Poland said Thursday it would send 1,000 new troops to join its existing 100-strong contingent in Afghanistan in response to NATO calls for reinforcements to step up the fight against Taliban insurgents.
The European Union’s largest former communist state was the first to commit more troops after NATO defense chiefs agreed over the weekend that they needed to add to the existing 20,000-strong force in the country.
An alliance spokesman said Wednesday that it could be weeks before reinforcements were committed.
“Poland will increase its contingent in Afghanistan. We will send 1,000 additional troops from February,” Defense Ministry Spokesman Leszek Laszczak said.
“We know this will be a dangerous operation. Poland understands that NATO will have to be more active in Afghanistan. We are well aware of that, and that is why we decided to increase the size of the force.”
NATO countries currently have around 18,500 troops in Afghanistan with other non-NATO countries contributing a further 1,500 to its International Security Assistance force.
Warsaw has been a major supporter of U.S.-led stabilization efforts in Iraq, where it still has 900 of an original 2,500 troops in place.