Norway announced Monday that it would deploy 60 soldiers to train Syrians fighting ISIS, boosting its involvement in the international coalition against the extremists.
The soldiers belonging to the Norwegian special forces would conduct the training in Jordan, Prime Minister Erna Solberg said at a press conference in Oslo.
“The brutal acts by IS (ISIS) have cost many civilians their lives and led an even greater number to flee (the country),” Solberg said.
ISIS has also “brought terrorism to Europe and young people are radicalized and recruited in order to have foreign fighters,” she added.
The Syrian groups that will be trained by the Norwegian soldiers were not identified, but according to Defense Minister Ine Eriksen SoreidIne Eriksen, they were chosen following a “thorough and systematic” selection process.”One condition for our support is that their operations be directed against ISIS and that they do not harm any of the current peace efforts in Syria,” Soreide said.
Norway is already involved in the anti-ISIS coalition, in particular by training Kurdish peshmerga fighters in the Iraqi Kurdistan region.
(AFP)
