New Zealand and Australia reaffirm Afghan commitment despite deaths

Wed, 16 Feb 2011

Wellington - The prime ministers of New Zealand and Australia reaffirmed their commitments to Afghanistan Wednesday despite the rising casualty toll of their troops in the country.

The flags of both countries flew at half-mast at the New Zealand parliament as the two leaders held talks following news that a New Zealand soldier had died in a motor accident in Bamyan province on Tuesday.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and his counterpart Julia Gillard, who on Monday attended the funeral of an Australian soldier killed earlier this month, both said they would continue to post troops in Afghanistan until it was able to take care of its own security.

"As tragic as it is, I don't think we should change course," Key told a joint news conference.

"I believe we should remain absolutely committed to seeing the job done."

Gillard said, "We went to Afghanistan to deny terrorists - people who would seek to take the lives of Australians and New Zealanders - to deny them the opportunity to use Afghanistan as a training base.

"We expect there to be some hard days ahead, but we are making progress and we need to see the mission through."

The New Zealand Defense Force said Private Kirifi Mila, 27, died when the convoy vehicle he was traveling in rolled off a road down a steep cliff.

He was in New Zealand's 231-member Provincial Reconstruction Team operating in Bamyan province.

He was the second New Zealand soldier to die in Afghanistan. The Australian death toll is 22.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/367550,reaffirm-afghan-commitment-deaths.html.