Kurdistan says farewell to former German soldier who trained Kurdish security guards

On Monday, the body of Oliver Höfner, a German war veteran and General Head of the Training Division of the Erbil-based Barza Security Company was flown back to Germany after he died four weeks ago after suffering an unexpected a heart attack.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – On Monday, the body of Oliver Höfner, a German war veteran and General Head of the Training Division for the Erbil-based Barza Security Company was flown back to Germany after he died four weeks ago after suffering an unexpected a heart attack.

For nearly nine years, he trained thousands of Kurdish guards and also volunteered in support of Kurdish Peshmerga troops in the fight against the Islamic State.

“Today, we are paying our final farewell to someone who has served for more than eight years in our company,” Rapar Nasrat, Barza’s Executive Director, said during a farewell ceremony on Monday in Erbil’s Rizgari hospital.

“Today we are sending his body to Germany. We thank everyone who helped with the paperwork to facilitate his return and those who helped with donations or official process; we shake their hands out of respect.”

He continued, “Now we would leave flowers for our promise to Oliver, and we will start to send his body to the Erbil airport. We pray that God will be satisfied with Oliver, and he will rest in paradise. We wish his friends, family, and the German people patience to overcome this grief.”

Höfner lived in the Kurdistan Region since 2011 after serving twenty years in the German army and participating in multiple missions in Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and later in Iraq.

“When I was in [the] Iraq war [from] 2003 to 2007, I got some tours in south Iraq and 2005 was the first time [I was] in Kurdistan,” he told Kurdistan TV in a past interview. “It was nice to see. When I got the chance in 2011 to come back, I took my chance.”

While working for the Barza Security Company, he trained nearly 1,500 security guards every year. He pointed out that this meant he trained roughly 15,000 security guards in total. “It’s not only security guards,” he said, but also “Peshmerga, Asayish, [and] policemen.”

Regarding his volunteer support for the Peshmerga on the frontline against the Islamic State, he said he did so “for my Kurdish friends and for all the people I love in Kurdistan. This is Kurdistan, it’s very simple. These are the brave men that serve in the desert and mountain. It’s amazing, and I trust them. They are [some] of the bravest and toughest guys I ever saw. I really love them, and really love to work with them.”

In the end, he called on the Kurds to work together and solve their [internal problems]. “Long live Kurdistan,” was his final message.

A poster with the likeness of Oliver Höfner, who died unexpectedly in the Kurdistan Region in December, is displayed at his rememberance ceremony in Erbil, Jan. 13, 2020. (Photo: Barza Security Company)
A poster with the likeness of Oliver Höfner, who died unexpectedly in the Kurdistan Region in December, is displayed at his rememberance ceremony in Erbil, Jan. 13, 2020. (Photo: Barza Security Company)

Another ceremony for Höfner was organized on Friday at Erbil’s German restaurant, the Deutscher Hof. Tobias Huch, representing the Kurdish Society in Germany, offered his condolences, saying, “He trained the Peshmerga, he fought side by side with them against IS. He helped that IS could be pushed out and defeated from south Kurdistan [the Kurdistan Region of Iraq].”

Several of the men Höfner trained for Barza also served as Peshmerga fighters on the frontline against the extremist group. As a result, he met and got to know many Peshmerga commanders.

One of them, senior Peshmerga Commander Cemal Murtke, praised Höfner in a condolence message as a “brave man with significant service during the fight against ISIS. He had a great love for humanity, he trained Peshmerga forces, and he was happy to bring the German government and the German people close to the Kurdish people.”

“I send my greetings to his pure soul; my thoughts are with Oliver’s family and German people who have lost a hero.” 

Peshmerga Commander Hussein Yazdanpanah told Kurdistan 24 during a ceremony last Friday that Höfner “had an important role to train the Peshmerga forces. He was a skilled soldier and commander. He was very professional in battlefield tactics and working with advanced weaponry.”

“He was a simple, yet very valued, talented, and professional person. He was in love with the struggle for freedom and the fight against extremism and terrorism. He understood the feelings of the Kurdish people suffering from lack of an independent state,” he added.

“We are honored to have friends like Oliver and all those who have supported the Peshmerga forces in the battles against ISIS and we shall never forget their contribution. Their memories will live on in our hearts forever.”

Editing by John J. Catherine