...

Parliament welcomes extension of Swedish forces in Chad

Other News Materials 5 March 2008 20:49 (UTC +04:00)

(dpa) - The Swedish parliament Wednesday welcomed a statement by Defence Minister Sten Tolgfors that Sweden would keep peacekeepers in Chad until August.

The 200-strong Swedish force was initially planned to be pulled out after four months, and would barely reach full strength before being scaled down in June.

Critics within the ruling centre-right coalition and the opposition questioned the short deployment period, and if the funds were used wisely.

During the debate Wednesday, Tolgfors said the extension would cost some 46 million kronor (7 million dollars) extra.

The peacekeepers were deployed to protect refugees in eastern Chad that had fled from the troubled Darfur region in neighbouring Sudan.

Latest

Latest