Romanian losses in Afghanistan

On Friday, during a patrol mission in the southern province of Zabul, near Qalat town, two Romanian soldiers lost their lives.

The usual Taliban scenario worked this time, again: the armoured vehicle that was carrying the Romanians was hit by an improvised device.

The death of sergeant-major Marius Florin Sfeches, aged 25, and of soldier Cristian-Petru Filip, aged 26, brings up to 17 the number of Romanian servicemen who died in the line of duty in Afghanistan since 2002, when Bucharest first sent troops to that country.

This was the first combat action undertaken by the Romanian Army outside its national borders since World War 2.

A Taliban stronghold, the southern part of Afghanistan remains destabilised by the Islamist insurgence, and it is there that the larger part of the 1,600 Romanian troops are deployed.

They take part both in operation Enduring Freedom, targeting the Taliban rebels and what has been left of the Al-Qaida terrorist network, and in the NATO International Assistance Force, which is designed to help stabilise and rebuild this country, devastated by over 30 years of war since the 1979 Soviet invasion.

According to experts, the anti-insurgence campaign initiated by the multinational coalition in early 2010 may take one and a half years, and the death toll may well rise during this period.

(Radio România Internaţional, Serviciul în limba engleză).