Brown commits 500 extra troops to Afghanistan

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has confirmed plans to deploy of 500 more soldiers in Afghanistan in early December.

“I can confirm that we will move to a new force level of 9,500 — the extra troops will deploy in early December to thicken the UK troop presence in central Helmand,” Brown told the parliament on Monday.

The UK’s total contribution to the eight-year war, however, would amount to 10,000 given the presence of special forces, who are involved in training and civilian activities.

The announcement comes just two days after Brown said London will host a conference on Afghanistan in January 28 to discuss ways of handing over security to the local forces.

He said the discussions are expected to pave the way for the withdrawal of UK troops from the country.

After the United States, Britain has the highest number of troops in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama is expected to declare the deployment of 35,000 more troops to Afghanistan in a nationwide address on Tuesday.

Washington is also planning to train Afghan security forces to pave the way from the withdrawal of foreign forces from the war-torn country.

With the British military fatalities on the rise in Afghanistan, Brown is under public pressure to bring troops back home. Ninety-eight British service personnel lost their lives in 2009 alone, making it the bloodiest year for UK troops since the Falklands War in 1982.

In recent months, the government has been bombarded with allegations of ‘fatal’ shortages of equipment for troops and questions over whether the “unwinnable” campaign was worth the costs.

A defense ministry statement confirming the death of another British soldier in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand Province on Monday coincided with Brown’s announcement.

The death takes the total number of British deaths in Afghanistan to 236.

Last month, Brown said Britain’s condition on sending the extra troops to the battle field was that other coalition countries would follow suit.