30 Aug 2006

Fiji to send more soldiers to Iraq

10:14 am on 30 August 2006

Fiji will send another 34 troops today for duty in Iraq in response to an urgent request from the United Nations.

The Fiji Times reports that the troops will protect the international staff of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq.

The military spokesman, Major Neumi Leweni, says the 34 new troops will join the 134 Fiji soldiers already serving in Iraq and will be divided between Baghdad and Uril.

The minister for home affairs, Josefa Vosanibola, says the cost of the new Iraq deployment will be met from next year's military budget.

The cabinet has also approved the deployment of two senior officers, a Lieutenant Colonel and a Major, to the United Nations Office in East Timor for the next 12 months at the request of the UN