Sarkouzy: We will not Send More Troops to Afghanistan

France has ruled out committing any more soldiers to its Afghanistan-based contingent amid US pressure on allies for military reinforcements.

"If there is a need for more people to train, to help the police to undertake civil engineering, to help the population, to help Afghanistan, why not? But combat troops? No," AFP reported President Nicolas Sarkouzy telling the French TV channel TF1 on Monday.

NATO pledged last year to boost the so-called counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan by 7,000 more troops.

The decision came in response to a call for more boots on the ground by Washington, which said it would scale up its own contingent by 30,000 extra forces.

Afghanistan is experiencing the highest level of violence since the war began in 2001, despite the presence of about 113,000 foreign soldiers, mostly US troops.