GENEVA, June 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Swiss government announced Thursday that it will not send troops to protect the Swiss mission in Iraq for fear that such a move could be misunderstood by Iraqis and leave its diplomatic staff and their guards vulnerable to attack.

    Iraqis might be led to believe that Switzerland had taken sidesin the US-led war if Swiss soldiers were sent to protect the mission, the government said in a statement.

    The government had been asked by some parliamentarians to consider sending Swiss soldiers to replace a private security firmof South Africa, MTS, which is currently guarding the Swiss mission in Baghdad under a contract worth 1.6 million Swiss francs(1.3 million US dollars).

    MTS also provides protection for American officials and Britishdevelopment agencies and training for Iraqi police.

    The Swiss foreign ministry defended its decision of hiring MTS,arguing that only a firm specialized in security in high-risk regions could do the job.

    "The MTS employees are under the responsibility of our head of mission and we have never had any problems with them," said Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey in a recent interview with the Geneva-based "Le Temps" newspaper. Enditem