Agence France Presse — English
January 18, 2005 Tuesday 3:01 PM GMT

Forty-six Armenian troops depart for Iraq on humanitarian mission

YEREVAN

A group of 46 Armenian soldiers flew off from here Tuesday aboard a
US C-130 transport plane on a humanitarian mission to Iraq where they
will serve under Polish command for one year.

“This day is very important for Armenian armed forces.

We cannot stay away from international processes geared toward
promoting stability and peace in our region, particularly in Iraq,”
said Defense Minister Serge Sarkissian as he addressed the troops
before they departed for Baghdad via Kuwait.

The minister said the 46 soldiers — three doctors, 10 bomb disposal
experts, 30 drivers and three senior officers — would be deployed in
the Shiite holy city of Karbala and nearby al-Hila.

Late last month, the Armenian parliament approved a controversial
government plan to send troops and medics to join the US-led
coalition in Iraq.

Ninety-one deputies voted in favour of the proposal with 23 against
and one abstention, despite fears from opposition groups that the
deployment would endanger the large Armenian diaspora in the Arab
world.

Opposition parties and youth organizations warned that insurgents
could target the some 20,000 ethnic Armenians in Iraq if the troops
join the US-led campaign.