Troops to leave Iraq in March — HUNGARY | 世界のニュースを英語で読むならジャパンタイムズウィークリー


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HUNGARY
Troops to leave Iraq in March

Ferenc Gyurcsany

The government will ask lawmakers to keep its 300 troops in Iraq for an extra three months but will withdraw the soldiers by the end of March, the new prime minister said Nov. 3.

Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany said that he will ask Parliament to extend the troops' mandate, which expires Dec. 31, but only until March 31. The largest opposition party, which wants the soldiers home by the end of the year, signaled it likely will block the move.

"We are obliged to stay there until the (Iraqi) election. To stay longer is an impossibility," Gyurcsany said. Iraq's election is to be held by Jan. 31.

Hungary, which joined the European Union in May, sent the troops as part of the U.S.-led coalition. But the government has been under mounting pressure from citizens and opposition parties who object to the soldiers' presence.

Recent polls have shown that around 60 percent of Hungarians want the government to withdraw the troops from Iraq immediately.

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