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Libya – the next military operation with German participation?

Friday, 26. February 2016

Could the Bundeswehr contribute to the stabilization of Libya?

A German soldier is training Kurdish soldiers in the use of a German assault rifle in Northern Iraq.

A Bundeswehr soldier instructing Kurdish Peshmerga near Erbil, Iraq: Could the Bundeswehr be deployed for a training mission in Libya comparable to the one for the Kurds in Northern Iraq? Picture: Bundeswehr/Sebastian Wilke

There are increasing indications that the international community will take more decisive action against the “Islamic State” and other terrorist groups in Libya. France, the United Kingdom, and the United States announced that they were preparing for military operations in the North African country. Contrary to recent news reports, Germany is currently giving rather cautious consideration to taking part in the stabilisation of Libya by, among other things, training the security forces of a future Libyan government. In our Working Paper 3/2016, Michael Hanisch shows that external support for Libya’s security is needed but also faces considerable obstacles and risks. He concludes that at the moment, it is more important to support the fragile political process in the country.

The Working Paper is available via the following link: www.baks.bund.de/en/working-papers.