Bright star 2005 maneouvers start

Bright Star 2005 manoeuvres kicked off with the participation of 12 countries, chief of the Egyptian armed forces training authority Maj. Gen. Ahmed Mokhtar said Sunday.

Besides major participants, Egypt, the US, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Britain, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Jordan, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, up to 36 countries will be present in the war games as observers.

Addressing an international news conference together with Bright Star military commanders, Mokhtar said that the manoeuvres mirror the upward trend towards greater international cooperation.

He said this year's war games would cover training on peacekeeping operations.

Up to 30,000 troops are taking part in the five-phase exercises that involve all army branches.

Modern weapons and advanced military systems are expected to be used in the exercises.

The biannual Bright Star manoeuvres started by Egypt and the US in 1981 and ever since many countries have joined in.