ITALY TO WITHDRAW TROOPS FROM AFGHANISTAN IN COMING DAYS

Fri 16 April 2021:

The withdrawal of the Italian contingent from Afghanistan will begin in the coming days, Italian Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini said on Friday.

“A few days ago, together with the Atlantic Alliance [NATO], we decided to complete a mission of many years in Afghanistan. The return of 800 Italian servicemen deployed to Kabul and Herat will begin in the coming days,” Guerini said, as quoted by the Askanews agency.

The defense minister thanked all Italian soldiers and officers serving in international missions, and paid tribute to the 54 servicemen who died in Afghanistan over the years of Italy’s presence there.

On Wednesday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance would start the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan on May 1 and wrap it up within several months. US President Joe Biden, in turn, wants American troops out of the restive country by September 11, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.