Bangkok, Aug 21: Thailand may cancel plans to send more than 400 troops to help rebuild Iraq after the terror attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said today. Thai Army officials had said after the blast that they were committed to the deployment, which was due to begin later this month.
But Thaksin said he had asked the military to evaluate the security situation in Iraq to see whether it was safe for the troops to go ahead with their humanitarian and reconstruction work. "I have instructed the military to assess the situation and suitability concerning safety and their readiness before setting a departure date," he told reporters.
Thaksin said the military would coordinate with the United States military in Iraq before making a decision. "The military can make its own decision based on its intelligence," he added.
Japan's Defence Minister also said today that it would be "difficult" to send Japanese troops to Iraq this year after the bombing of the UN headquarters which killed 24 people. Bureau Report