German Troops to Leave Somalia by End of March
Germany will withdraw its troops from Somalia by March 31, joining the American pullout from the U.N. peacekeeping operation, the government said Monday.
Spokesman Dieter Vogel told reporters that Chancellor Helmut Kohl’s Cabinet had unanimously backed the withdrawal, prompted by concern that the departure of other Western contingents could leave German troops trapped in remote northern Somalia.
Defense Minister Volker Ruehe has insisted that the Germans coordinate their pullout with the withdrawal by the Americans, whose soldiers have kept the capital, Mogadishu, open for supplies and guarded some logistic links to the German camp.
The 1,700-strong German unit was deployed to northern Somalia to provide logistic support to an Indian contingent.
But the Indian force has yet to appear, leaving the Germans with little to do at their base in Belet Huen, 190 miles north of Mogadishu. The force has already been reduced to 1,300.
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