Finland to re-position crisis management forces in Iraq to Kurdistan Region

The Finnish army recently announced that they would re-organize its crisis management operations in Iraq at the beginning of 2020.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Finnish army recently announced that they would re-organize its crisis management operations in Iraq at the beginning of 2020, by moving their forces to the Kurdistan Region and end training in areas the Iraqi central government controls.

Based on its foreign and security policy, Finland contributes to international crisis management as part of the global efforts in the fight against the so-called Islamic State.

In the announcement, the army stated that their soldiers would be “re-deployed in Erbil and join Finnish troops stationed there where they will provide military assistance to the Peshmerga forces as part of the Kurdistan Training Coordination Centre.”

The re-location will be the end of Finnish protective forces in Iraq, as the contingent will join the operation with about 80 peacekeepers who will be training, mentoring, and support activities.

According to a previous statement by the global coalition, “The Iraqi army soldiers have received training for teams in defensive combat and assault training, combat in built-up areas, firing practice and medical training.”

While the “training in the Kurdistan Region has progressed gradually to training the trainers, the Finns have become more mentors. Peshmerga fighters’ training has consisted of military company tactics, marksmanship, and medical training,” the statement added.

The crisis management unit began operations in Iraq in 2018; however, Finland was part of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), the military offensive against the Islamic State lead by the US since 2015.

“During 2018, the Finnish mission was responsible for training a total of 170 Iraqi army soldiers and 594 Kurdistan’s Peshmerga fighters. The ultimate goal of all training given in Iraq is to support the country in building a sustainable security structure of their own.”

Since the start of the war against the Islamic State, German, Swedish, and Finnish military advisers, stationed in Erbil, have been training the Kurdish forces.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany