Germany was hardly coy about its skepticism of the international coalition operation in support of the rebels in Libya. In March, the country abstained from the United Nations Security Council vote which authorized military force in the North African country. And since then, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has passed up few opportunities to reiterate his doubts about the ongoing operation.
Now, however, it would seem that Germany might be willing to play a role in Libya after all. In a Thursday interview with the television channel N24, Westerwelle said that Germany would take part in a European Union humanitarian mission should such an operation come to pass. Were the United Nations to make a request for assistance, "then of course we wouldn't shirk our responsibility," Westerwelle said.
For the moment, of course, such a mission is purely hypothetical. While European Union foreign ministers agreed in March that it would make an EU battle group available should it become necessary to escort humanitarian operations, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has so far made no such request. Germany currently contributes 990 troops to one of the two EU battle groups. Any participation of the groups would be limited to escorting humanitarian and medical supply shipments and providing security during the evacuation of refugees.
For more: Change of Course? Berlin Open to Humanitarian Involvement in Libya - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International
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