30 November 2009 - 23H25
US has asked France to send 1,500 more troops, Le Monde says
The United States has asked France to provide another 1,500 troops for the NATO mission in Afghanistan, France's daily Le Monde reported Monday on its website.
By News Wires (text)
AFP - The United States has asked France to provide another 1,500 troops for the allied mission in Afghanistan, the daily Le Monde reported Monday on its website.
A spokesman for the French foreign ministry refused to confirm or deny the report, which said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the request on Thursday in a telephone call to French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.
US President Barack Obama has asked its NATO allies to increase their troop numbers in Afghanistan, and he is expected to announce at least 30,000 US reinforcements in a major speech on Afghan strategy Tuesday.
The White House said Monday that Obama had called French President Nicolas Sarkozy to update him on plans.
France already has 3,750 soldiers attached to the campaign, 3,400 of them in Afghanistan itself, but Sarkozy's government has insisted that it has no plans to increase the number.
Britain, Italy and Macedonia said Monday that they would send reinforcements.
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AFGHANISTAN
A French soldier was killed in Afghanistan when his supply convoy was attacked by insurgents near Kabul, President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said Tuesday. The soldier was the fortieth to have died in action since the US-led invasion in late 2001.
Stay tuned
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