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Dutch cabinet 'falls' in Nato row | |
(10 minutes later) | |
The Dutch government has collapsed over disagreements within the governing coalition on extending troop deployments in Afghanistan, media say. | The Dutch government has collapsed over disagreements within the governing coalition on extending troop deployments in Afghanistan, media say. |
The reports came following extensive talks between the coalition partners. | The reports came following extensive talks between the coalition partners. |
Christian Democratic Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende is considering a Nato request to extend the Dutch mission in Afghanistan beyond 2010. | Christian Democratic Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende is considering a Nato request to extend the Dutch mission in Afghanistan beyond 2010. |
However, the Labour party, a member of the centre-left coalition, has opposed the extension. | However, the Labour party, a member of the centre-left coalition, has opposed the extension. |
The collapse was reported overnight after a 16-hour cabinet meeting. | |
Just under 2,000 Dutch service personnel have been serving in Afghanistan's Uruzgan province since 2006, with 21 killed. | |
Their deployment has already been extended once. The troops should have returned home in 2008, but they stayed on because no other Nato nation offered replacements. | |
The commitment is now due to end later in 2010. | |
The Dutch parliament voted in October 2009 that it must definitely stop by then, although the government has yet to endorse that vote. | |
The finance minister and leader of the Labour Party, Wouter Bos, demanded an immediate ruling from the prime minister. |