July 15, 2008	Tuesday	Rajab 11, 1429

COPENHAGEN, July 14: Danish soldiers in Afghanistan have complained about wasting their time since they are no longer being sent on combat missions against the Taliban, several Danish media reported on Monday.

“We are doing nothing to eliminate the Taliban and ensure better daily living conditions for the people,” lamented a ranking officer in the elite Fenris company, identified only by his first name Mogens in the independent daily Information.

“Our mission is to fight the Taliban, but what we are doing resembles life in the barracks in Denmark,” he added.

He said the 90-man company, deployed in the southern Helmand province, was merely carrying out routine operations such as guard duties and transportation.

“There is fighting on the front lines almost every day on the eastern shores of the Helmand river, but we aren’t taking part and that frustrates us a lot, especially since we are the most experienced soldiers” in the battalion, he said.

His comments were shared by three other soldiers, according to another daily, Berlingske Tidende, and the Danish news channel TV2 News.

According to the soldiers, Danish troops have not been in combat since March 31, after five Danes were killed in the preceding weeks in fighting with the Taliban or in attacks.

The soldiers said they suspected the Danish military had issued an order aimed at limiting Danish losses.—AFP