Germany extends its military mission in Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Chenar Chalak

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The German parliament on Friday 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 German government decided on January 12 to end its military mission in Syria but keep up to 500 soldiers in Iraq until the end of October 2022. The Bundestag convened on Friday to extend that mandate for an extra year.

The motion was approved after 535 MPs voted in favor, 104 voted against, and five MPs abstained in the roll-call vote. 

“The plan is to send up to 500 Bundeswehr [German army] soldiers, as before, to train and advise the regular Iraqi armed forces and security forces and to take on tasks such as air transport, sea and airspace surveillance as well as reconnaissance and situational awareness,” read a statement from the German parliament.

According to the new extension, the German army will remain in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq until October 31, 2023.

“This is an important task. The West stands by those who fight against ISIS,” Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, chair of the defense committee in the German parliament, told Rudaw’s Znar Shino on Friday, stressing that supporting those who fight against the militant group is in the best interests of Germany and Europe’s security.

The chairwoman said that the mission will proceed as before with no changes, adding that German soldiers are remaining in the country based on Iraq’s wishes.

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.

Masrour Barzani Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) welcomed the German parliament's decision late Friday, saying "We have been drawn together by a shared resolve to not let tyranny take root in our region."