Hun Sen reviewing troops being sent to Sudan. REUTERS/Chor SokuntheaCambodia mulls sending troops to Iraq
Phnom Penh - Cambodia's prime minister is mulling sending troops to Iraq following a request from the US ambassador to contribute forces for non-combat roles, a senior advisor to the premier said Thursday.
Prime Minister Hun Sen has refused such requests in the past, but left the door open for a future deployment following a meeting Monday with US Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli, advisor Om Yentieng told AFP.
"The prime minister stated that he has not said absolutely no or yes yet, but he wanted to see how Cambodian troops do in Sudan first," Om Yentieng said.
"After that, Cambodia will consider whether to take another step."
The impoverished Southeast Asian nation will deploy 135 deminers this month to Sudan as it participates in a United Nations mission for the first time.
During the meeting, Mussomeli asked Cambodia to send medical personnel, as well as deminers and military police, according to Om Yentieng.
"The ambassador was very happy when the prime minister did not say no," Om Yentieng said.
A US embassy spokesman confirmed that Mussomeli met with Hun Sen, but added "we generally don't discuss diplomatic exchanges".
He did not deny that a request for troops was made.
Cambodia was host to the UN's largest-ever intervention in 1993 as it emerged from decades of civil war. Hundreds of thousands of troops remain on the rolls of the country's vast military, which is a holdover from the war years.
Agence France Presse
Prime Minister Hun Sen has refused such requests in the past, but left the door open for a future deployment following a meeting Monday with US Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli, advisor Om Yentieng told AFP.
"The prime minister stated that he has not said absolutely no or yes yet, but he wanted to see how Cambodian troops do in Sudan first," Om Yentieng said.
"After that, Cambodia will consider whether to take another step."
The impoverished Southeast Asian nation will deploy 135 deminers this month to Sudan as it participates in a United Nations mission for the first time.
During the meeting, Mussomeli asked Cambodia to send medical personnel, as well as deminers and military police, according to Om Yentieng.
"The ambassador was very happy when the prime minister did not say no," Om Yentieng said.
A US embassy spokesman confirmed that Mussomeli met with Hun Sen, but added "we generally don't discuss diplomatic exchanges".
He did not deny that a request for troops was made.
Cambodia was host to the UN's largest-ever intervention in 1993 as it emerged from decades of civil war. Hundreds of thousands of troops remain on the rolls of the country's vast military, which is a holdover from the war years.
Agence France Presse
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