MAINZ, Germany — The German Defense Ministry announced Saturday plans to withdraw its Patriot Missiles from the Turkish-Syrian border. The move comes after heated debates in German society on Turkey’s loyalty to NATO and the West.
A spokesperson of the ministry confirmed reports about the withdrawal of 250 German soldiers and the missile systems in the coming months. The German troops were stationed near the mainly Kurdish city of Kahramanmaras.
In the last year, and especially in the last few weeks after Turkey attacked Kurdish positions in its own territory, Iraq and reportedly Syria’s Kurdish regions, many German politicians demanded a withdrawal of the soldiers, who were sent to secure the fellow NATO member’s southern border from attacks carried out of Syrian soil.
“Germany has to pull out the Patriot Missiles immediately. Otherwise the federal government will also be responsible for the Turkish escalation strategy and the following German involvement in the war,” Tobias Pflüger, co-chairman of the German Left party, said in late July.
However, German news agency DPA reported that the decision was made prior to the renewal of Turkish-Kurdish violence and that it has to do with a new review of the situation and the necessity of the mission. The mission required too many highly-trained missile specialists of the German army and was too costly, the agency reported.
Starting in 2013, the mission had caused heated debates in Germany. The majority of Germans oppose the NATO mission in Turkey, because it sees Turkey as an ally of the so-called Islamic State.
“[Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan’s termination of the hard-won peace process is irresponsible and a serious setback for a democratic Turkey. Now it is crystal clear that the government in Ankara is not about tackling ISIS primarily, but rather weakening the Kurds,” Claudia Roth, vice-president of the German Parliament, said just days after the renewed Turkish attacks on PKK positions.
Given the recent escalation of violence in Turkey and neighboring countries, the German army had increased its security measures and imposed a curfew on its soldiers in Kahramanmaras. The soldiers are allowed to leave their barracks only for official purposes and only in civilian clothes.
The German Ministry of Defense said that the withdrawal plans will be carried out until the end of 2015.
