Sweden brings back military

Randa Sabry ( 60998 ) 

The Swedish government has decided to reintroduce military conscription - a move backed by the country's MPs.                                                                                                 The decision means that 4,000 men and women will be called up for service from 1 January 2018, a defence ministry spokeswoman told the BBC.

They will be selected from about 13,000 young people born in 1999, who will be asked to undergo a military assessment, Marinette Nyh Radebo said.

Non-aligned Sweden is worried about Russia's Baltic military drills.

In September, a Swedish garrison was restored to Gotland, a big island lying between the Swedish mainland and the three ex-Soviet Baltic states.                                                            

Why is this happening?                                                                                   Ms Nyh Radebo said the return to conscription was prompted by "the security change in our neighbourhood".

"The Russian illegal annexation of Crimea [in 2014], the conflict in Ukraine and the increased military activity in our neighbourhood are some of the reasons," she said