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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Germany would like to see more progress made in the process of reforming and unifying the Peshmerga forces, a diplomat of the country told Rudaw on Monday, expressing his hope for significant development on that matter in 2023.
“We have done some progress. That is true. But it is also true that we would like to see more progress. It is true. Certain things have not been achieved and I believe we should be able to make more progress, but what we need really is a clear political commitment from all sides to be able to do that,” The Deputy Consul General of Germany in Erbil Sven Mossler, told Rudaw’s Hawraz Gulpi.
The diplomat stressed that Germany can only consult in the “complicated” process of reforming and unifying the Peshmerga forces, as the process depends on the commitment of the Kurdish parties involved.
The German parliament in October decided to extend its military mandate in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, continuing its operation to train and advise armed forces in the country against the threat of the Islamic State (ISIS).
The country has been involved in the Peshmerga reforms for the last five years.
Germany’s commitment to the Yazidi people
Mossler said that the German parliament is set to adopt a resolution on Thursday, recognizing ISIS crimes against the Yazidi people as genocide, saying the decision shows Germany’s “clear commitment” to the subject.
Germany would follow the United Nations, the European parliament, and other nations including the United States, Belgium, Canada, and the Netherlands that have already recognized ISIS crimes against the Yazidis as genocide.
Germany has carried out several projects in Sinjar and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps housing Yazidi people since 2014, in attempts to help the religious minority group, according to the diplomat.
More than 6,000 Yazidis were kidnapped when ISIS attacked their heartland of Shingal in Nineveh province, according to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Office for Rescuing Kidnapped Yazidis. Over 2,000 remain missing.
Germany has been an essential member of the global coalition against ISIS. The combat mission of the Coalition ended in Iraq at the end of the last year, but it continues to provide consultation and training to the Iraqi security forces and Peshmerga. The German army has been mostly based in the Kurdistan Region.
“We have done some progress. That is true. But it is also true that we would like to see more progress. It is true. Certain things have not been achieved and I believe we should be able to make more progress, but what we need really is a clear political commitment from all sides to be able to do that,” The Deputy Consul General of Germany in Erbil Sven Mossler, told Rudaw’s Hawraz Gulpi.
The diplomat stressed that Germany can only consult in the “complicated” process of reforming and unifying the Peshmerga forces, as the process depends on the commitment of the Kurdish parties involved.
The German parliament in October decided to extend its military mandate in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, continuing its operation to train and advise armed forces in the country against the threat of the Islamic State (ISIS).
The country has been involved in the Peshmerga reforms for the last five years.
Germany’s commitment to the Yazidi people
Mossler said that the German parliament is set to adopt a resolution on Thursday, recognizing ISIS crimes against the Yazidi people as genocide, saying the decision shows Germany’s “clear commitment” to the subject.
Germany would follow the United Nations, the European parliament, and other nations including the United States, Belgium, Canada, and the Netherlands that have already recognized ISIS crimes against the Yazidis as genocide.
Germany has carried out several projects in Sinjar and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps housing Yazidi people since 2014, in attempts to help the religious minority group, according to the diplomat.
More than 6,000 Yazidis were kidnapped when ISIS attacked their heartland of Shingal in Nineveh province, according to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Office for Rescuing Kidnapped Yazidis. Over 2,000 remain missing.
Germany has been an essential member of the global coalition against ISIS. The combat mission of the Coalition ended in Iraq at the end of the last year, but it continues to provide consultation and training to the Iraqi security forces and Peshmerga. The German army has been mostly based in the Kurdistan Region.
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