Azerbaijan to double peacekeepers in Afghanistan

Moscow, Sep 16 (UNI) Azerbaijan's Parliament is to adopt a law that would double its peacekeeping contingent in Afghanistan.

''A draft law on doubling the number of Azerbaijani peacekeepers deployed in Afghanistan will be submitted for consideration during the fall session,'' RIA Novosti news agency reported from Baku, quoting the first deputy speaker Ziyafet Askerov.

A total of 45 Azerbaijani peacekeepers are currently serving in Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force, a NATO-led security and development mission in the country.

The former Soviet Republic has also deployed 150 peacekeepers in Iraq since May 2003 and has been part of the NATO Partnership for Peace programme since 1994.

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