Netherlands ? The Dutch parliament on Thursday overwhelmingly supported the deployment of up to 1,400 troops to southern Afghanistan, the premier said, reaffirming the country’s central NATO role and ending more than six months of political turmoil.

No vote was made specifically to send the troops, but Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said the deployment had widespread support. Generally, in the Dutch parliament, no formal vote is taken once the parties have made their positions clear.

The proposal to send the troops to the troubled Uruzgan province had run into vocal opposition, including from one of the three parties in the governing coalition, but the turning point came when the opposition Labor Party swung behind the mission earlier this week.

U.S. and Afghan forces have come under repeated attacks from insurgents in the area.