Bulgaria will renew its military participation in Iraq at the earliest at the end of February 2006, the council of the ruling tripartite coalition decided. In January, the Cabinet will meet on the question, and following this Parliament will have to take a final decision on a new form of participation in peacekeeping in Iraq. The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), National Movement Simeon II (NMSII) and Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) have not decided on the new type of operation.
The most likely new operation will have a military-humanitarian character. A 120-member security detachment will be sent, with 34 additional staff. It is expected that Bulgarian soldiers will provide security at the Ashraf prison camp, in the desert 60 km north of Baghdad. The Bulgarian troops will be under US command, Sega newspaper reported.
Bulgarian soldiers from the first unit to complete its mission returned to Bulgaria yesterday. The 105 soldiers were welcomed by Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev, who said that Bulgaria must honour its commitments, but future participation could not take the same form as the current military operation.