BERLIN, Germany – The German government has officially voted in favor of an earlier plan to send military experts to the Kurdistan Region as part of Berlin’s commitment to support Peshmerga forces in the war against Islamic State (ISIS).
“We will be sending 100 officers and military experts to Erbil,” German Defense Minister Ursula Von Der Leyen told a news conference in Berlin on Thursday. “We will cooperate closely with the Dutch and Italians -- but also the Scandinavians -- on this,” she added.
In a written statement obtained by Rudaw, German officials said the forces would stay only in the Kurdistan Region capital of Erbil from early next year until January 2016.
“We have had excellent relations with the Peshmerga forces. They are reliable and very much concerned, but they need guns and training,” Der Leyen said.
The government’s decision to send troops overseas must be supported by a parliamentary vote, which the ruling parties are likely to secure, as they hold 504 of 631 seats. But due to the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, the deployment is expected to take place in mid-January next year, sources said.
“We will have a range of different training courses,” said Der Leyen. “There are basic military courses, but also more sophisticated ones. And since Peshmerga forces have long requested training in defusing land mines, the officers will provide them with modern techniques of neutralizing explosives,” she added.
German opposition parties have slammed the decision and threatened to report the government to the European Constitutional Court, on grounds that there are no UN resolutions in favor of foreign troops for Iraq.
The government has rejected the protests, saying that the US-led coalition represents a wide range of countries in addition to Germany’s own charter, which allows the government to send troops overseas if they are not engaged in direct combat missions.
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