23 September 2008
  
PARIS, - France announced Monday it will reinforce its mission in Afghanistan with helicopters, advanced airplanes and other resources amid debate over whether 10 French soldiers killed there were poorly equipped.

Prime Minister Francois Fillon said France "learned the lessons" from August's Taliban ambush that left 10 soldiers dead and 21 wounded, the country's worst military loss in 25 years.

"We have decided to strengthen our military means in the areas of air mobility, intelligence and support", Fillon said at the opening of a parliament debate on whether to keep French troops in Afghanistan.

The National Assembly voted in favour of continuing the mission, with the majority from President Nicolas Sarkozy's right-wing party outnumbering objections from the Socialists.

Fillon said helicopters, airplanes, surveillance equipment and 100 additional troops necessary for the strengthened operation will be deployed.

The reinforcements will be in place in a few weeks, he added.

But the prime minister denied a report in Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper that the 30 French soldiers were no match for the better-equipped and trained Taliban fighters who attacked them on 18 August in the mountains east of Kabul.

The newspaper quoted a secret NATO report stating that the paratroopers ran out of ammunition after only 90 minutes and had only one radio that quickly lost contact, leaving them unable to call for support.

"The reality is cruel enough without adding lies and disinformation",
Fillon said.

There was no loss of radio contact and the troops were "always able to respond" to Taliban firepower, he added.

Both NATO and the French military denied the report existed, saying the newspaper was referring to a leaked email sent by an officer to NATO leaders in Kabul that gave a partial account of the ambush.

France's armed forces chief of staff Jean-Louis Georgelin said it came from a member of a US special forces unit that was patrolling with the French troops before the ambush.

 1 2 Next >