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Czech army may send 200 troops in fight against IS

Xinhua, November 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Czech military may send up to 200 medical officers and members of its anti-chemical unit in the event of a ground operation launched against the Islamic State in Syria or Iraq, said Czech Defence Minister Martin Stropnicky in a discussion program on Czech Television on Sunday.

Stropnicky said it is necessary to help the forces fighting against the Islamic state by providing them most effective weapons and air support. He said he roughly estimated the total number of Czech soldiers between one hundred and two hundred.

The deployment of Czech troops would have to be approved by the government and would have to take into account the domestic needs in the country.

Stropnicky said that the probability of ground intervention in the Middle East is growing. He warned that a ground operation has enormous difficulties and it would intensify the migrant wave and provoke terrorism in Europe.

He believes that the coalition against the Islamic State can not be formed without the participation of Russia, it is now "clear to everyone." As Russia is not in the EU or in NATO, an ad hoc coalitions and alliance of countries must be established, said Stropnicky.

A survey conducted by the Median agency for Czech Television on November 19-20 showed that Czech's involvement in the fight against the IS is supported by more than eight out of ten Czechs.

The participation of the Czech Republic in a ground military operation is desired by 28 percent, only 13 percent of Czechs do not want any involvement of Czech in fight against IS, the survey showed. Endit