Germany to train peshmerga forces in Iraq

Germany’s lower house of parliament has approved a decision to send a military mission consisting of 100 German soldiers to train Kurdish peshmerga forces fighting against the Islamic State, the Anadolu Agency reported.

A total of 457 parliamentarians voted in favour of the mission, 79 voted against and 54 abstained.

The military unit is expected to be sent next month.

A member of the Christian Social Union said Berlin bears responsibility for “Christians, Yazidis, Kurds and Muslims in Iraq” along with other countries. “The Islamic State (ISIS) is trying to control the region; therefore our country cannot turn a blind eye to it.”

Prior to the vote, Rolf Mützenich, a Social Democrat, argued that by sending the soldiers to train Kurdish peshmerga fighters, Germany would be making a significant contribution to the US-led international efforts to downgrade and defeat ISIS, who control large swathes of territory in both northern Iraq and Syria.

However, an MP of the leftist party criticised the decision.

Germany has previously sent weapons, ammunition and non-lethal military equipment worth €70 million including vests, helmets, mine detectors and night vision binoculars to northern Iraq and trained about 32 elements of the peshmerga forces in Germany.