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Norway to send 60 soldiers to train ‘anti-Daesh forces’ in Syria

Tuesday, 03 May 2016 6:00 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 03 May 2016 7:33 AM ]

This file photo shows members of the Norwegian Armed Forces’ Special Command. ©AFP

Norway has announced plans to dispatch 60 troops to Jordan to train militants for the Syria war, days after the US announced deployment of special forces to the Arab country.

Prime Minister Erna Solberg said Monday the Norwegian Parliament will need to be consulted if troops from the Scandinavian country are to operate within Syria.

Defense Minister Ine Marie Eriksen Soreide did not identify which Syrian groups will be trained by the Norwegian soldiers, noting that they have been selected following a “thorough and systematic” selection process.

“One condition for our support is that their operations be directed against IS and that they do not harm any of the current peace efforts in Syria,” Soreide said.

According to the Norwegian defense chief, the deployment to Jordan comes in line with a request from the US-led coalition purportedly fighting Daesh.

“The fighting itself will be done by others, but we can help by enhancing their combat capabilities,” she said.

Norway announced the decision after the US said last month that it would send an additional 250 military personnel to Syria, increasing to 300 the number of American forces on the ground in the Arab state.

Reports say 150 US troops have recently entered the Rumeilan airport east of Syria. Damascus has strongly condemned the deployment.

Norway had previously sent 120 soldiers to northern Iraq with the declared aim of train Iraqi government forces as well as Kurdish Peshmerga fighters fighting Daesh militants.

In this file photo, a pair of US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles flies over northern Iraq after conducting airstrikes in Syria. ©Reuters

Since September 2014, Washington along with some of its allies has been conducting airstrikes against what are said to be positions of Daesh in Syria without any authorization from the government in Damascus or a UN mandate.

The campaign in Syria is an extension of the US-led airstrikes against similar positions in Iraq, which started in August 2014.

However, analysts say the US-led campaign has failed to dislodge the terrorists, who have seized parts of land in Iraq and Syria and are engaged in crimes against humanity in the areas under their control.

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