Denmark votes to keep troops in Iraq another year

Denmark's Parliament on Tuesday voted to keep its troops in Iraq for another year - but the bill was opposed by all Opposition parties.

The government, led by Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said earlier this month it would shift some of its 530 troops to U.N. duties. The changes would mean a small net reduction in the force of 10 to 40 personnel.

The new mandate for the Danish force expires on July 1, 2007. The troops are stationed near Basra in the south of Iraq.

Denmark has been part of the U.S.-led multi-national security force in Iraq since the end of the 2003 war. Three Danes have died in Iraq since 2003.

Image hit by Prophet cartoons
Denmark's image was hit across the Muslim world by the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in a Danish newspaper last year.

All Opposition parties, including Social Democrats and Social Liberals, opposed the bill to renew the troop mandate. In January, the Social Democrats supported a six-month extension but the party has reversed its support in recent months in the face of the increasing civilian death toll in Iraq.
Radio New Zealand