‘New Zealand special forces to leave Afghanistan in March’
December 22nd, 2011 - 5:20 pm ICT by IANS
Wellington, Dec 22 (IANS) New Zealand’s special forces will leave Afghanistan in March next year, Prime Minister John Key confirmed Thursday.
“The SAS has achieved the job they were sent to do with Kabul’s Crisis Response Unit, and they have done that job to the very highest of standards,” Xinhua quoted the New Zealand prime minister as saying in a statement.
“…I deeply regret the loss of our soldiers, but I do not regret our commitment to operations in Afghanistan,” said Key.
The New Zealand Special Air Service Group (SAS), which is mentoring the Kabul Crisis Response Unit (CRU), an elite unit of the Afghan national police, was scheduled to be withdrawn in March.
There had been speculation, however, that its stay in Afghanistan could be extended.
New Zealand would remain committed to Afghanistan’s Bamyan province, where it has had a peacekeeping unit, the Provincial Reconstruction Team, since 2003.
The Provincial Reconstruction Unit, which is scheduled to pull out in 2014, would complete its important work in building security, governance and development capacity in the province, said Key.
The SAS was first deployed in Afghanistan in 2001, but had been pulled out in 2005 after three deployments.
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- New Zealand extends special forces deployment to Afghanistan - Feb 02, 2011
- NATO hands over control of province to Afghan troops - Jul 18, 2011
- British troops to stay in Afghanistan after 2014 - May 20, 2012
- Cameron visits British troops in Afghanistan - Dec 20, 2011
- Afghanistan seeks Indian equipment for security forces (Roundup) - May 01, 2012
- Germany to give $190 mn to Afghanistan after 2014 - May 17, 2012
- US combat operations in Afghanistan will continue even after 2014: Eikenberry - Dec 24, 2010
- 10 policemen killed in Afghan bombing - Apr 28, 2012
- Bamyan residents fear return of Taliban - May 30, 2010
- Germany unsure of Afghan withdrawal in 2014: Merkel - Mar 12, 2012
- Afghanistan seeks early security handover: Karzai - Mar 16, 2012
- 260 new graduates join Afghan National Police - Dec 15, 2011
- Afghanistan seeks Indian equipment for security forces (Lead) - May 01, 2012
- 20 Afghan militants lay down arms - Apr 18, 2012
Tags: afghanistan, bamyan province, building security, crisis response, deployments, elite unit, governance, john key, kabul, national police, new zealand, prime minister john, provincial reconstruction team, response unit, sas, service group, special forces, speculation, wellington, xinhua