12/07/2011 14:04
France to withdraw a quarter of troops from Afghanistan
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said the country will withdraw 1,000 troops stationed in Afghanistan by the end of 2012.
He made the announcement during a visit to a military base in the Sarobi district, north of Kabul.
This is Mr Sarkozy's third visit to Afghanistan since he became president in 2007. He will also meet his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai.
France has a total of 4,000 soldiers serving in Afghanistan.
He said the French would follow the timetable of US withdrawals announced by President Barack Obama.
Mr Obama has said 10,000 US troops will pull out this year, with another 23,000 leaving by the end of September 2012, BBC reported.