Germany will join the military campaign against Islamic State (IS) insurgents in Syria under plans approved on Tuesday by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet -- a big step for a major European power that long resisted a direct role in the conflict.
Responding to a French appeal after the Nov. 13 IS attacks in Paris which killed 130 people, Merkel’s government agreed to send six Tornado reconnaissance jets, refueling aircraft, a frigate to protect a French aircraft carrier and up to 1,200 military personnel to the region for a year.
Provided the Bundestag (lower house of parliament) approves the plans, two Tornados could be sent to the Incirlik air base in Turkey next week, though flights can only start in January for technical reasons, a defense ministry spokesman said. Germany, which is already arming Iraqi Kurds fighting Islamic State, will not join France, the United States and Russia in conducting air strikes in Syria. But its contribution is significant given the country’s post-World War Two history of avoiding foreign military entanglements and voter misgivings about getting involved in the conflict in the Middle East. The government said the deployment, which will cost 134 million euros ($142.51 million), was meant to prevent “terrorist acts” by IS and back France and others in the fight against the jihadist group, which has captured swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq. “IS poses a threat to world peace and international security,” said Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert. Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen sought to reassure voters, saying that Germany had not been drawn into war against its will but had taken a conscious decision to get involved.