BERLIN
The German parliament approved Friday sending up to 100 soldiers to northern Iraq to train peshmerga forces who are fighting the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL.
The vote cleared the way for the first military deployment of Germany abroad -- albeit a non-combat mission -- since World War II without any EU, NATO or UN Security Council decision.
Some 457 lawmakers in the Bundestag voted in favor of the mission and 79 voted against. Fifty-four lawmakers abstained.
The socialist Left Party, which has 64 lawmakers, opposed sending the German soldiers to northern Iraq, arguing that it could be misinterpreted by the Kurdish Regional Government as a sign of support for its drive for independence.
The Opposition Green Party abstained, saying the mandate requested by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition government had no legal basis.
Germany has been hesitant to take part in international military operations, mainly because of its Nazi history in World War II.
Public opinion in the country has been largely opposed to Germany taking any military role in international conflicts.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government changed its policy in August, after by reports of murders and other atrocities committed by ISIL in Syria and Iraq.
Germany began supplying nearly $80 million (€70 million) worth of military equipment to peshmerga in September. German military assistance included arms for more than 10,000 peshmerga troops, including G3 assault rifles, Milan anti-tank systems and anti-tank missiles.
Germany is planning to send up to 100 soldiers to northern Iraq next month exclusively to train peshmerga forces for the fight against ISIL. According to the mandate, German soldiers will not take part in combat operations. They are to be stationed at a base near Erbil.
