YEREVAN (Itar-Tass)—The first grouping Armenia’s 40-solider peacekeeping contingent to Afghanistant left for Germany on Monday to begin a four-week training mission before deploying to Afghanistan as part of the German contingent, Armenian Defense Minister Seiran Ohanyan said Saturday.
According to the Russian Itar-Tass news agency, the remaining 30 peacekeepers will fly to the German city of Cologne on January 17 for their training. The entire contingent will begin its six month tour of duty in Afghanistan in February.
Armenia launches its peacemaking mission in Afghanistan, joining the German contingent there. The first soldiers, ten of the total 40, have left for a four-week training mission in Germany,
The division will be guarding the coalition airport in the northern city of Kunduz, Ohanyan said, thanking the German Army for its “overall support” to Armenia’s soliders both in Germany and in Afghanistan.
Armenia has been an active partner in the NATO-led peacekeeping operations in Kosovo and Iraq since 2003.
