§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what assessment his Department has made of the command structure required for any possible pull-out of UN forces from the former Yugoslavia; [23019]
401W(2) what assessment his Department has made of the role that NATO's allied reaction corps would play in any possible UN withdrawal from the former Yugoslavia; [23020]
(3) what assessment his Department has made of the number of troops required to enable a withdrawal of UN forces from the former Yugoslavia; and if he will make a statement; [23021]
(4) what assessment his Department has made of the time scale required for any withdrawal of UN troops from the former Yugoslavia; and if he will make a statement. [23023]
§ Mr. SoamesAt the request of the UN Secretary-General, NATO is continuing with contingency planning for a NATO commanded operation to withdraw UN forces from the former Yugoslavia, should that become necessary. The UK is co-operating closely with NATO and good progress has been made. It would not, however, be appropriate for me to comment on the details of the plan, which are a matter for NATO.
§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if his Department has taken part in Exercise Arcade Guard relating to a possible UN withdrawal from the former Yugoslavia; what lessons were learnt as a consequence of this exercise; and if he will make a statement. [23022]
§ Mr. SoamesSome 400 UK Army personnel took part in NATO's Exercise Arcade Guard. NATO is currently evaluating the results of the exercise, which concluded on 28 April.
§ Mr. MacDonaldTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what body made the initial recommendation to withdraw the British contingent from Gorazde; if he will make it his policy that the British contingent will not be withdrawn until a replacement contingent is in place together with all necessary equipment; and if he will make a statement. [22145]
§ Mr. SoamesThe Government do not intend to replace British troops in Gorazde when their tour ends in September 1995. The UN was informed of this decision in April to allow it sufficient time to identify suitable replacements.
§ Mr. MacDonaldTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will end the practice of describing Bosnian
DRA Malvern 1 April 1992 1 April 1993 1 April 1994 31 March 1995 Scientists 690 768 842 966 Administrators 185 180 160 168 Other technical staff (PTO's, Engineers etc) 404 382 281 237 Other support staff (industrials etc) 369 408 404 342 Total 1,648 1,738 1,687 1,713 I hope this is helpful.