Jordanian to send humanitarian force to Afghanistan this week

By SHAFIKA MATTAR
Associated Press Writer

AMMAN, Jordan – Jordan intends to send troops to Afghanistan within two days to help in humanitarian efforts there, a government spokesman said Tuesday.

The move would make Jordan the first Arab country with soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan.

"Jordan is committed to its Muslim brothers in Afghanistan," the spokesman, Saleh Qallab, said after a special Cabinet session.

"The Jordanian force will not participate in any military mission," he said, but will guard the hospital and humanitarian aid distribution in Mazar-e-Sharif, the northern city captured by Afghan anti-Taliban forces earlier this month.

Qallab did not specify the size of the deployment but said it would be accompanied by supplies for a field hospital and other medical aid "in the next two days."

Jordan joins a number of other countries that have offered peacekeepers, including France, Germany, Britain and Turkey.

Prime Minister Ali Abul-Ragheb said last week that Jordan was considering sending peacekeepers to Afghanistan.

Earlier Jordan offered diplomatic support and intelligence to the U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan.

The U.N. Security Council has given the go-ahead for coalition troops to help maintain law and order in the areas captured by anti-Taliban forces – about half the country.

But the United Nations has made no move yet to organize a force under its own auspices.

APNP-11-20-01 1033CST