Italy is temporarily withdrawing all its personnel from its military base in Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan, after a drone attack, thus completing an evacuation already underway, the Italian defense and foreign ministers said Thursday, quoted by AFP and EFE, according to Agerpres.
“A withdrawal was already foreseen and will be 'only temporary,'” Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told Italian television station TG1. This withdrawal was confirmed by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who said that the transfer of the Italian military stationed at the base in Erbil is already being organized.
During a hearing in the Senate, the Italian foreign minister said that 102 soldiers were evacuated last week and another 75 were transferred to Jordan, while the departure of the 101 soldiers still in the area is being organized.
“Necessary checks are being carried out to clarify the dynamics of the attack and identify those responsible,” the minister said, stressing that the Italian government would adopt “any additional measure” to guarantee the safety of civilian and military personnel.
The evacuation of staff comes after a drone struck the Italian base in Erbil on Wednesday evening, causing minor material damage and no Italian personnel being injured.
After this incident, Tajani was in touch with the Italian ambassador to Iraq, as well as the head of the consulate in Erbil and the commander of the base, Colonel Stefano Pizzotti, confirming the reduction of staff at both the embassy in Baghdad and the consulate in Erbil.
“We have received confirmation that all our military personnel are safe and were able to take refuge in the facility's bunkers in time,” the Italian foreign minister said.
For his part, the Minister of Defense, Guido Crosetto, explained on Italian public television that the mission's personnel remain at the base until they are transferred, as “it is a safer place than hotels”.
Also, the head of Defense explained that the transfer of the remaining soldiers in Iraq “is not an easy action” because in the current conditions it is impossible to send a plane, so the operation would be carried out by land, probably through Turkey.
Asked if it was a deliberate attack, Crosetto replied: “Absolutely yes!”
During the Senate hearing, Tajani also clarified that the government has not received any request from the US to use its bases on Italian soil and insisted that the priority of the executive in Rome is de-escalation.
The minister said that the Italian government's position is based on the bilateral agreements of 1954, “the same to which the European partners, including the Spanish, are referred, which are talked about so much.”
“The agreements provide for technical authorizations when it comes to logistics and operations that do not involve bombing,” he said, assuring that, in the event of a request from Washington, the government would submit the decision to parliamentary debate.
