Iraq
A member of the EU Advisory Mission (EUAM) in southern Iraq. Photo published on EUAM's website on April 15, 2019.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – As US-led coalition troops withdrew from their sixth Iraqi base in three weeks on Tuesday, the European Union has bolstered its non-military security patronage by extending their mission in the country two more years.
“The mandate, which was due to expire on 17 April 2020, was prolonged following the assessment of Iraqi needs. The mission will continue to provide advice and expertise at strategic level on the implementation of civilian aspects of Iraq's security sector reform,” reads a statement by the Advisory Mission in support of Security Sector Reform in Iraq (EUAM Iraq).
The Baghdad-based mission, which advises officials at the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Ministry of Interior, states that it aims to reverse “the militarisation of civilian institutions such as the police that years of conflict had necessitated.”
The mission purports that institutional reforms, efforts to counter terrorism and organized crime with “specific reference to border management, financial crime in particular corruption, money laundering and trafficking of cultural heritage goods” are among its efforts.
Now extended until 30 April 2022, EUAM Iraq will create a project cell for “identifying and implementing projects” by EU member states and partner countries, adds the statement.
The mission was initially launched on 16 October 2017 on request for support from the Iraqi government on civilian aspects of security sector reform. Its mandate was extended a year later, with a more specific focus on security sector reform, support for civilian security, and better coordination with member states' support in the field.
The extension comes the same day that French members of the US-led coalition officially handed over control of a military camp in western Baghdad back to Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) on Tuesday, the sixth base handover since March 17.
The French troops based at Abu Ghraib formed part of the US-led Global Coalition against ISIS, an 81-country alliance established as ISIS swept through Syria and Iraq in 2014. The coalition has primarily provided air support to Iraqi operations, as well as training and advisory support to Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
While the coalition has repeatedly said the decision to reposition troops was “long-planned” and unrelated to recent attacks on “Iraqi bases hosting coalition troops, or the ongoing COVID-19 situation in Iraq,” the withdrawals follow months of growing tensions between the US and Iran.
The EU participates in the coalition as a non-military partner.
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