Wellington, June 11: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has on Monday announced the withdrawal of the nation’s troops from Iraq by June 2020.
NZ has a small group of so-called non-combat 95 personnel deployed in 2015 at the Taji MIlitary Complex, northwest to Baghdad, who were tasked with training Iraq’s security forces. The troops training mission was a joint operation with Australia, who has deployed around 300 troops at Taji.
Ron Mark, NZ’s defence minister, said Australia has also planned to reduce its troop’s presence stationed at Taji. However, he did not offer any further details. Australia had not yet made any official announcement regarding this plan.
NZ PM stated the country would reduce the number of stationed troops to 75 by next July and consecutively to 45 by January, before the full withdrawal process, according to Dawn news reports.
“When it comes to Iraq, it’s time to go,” she said.
Arden said the personnel has made a big contribution to Iraq at Taji, where above 40,000 Iraqi security forces were trained since the troop’s deployment process began in 2015.
“I think they have done an incredible job, but their job is coming to an end,” she said. She added, “And now it’s time to bring them home and look at the contribution our defence force can make elsewhere.”
Mark stated NZ would start downsizing alongside Australia with both countries working over “exiting and having an exit plan”.
Ardern said that her government was not withdrawing the troops sooner as the nation was honouring the commitment given to both Australia and Iraq.
She also said the country was planning to reduce its defence force personnel presence deployed in Afghanistan from 13 to 11 by next March