to a report in the magazine Focus due out on Monday.
The report says the frigates and patrol boats are the most urgently required and are likely to be based around the Horn of Africa.
It says the transport aircraft of the Transall type, will be used at Incirlik in the south of Turkey which is used by US and British aircraft.
The flying hospital, which is especially adapted to deal with casualties, will be based at Cologne in the south of Germany to be called upon if needed, the report says.
German MPs are due to vote next week on the use of 3,900 German servicemen, after already having agreed in principle to send troops beyond the border of NATO countries.
A defence ministry spokesman refused to confirm the Focus report.
“We are waiting for the decision of the Bundestag, (German lower house) and will start to define the exact make up of our forces on the basis of that decision,” he said.
The German cabinet in drawing up the request to be debated by the Bundestag, said the contingent would be made up of around 800 soldiers in special units trained in the detection of nuclear, biological and chemical warfare; a casualty evacuation medical unit of around 200 servicemen; air transport for humanitarian relief using around 500 personnel; 1,500 marines trained to defend ports and some 450 troops for logistical support.
$73m aid: Germany’s government is preparing a resolution to give at least 82 million euros (73 million dollars) in aid for rebuilding Afghanistan, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FASZ) newspaper reported on Sunday.
It said Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s ruling coalition of Social Democrats (SPD) and ecologist Greens were readying a motion on this to be adopted at the next cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
UK confirms ground troops in Afghanistan: Britain publicly admitted on Sunday for the first time that it has ground forces deployed in Afghanistan.
Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said “a small number” of British soldiers were liaising with the opposition Northern Alliance.
“I can certainly confirm that there are members of Britain’s armed forces on the ground in northern Afghanistan liaising with the Northern Alliance, providing advice and assistance,” he told BBC radio.
“All we can say is that there is a small number acting in a liaison and advice capacity,” he said. British special forces had been reported for several weeks to be operating inside Afghanistan, but Hoon’s statement was the first official confirmation that troops were on the ground.
Hoon did not say who the British elements were, how many were there or how long they had been in the country, but it is thought they are most likely to be members of the elite Special Air Service (SAS).
Canada fears: Canada on Saturday warned that the Taliban would try to regroup and get reinforcements if the US-led military campaign was suspended during the month of Ramazan, which starts in mid-November.
But Foreign Minister John Manley said the decision to suspend or not belongs to military leaders.
“The military objectives are very important and we cannot create a situation that will allow the Taliban to regroup or get reinforcement,” Manley said. —dpa/AFP
