Government supports Kurds in their fight against IS

The Belgian government will provide military as well as humanitarian support to the Peshmergas, the Kurdish combatants battling IS. Specifically, this means that Belgium will provide medical equipment directly to the Kurdish government in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. Germans responsible for the material will ensure delivery to the Kurdish. At the same time, a decision has been made that Belgian military will cooperate in the provision of training programmes for Kurdish military organised in Germany.

This military and humanitarian aid is a direct result of the visit that a delegation from the Senate conducted to Kurdistan with, among others, Pol Van Den Driessche. They had talks with the Kurdish president, Kurdish ministers, Syrian and Iraqi refugees and the Kurdish army leadership. All of those parties urged for concrete assistance in the struggle of the Kurds against IS. The delegation also went to the front line, at a few kilometres distance from Mosul. There they saw how ill-equipped the Kurdish soldiers are and how much they need medical assistance. Despite this situation, the Peshmargas recently succeeded in recapturing a number of important municipalities and cities from IS.

Air strikes are not enough
After their journey, the senators reported their findings to the ministers Steven Vandeput (Defence), Didier Vanherck (Foreign Affairs) and Kris Peeters (Economy). "I am quite satisfied that they are prepared to look into the more than justified questions of the Kurdish people," says Senator Van Den Driessche. "Everyone is aware that the Kurds have a crucial role in the recapture of territory from IS, because air strikes alone appear insufficient to drive these barbarians back. Driving IS back and in time, hopefully to destroy them, is necessary, also in order to stop the flow of refugees from Syria and Iraq."