British forces to withdraw from Basra late March – Miliband tells IraqiNews.com

BASRA / IraqiNews.com: British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who arrived in Basra on Friday, said his country will withdraw from the province on March 31, 2009, adding British support for Basra and its local administration will continue by activating the economic aspect and encouraging British investors to work there. “The British forces’ withdrawal from Basra will begin on March 31, 2009, to be replaced by U.S. forces,” Miliband said in exclusive statements to IraqiNews.com news agency. The British foreign minister had arrived earlier on Friday in the oil-rich province, where he had talks with local officials in the city regarding the mechanism of British troops’ pullout as well as means to launch development and encourage investment there. “The British support for Basra and its local government will focus on the economic and investment aspects in the various fields,” he said. He had arrived in Baghdad on Thursday (Feb. 26) on an unannounced visit for talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other Iraqi officials on issues of mutual interest. Britain, which has lost 178 troops in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, currently has a military force of 4,100 troops in Iraq. The British forces had handed over control on the Basra Airport, their main base in southern Iraq, to Iraqi security forces last January. The port city of Basra lies 590 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. AmR (S) 1