Moritz Koch
Germany is contributing €10 million to clear mines in the ruined Syrian city of Raqqa, a former Islamic State group stronghold. But the US wants Berlin to do much more. The exodus from Raqqa began early on the morning of October 12. The northern Syrian city had been under the control of the extremist group known as the Islamic State for several years and now, faced with certain defeat, fighters belonging to the brutal group were leaving. Emerging from the ruins of what was once the Caliphate’s capital, camouflaged men boarded buses and trucks heading out of the city, bringing their families and weapons with them.
The last remnants of the Islamic State, or IS, group were allowed to leave the city after apparently doing a deal with pro-government forces. And they took as much as they could with them from the city they had terrorized. But they left a lot behind too, including mines, booby traps and unexploded ordinance, relics of their bloody four-year rule.
Now Germany wants to help make the ruined city habitable again. Handelsblatt has learned that the German government will today sign an agreement with the US today, pledging to help with mine clearance.
“Any further financial aid must be combined with a reliable solution and political stability for Syria.”
Norbert Röttgen, chairman of the Bundestag committee on foreign affairs
Discussions with the Americans are still ongoing: the US is insisting that Germany should promise more assistance, but Berlin has yet to agree. German hesitancy is down to the continuing conflict in Syria. Washington has not yet proposed any comprehensive plan for a post-war settlement.
Raqqa is now in the hands of Kurdish-led forces, although Kurds formed only a small proportion of the city’s pre-war population. The German foreign ministry has reservations about the current “Kurdish-dominated administration.” As long as the political situation remains unclear, it is too early to speak of the reconstruction of Raqqa, say diplomatic sources: “Stabilization” must come first.
Many German politicians agree. Norbert Röttgen, of the center-right Christian Democrats headed by Chancellor Angela Merkel, who chairs the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, said: “Any further financial aid must be combined with a reliable solution and political stability for Syria.” This underlies Germany’s decision to only donate an initial €10 million ($11.8 million) to reconstruction efforts. This may be extended if and when the situation in Raqqa stabilizes.
What has been explicitly ruled out is the dispatch of German military mine-clearance personnel. Instead, Berlin will help pay for the work of Tetra Tech, a private contractor hired by the US government.
Tetra Tech teams are composed of munitions experts, security forces, medical personnel and translators. The company has been active in Iraq for several years, where the IS group has also suffered a number of heavy defeats. Demira, a German mine clearance NGO, estimates that there are at least 20 million mines in Iraq, affecting an area of 2,000 square kilometers. Germany is also contributing to mine-clearance projects in that country.
Mine clearance is essential before any real recovery can take place in formerly occupied areas, including the restoration of electricity, gas and water supply. The US military has suggested this “will be the biggest operation of its kind since World War II.”
For Germany, financial help is a strategic investment: It hopes stabilization and reconstruction will lead to the return of many Syrian and Iraqi refugees currently in Germany. In September, Berlin approved €250 million in aid for the reconstruction of Mosul. Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said this highlighted Germany’s “voice of peace.”
As well as the menace of mines and unexploded bombs, the threat from the IS group is not yet over. The terror organization has been greatly weakened, but not finally defeated. Estimates suggest there are still between 3,000 and 7,000 ISIS fighters in Syria and Iraq. The IS group has lost 90 percent of its territory and most of the oil fields under its control, and has seen revenues collapse. But no one expects the IS group to disappear. The extremists evolved out of the extremist group, Al Qaeda in Iraq, over many years and are most likely simply to go back to guerrilla and terrorist tactics. The BBC reported that IS fighters leaving Raqqa shouted: “Let us know when you have rebuilt the city – then we’ll be back.”
The BND, the main German intelligence agency, says the organization remains a threat to the west. Bruno Kahl, head of the BND, said that after defeats in Syria and Iraq, the organization would continue with its cyber war, intending to radicalize followers online and incite new terror attacks.
This is another reason for the US’ reluctance to reduce its military presence in Syria. As well as providing air support for the anti-IS fight, American special forces are also in operation in the fight against ISIS.
Any kind of lasting victory in Syria, or even a stabilisation of the situation, is fraught in both political and security terms. So far the defeat of the IS group has primarily strengthened the position of Syrian dictator, Bashar al-Assad, from whose repressive rule many refugees were fleeing in the first place.
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