German army to boost combat troop strength amid Afghan violence

Berlin (Earth Times - dpa) - German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg announced Friday that an extra 120 combat troops would be sent to the Kunduz region in Northern Afghanistan, in the face of rising militant violence there. The German army's parliamentary mandate provides for a maximum of 4,500 troops to be deployed in Afghanistan, as part of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

The minister announced the move during a visit to forces in Kunduz, where the army conducted its largest post-World War II combat mission earlier this year, in an attempt to forestall increasingly frequent Taliban attacks.

"It isn't all sweetness and light here," Guttenberg said during the visit, adding that the troops would be deployed from mid-January 2010.

Germany has already 450 combat troops stationed in Kunduz, in addition to around 1,000 soldiers attached to the so-called Reconstruction Teams, which provide humanitarian assistance to the Afghan population.

The region had been calm in relation to the south of the country, but German forces now come under near-daily attacks by militants.

Germany - wary since World War II of military adventures abroad - must re-approve the Afghan deployment by parliamentary vote by December 13.

The conflict is unpopular at home, with a majority being against extending the mission, according to opinion polls.

On Friday, a government spokesman in Berlin said that the army was following a path of handing over greater responsibility to the Afghan security forces.

US President Barack Obama, whose country has the largest ISAF contingent in the country, is still weighing whether to send more troops to the conflict.

The German government has called for an international conference to be held so that allies can agree on a strategy.