The French Chief of Staff announced yesterday evening that Paris has decided to withdraw its soldiers from Iraq, where they are participating in training operations, "especially" because of the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic in this country.
"In coordination with the Iraqi government, the international coalition, led by Washington to combat militants, has decided to adjust the size of its deployment in Iraq and temporarily suspend training activities for the Iraqi security forces, especially in view of the health crisis," the chief of staff said in a statement.
Accordingly, she added, "France decided to repatriate, until further notice, its soldiers deployed in Iraq," which number approximately 200 soldiers, some of whom participate in training Iraqi forces and others in the leadership of the staff of the coalition forces in Baghdad.
"As of this Thursday, the date set for the start of the withdrawal, there are no longer any soldiers operating as part of a comprehensive operation in Iraq," said the spokesman for the French General Staff, Colonel Frédéric Barbary.