The two Norwegian soldiers who were most seriously wounded in Afghanistan over the weekend have been flown back to Norway for further treatment. Now Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg is being pressured into visiting Afghanistan himself, to boost troop morale.
Both soldiers, one in his 20s and another in his 50s, were brought home on a specially equipped flight that landed at Oslo’s main airport at Gardermoen Tuesday night. They underwent surgery at a German military hospital at Camp Marmal in Mazar-e Sharif after being wounded Sunday and were sent by ambulance directly from Gardermoen to Ullevål University Hospital.
Six other Norwegian soldiers were wounded in the attack in northern Afghanistan but they have been treated and will remain there on duty.
Newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN), meanwhile, reported Wednesday that opposition politicians and a military officers’ organization are criticizing Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg because he’s only visited Afghanistan once in the past five years.
DN ran 10 photos of other leaders and royalty from countries with soldiers on duty in Afghanistan, and claimed Stoltenberg has shown a lack of interest in Afghanistan. Several of Stoltenberg’s key ministers, however, have made several trips to Afghanistan over the years as has Crown Prince Haakon.
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