PARIS, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- French President Nicolas
Sarkozy on Thursday pledged to continue the fight in Afghanistan while attending
a state funeral in Paris for the 10 French soldiers killed in a Taliban ambush
earlier in the week.
Sarkozy, who was accompanied by other French leaders
at the funeral ceremony in a church at Les Invalides, said France will not give
up its fight against terrorism in Afghanistan.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy places
a medal on the coffin of a French soldier killed in Afghanistan during a
national funeral held at the Invalides in Paris Aug. 21, 2008. Ten French
soldiers were killed and 21 injured as their convoy was ambushed by
Taliban militants in Sarobi district near Kabul late Aug. 18. It was the
biggest casualties for the international troops stationed in Afghanistan
over the past three years. (Xinhua Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
"We
don't have the right to lose over there, we cannot renounce our values," he
said.
"We cannot let the barbarians triumph because a
defeat at the other side of the world will be paid for by a defeat on the ground
of the French Republic."
Ten French soldiers were killed and 21 others injured
Monday when their patrol was ambushed by Taliban militants in a mountainous
region about 50 km east of Kabul, the Afghan capital.
Honor guards carry coffins of the French
soldiers killed in Afghanistan during a national funeral held at the
Invalides in Paris Aug. 21, 2008. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
The political impact of the attack remains unclear as
the opposition Socialist Party has called for a debate on France's involvement
in Afghanistan.
The government is expected to issue a statement on
the Afghan deployment on Sept. 22, following the parliamentary debate, a
government spokesman said Thursday.
France's President Nicolas Sarkozy
shakes hands with Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai in the Afghan
presidential palace in Kabul August 20, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters
Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
France's President Nicolas Sarkozy
speaks with French soldiers from the 8th regiment of paratroopers at Camp
Warehouse in Kabul August 20, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
KABUL, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- French President Nicolas
Sarkozy paid a surprise visit to Afghanistan Wednesday, a day after 10 French
soldiers were killed, and held meeting with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai.
This is Sarkozy's second tour to Afghanistan since
assuming office, during which he exchanged views with the Karzai on the
situation in the post-Taliban nation and the U.S.-led war on terror, a statement
issued by the Afghan Presidential Palace said. Full story
KABUL, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Fierce fighting between
French soldiers of the NATO-led forces with about 100 attacking insurgents have
left 10 French soldiers killed and 21 injured in Afghan central province of
Kabul, the military alliance said Tuesday.
The clash erupted as a joint patrol involving French
soldiers and Afghan security forces was attacked late Monday afternoon and
continued into Tuesday, an officer from the media office of the NATO-led
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) read a statement to Xinhua via
phone. Full story
