France to reinforce Afghan mission after killings

PARIS (Reuters) - France is going to send more helicopters, equipment and troops to Afghanistan following the deaths of 10 of its soldiers in a Taliban ambush, Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Monday.

Fillon announced the reinforcements during a parliamentary debate on whether to prolong France's Afghan military operation, with the government facing accusations that its troops were poorly equipped and unprepared for their mission.

President Nicolas Sarkozy's centre-right allies easily won a subsequent vote, despite opposition from the Socialist ranks, and Fillon said the attack would not weaken France's resolve.

"The President of the Republic and government have learnt the lesson from this murderous ambush. We have decided to strengthen our military means," he said.

He told parliament that the reinforcements, including Caracal and Gazelle helicopters, drones, listening devices, more mortars and around 100 men, would arrive within a "few weeks".

France already has some 2,600 troops operating under the command of NATO in Afghanistan, including 700 extra soldiers dispatched earlier this year.

The August 18 attack has deeply eroded public support for the military mission and an opinion poll in L'Express magazine last week showed that 62 percent of French people were against their troops remaining in Afghanistan.

Reports of inadequate ammunition supplies and poor communication equipment have surfaced in the press, but Fillon said the French contingent caught up in the ambush was well armed and used up three tons of munitions in the fighting.

"The reality (of what happened) is sufficiently cruel not to add lies and disinformation to it," he said.

AVOIDING MISTAKES

The opposition Socialists said they did not want to see an immediate withdrawal of French forces but urged Paris to fix a time limit on their presence and redefine the Afghan strategy.

"We are voting against a political and military concept which is leading us to stalemate," said Socialist parliamentary party leader, Jean-Marc Ayrault.

The government won the vote by 343 votes to 210 in the first such ballot since France sent troops to Afghanistan in 2001.

The vote was organized following a change to the Constitution in July that requires parliament to give a green light to overseas military interventions.

Fillon admitted that mistakes had been made, and urged allies not to attack targets indiscriminately, saying this only created more enemies. But he said the West could not afford to let Afghanistan fall back into the hands of the Taliban.

"The French have to realize that we are not at war with the Afghan people, but our troops might be engaged in acts of war," he said. "They are there to ensure our collective security, preventing Afghanistan from once again becoming a sanctuary for international terrorism," he added.

NATO leads some 53,000 troops in Afghanistan, while a separate U.S. force is also in the country.

Violence has soared in the past three years, with al Qaeda and the Taliban regrouping, and military officials have called on NATO allies to send more soldiers to help regain the initiative.

(Editing by Jon Boyle)