The lower house of the German parliament, the Bundestag, voted on Friday to approve a plan to raise the number of Bundeswehr soldiers in Afghanistan. Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet had approved the plan two weeks ago, in which an additional 850 troops would be sent to Afghanistan, boosting the number of soldiers on the ground to around 5,350.

A broad majority of Merkel's Christian Democrats, Free Democrats and Social Democrats supported the extension of the German mandate in Afghanistan, with the additional troops, by one year. A total of 429 parliamentarians voted in favor, with 111 voting against and 46 abstentions.

Of the fresh troops, 350 have been earmarked as a flexible reserves for special situations like securing parliamentary elections planned for later this year. Germany also plans to reinforce the troops training Afghan security personnel. In addition to police trainers and other experts, 1,400 German soldiers are to be responsible for training the Afghans, up from the current 280.

Protest on Bundestag floor

In the framework of plans to offer Taliban fighters a financial incentive to put down their weapons, the government has pledged to pay 50 million euros ($68.6 million) into an international re-integration fund over the next five years.

The new mandate runs until February 28, 2011. Beginning in mid-2011, Germany plans to begin a step-by-step reduction of its troops in Afghanistan.

The parliamentary debate was marked by controversy as members of the Left party protested against the vote, holding up placards with the names of people killed in a NATO bombing ordered by a German officer in September.

Party members were initially sent out of the debate before being allowed to return and cast their votes.

jen/Reuters/apn/AFP
Editor: Chuck Penfold