Dutch leaders address security in call with military forces in Kurdistan Region
Defense Minister Ank Bijleveld told Dutch soldiers in Erbil that their work “on the fight against ISIS is incredibly important for the stability in Iraq and security of the Netherlands and Europe.”
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Defense Minister Ank Bijleveld spoke with Dutch soldiers in the Kurdistan Region and Afghanistan to discuss the current security situation and give moral support to forces deployed overseas.
Rutte made a “virtual tour” to the Dutch missions in Afghanistan and Iraq from the operation center of the Dutch Ministry of Defense in The Hague, the seat of government in the Netherlands.
The prime minister was joined by future Commander of the Armed Forces Lieutenant General Onno Eichelsheim and Defense Minister Ank Bijleveld, the defense ministry said.
"Normally you already do your work under difficult circumstances, but the corona crisis has created an extra hurdle," Rutte told the soldiers. "On behalf of the cabinet [government], I would like to express our great appreciation and thanks for your enormous efforts."
He also talked with Dutch soldiers of the force protection mission in Erbil. In January, more than 100 Dutch troops arrived in the Kurdistan Region’s capital to help provide protection to Erbil International Airport.
"Your work on the fight against [the Islamic State group] is incredibly important for the stability in Iraq and therefore for the security of the Netherlands and Europe," Bijleveld told the soldiers in Erbil.
He added that The Hague is closely monitoring the security situation in the Kurdistan Region following the Feb. 15 rockets attack in Erbil.
Colonel Huub Klein Schaesberg, who is based in Erbil and leads Dutch troops in Iraq, expressed his appreciation for the call and the opportunity to exchange ideas on the situation.
“Force protection is focused on the protection of the airport. Together with the security forces and by doing so, they are providing security for the Coalition as a whole,” he said in an interview with Kurdistan 24 in late February at the military annex of the Erbil airport.
In addition to providing protection to the airport, the roughly 150 Dutch soldiers in the Kurdistan Region lead an operational advice team for the Peshmerga forces. The Dutch army also contributes staff officers in Baghdad and Kuwait, and secure a Belgian F-16 detachment in Jordan, from where pilots fly missions over Iraq and a part of Syria against Islamic State.
Editing by Joanne Stocker-Kelly