Parliament deputies approved on 8 December by a vote of 73 in favor, 12 against, and one abstention, to prolong for a further year the mandate of Armenia\'s peacekeeping force currently deployed in south-central Iraq as part of a Polish-led international division, RFE/RL\'s Armenian Service reported. The opposition Artarutiun faction, which voted against the peacekeepers\' initial deployment one year ago, was not present in parliament for the vote. The 45 Armenian peacekeepers are almost all doctors, demining experts, or drivers of military vehicles. (RFE/RL)