German Support Association Somalia
|
German Support Association Somalia |
|
|---|---|
.jpg) Association badge |
|
| active | March 1993 to March 23, 1994 |
| Country |
 Germany
|
| Armed forces | armed forces |
| Armed forces |
 army
|
| Type | strengthened supply and transport association ( UN peacekeeping force as part of UNOSOM II ) |
| Strength | 1,725 (1st contingent) 1,300 (2nd contingent) |
| Deployment room | Beledweyne , Somalia |
| commander | |
| 1st contingent | Colonel Helmut Harff |
| 2nd contingent | Colonel Holger Kammerhoff |
The German Support Association Somalia (DtUstgVbd Somalia) was an association of German blue helmet soldiers , which was deployed from March 1993 to March 1994 to support the peace- making and peace-keeping UN operation UNOSOM II in Somalia .
Prehistory and background
Somalia
UNOSOM I was set up in April 1992 to monitor a ceasefire and coordinate humanitarian aid for those affected by civil war and famine . As early as August 1992, Bundeswehr soldiers of the II Corps had been involved in humanitarian operations (for example the UN airlift ) in Somalia.
However, since "coercive measures" were not included in the UN mandate, the situation in Somalia, the multinational Eingreifverband was established in December 1992, after a sharp deterioration UNITAF led by the United States from the United Nations Security Council authorized "by any means necessary" (under e.g. monitoring of ceasefire, confiscation of illegal weapons and mine clearance) to secure the population centers and ports and to create a safe environment for humanitarian aid.
In March 1993, following UN Resolution 814 (1993), UNOSOM II took over this mission under the name Operation Restore Hope from UNITAF, which fought for neutrality and non-involvement in the Somali civil war .
Germany
On August 12, 1992, the German government decided to provide comprehensive aid to alleviate the famine in Somalia, which was affected by the civil war, as part of a United Nations aid and peace mission.
In the course of the strategic realignment of the Bundeswehr , in which it found itself after reunification and the end of the Cold War, the then General Inspector of the Bundeswehr , General Klaus Naumann , also endorsed the deployment.
On August 25, 1992, an air transport base was operational in Mombasa (Kenya), and the supply of the population in Somalia was taken up by an airlift with two later three C-160 Transall transport aircraft . By the end of this emergency aid on March 21, 1993, 655 aid flights had been undertaken and around 5,900 tons of relief supplies had been dropped.
On the basis of a decision of December 17, 1992, the German government offered further aid to Somalia. Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl made the UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali an offer to take part in the UNOSOM operation by sending German support troops in the form of a reinforced supply and transport battalion.
On April 12, 1993, the United Nations submitted a request to the German government to support Operation UNOSOM II. This request was granted by a cabinet resolution on April 21, 1993 and the German Bundestag approved it on the same day. With directive No. 1 of April 21, 1993, the then Defense Minister Volker Rühe ordered the Bundeswehr to participate in UNOSOM II. In June 1993, the SPD , which was then in the opposition, applied to the Federal Constitutional Court for an interim order because German soldiers were involved in the UN -Peace troops are not permitted without a previous constitutional amendment. In this sense, the UNTAC deployment of Bundeswehr medics in Cambodia was not a military but a humanitarian one. Without reaching a final judgment on this fundamental question (this only took place with the so-called out-of-area judgment of June 12, 1994), the Federal Constitutional Court referred in its decision of June 23, 1993 that a positive decision by the German Bundestag is a mandatory requirement for sending a German task force to Somalia. The Bundestag then approved the deployment of the task force on July 2, 1993 with 337 votes to 185.
On May 12, 1993, a 150-man advance command was sent to Somalia to investigate the operating conditions for the Bundeswehr in Beledweyne (Belet Uen). At the beginning of June 1993, the advance command was reinforced by a further 150 men and, in consultation with the United Nations, also took over the facilities and equipment of the Canadian units previously stationed in Beledweyne. The operation itself and its preparation posed a major challenge for the Bundeswehr. In a hurry, the soldiers had to be trained for this completely new operational environment in a desert area and civil war country of the third world, which was ruled by warlords . At the former Combat Troop School 1 ( Infantry School ) in Hammelburg ( German UN Training Center ), a one-week course was set up to prepare the soldiers for this situation. New tasks also arose in the organization of the psychological and social care of the soldiers and their relatives in view of the special risks of the mission.
On July 3, 1993, the first of five sea transport ships with material and equipment for the main contingent left Emden. The soldiers were flown to Mogadishu by transport aircraft and had to take a two-day motor vehicle march to their deployment location in the interior of the country in Beledweyne . We spent the night in the Italian camp Gialalassi . At the end of August 1993, the Somalia Support Association - also GECOMPFORSOM for the German Composite Force Somalia - was ready for action .
The Federal Constitutional Court ruled on July 12, 1994 that the use of German armed forces within the framework of collective security systems to implement resolutions of the UN Security Council and UN peacekeeping forces was constitutional. The federal government is however obliged to obtain the prior consent of the Bundestag. The constitutional court justified its decision with the fact that the Federal Republic was part of a collective security system and the use of its armed forces could therefore not be limited to national defense.
The use
Composition of the associations
A total of 20,000 blue helmets from 29 countries were deployed on the UNOSOM mission.
The German support association consisted of a reinforced supply and transport battalion made up of more than 200 associations. A total of around 4,500 German soldiers outside Germany participated in the UN mission, around 4,000 of them directly in Somalia. At that time, only voluntary, long-term contract and professional soldiers were deployed, including women, but no conscripts.
The posting took place in two contingents. The first contingent comprised 1725 soldiers, with the 26th Airborne Brigade under the command of Colonel Helmut Harff as the lead unit. It was telecommunications , engineers, and paramedics who were protected by two paratrooper security companies .
In the second contingent, which replaced the first, the Mountain Infantry Brigade 23 with its commander Colonel Holger Kammerhoff was the leading association. This association had been reduced to around 1,300 soldiers.
As a state of alert, the paratrooper companies of the first contingent and parts of the command company 5./261 from Lebach were kept in a permanent state of alert. They could have moved to the emergency room within 24-72 hours and intervened as part of an airborne operation .
Troop division 1st contingent (number of soldiers in brackets)
- Rod
- Supply company (205)
- Transport company (205)
- Headquarters Company (173)
- Pioneer Company (167)
- Repair company (160) (3./InstBtl 11 from Delmenhorst Adelheide)
- Security Company 1 (154); Paratroopers
- Security Company 2 (153); Paratroopers
- NBC defense company (120)
- Medical company (120)
- Telecommunication Company (114)
- Army Aviation Squadron (42)
- Feldjägerzug (32)
- Press and Information Center (20)
- Zug Operational Information (19)
Order and operations
The task of the German association was originally to prepare and carry out the logistical support of an association of about 4,000 soldiers from other nations from the stationing area Beledweyne in the Hiiraan region .
The region around Beledweyne was chosen because it was pacified. This was one of the prerequisites for the deployment of the German support soldiers. In addition, the Federal Republic of Germany had already provided development aid there in the 1970s and 80s, so that the Germans were known there.
After that, a similar assignment was planned further north. Within the framework of the available capacities, humanitarian measures by civil aid organizations and the local police should also be supported, for example through telecommunications technology.
At the end of August 1993 the soldiers were ready for action. However, the unit whose supplies they were supposed to secure, an Indian combat brigade, did not come to Somalia at all. The Indian soldiers should originally be stationed from October 1993 about 100 km north of Beledweyne in Matabaan .
The soldiers of the German Support Association initially stayed in Somalia, but subsequently acted mainly as "military development workers" as a solution to the problem. However, there was no long-term concept or political perspective for this humanitarian activity.
During the mission, up to 450,000 liters of potable water had to be produced every day and stored in a cool place along with 120,000 food rations. Up to 600 tons of supplies were transported every day. In addition, 500,000 liters of operating material had to be kept.
Around 20 soldiers - mostly team ranks - were convicted of smoking hashish or marijuana, some of them repeated. Some soldiers had bought the drug from locals near the German camp, others had already brought the drugs with them.
Due to their activities, the Germans were very popular with the population, in contrast to the nations, which also carried out coercive measures to create peace. The German soldiers were only allowed to shoot if they were attacked. The 500 Italian blue helmet soldiers stationed in Belet Uen to protect the Germans had to intervene in combat operations. On the night of January 21, 1994, however, an incident occurred: A Somali who had penetrated the German camp was fatally hit by a guard from about 150 meters after several unsuccessful warning shots.
The situation in the country had become increasingly aggravated in connection with the so-called Operation Irene of the US reaction forces also located in the country.
At the beginning of 1994, most of the UN troops left the country. The federal government also decided in December 1993 to withdraw the "German Support Association". The German Navy was tasked with ensuring the return as part of Operation Southern Cross . The last German soldiers left Somalia on March 23, 1994 and the Defense Minister decommissioned the unit.
In 1994 the Security Council removed coercive measures from the mandate of the UNOSOM. After that, UNOSOM II limited itself to promoting negotiations, helping to rebuild the police force and political structures, and providing humanitarian aid, for example help with the repatriation of refugees. The UNOSOM mission officially ended in March 1995.
Even today there is still debate as to whether the mission was a success or not. In this respect it is mainly controversial whether the primary intention of the UN was to provide for the people or to maintain peace. Depending on which aspect is emphasized, the mission must be rated as a success or failure.
Results and future development
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The humanitarian record of the German UN contingents: Over 17,000 local patients received medical treatment, around 3.8 million liters of water were distributed to the population, seven wells repaired or re-drilled, six roads and three dams repaired, seven schools and an orphanage built. However, a school and a dam were destroyed, a hospital looted and several wells rendered unusable by mines.
The total cost of the operation was around 310 million DM (163.6 million euros) of which around 70 million DM (35.8 million euros) were reimbursed by the United Nations.
The commitment of the German Support Association has changed the status of the Bundeswehr and reunified Germany in world politics. During this mission, the Bundeswehr gained important initial experience for future military missions abroad. In the "German UN Training Center" in the Hammelburg Infantry School, a staff for central training matters with three sub-areas has been established since 1993. The staff evaluates international information and UN operations in order to incorporate this experience into training for future operations.
According to the report of the Armed Forces Commissioner, it has been shown “that the uniformity of care and support is of increased importance for the motivation of the soldiers. You must be informed comprehensively and in a timely manner about social security, in particular about the financial compensation, before such an assignment. "
literature
- Gerd-Ulrich Haase (ed.), Rolf Bardet, (conception, layout, content), Bernhard Huster (photos and layout), Günther Krabbe, Dirk Schmitz, and a. (Guest authors): German Support Association Somalia; the first association of the Federal Armed Forces established by the Federal Republic of Germany within the framework of the UN; a documentation about the first main contingent (illustrated book), part 1; Wiesbaden: RMS-Verlag, 1993
- Harald Rettelbach (editor in charge), Heinz-Peter Heckner (photos): German Support Association Somalia (illustrated book), part 2; Wiesbaden: RMS-Verlag, 1994
- Mathias Weber: The UN Mission in Somalia - The Problem of Humanitarian Intervention ; Denzlingen, 1997
Web links
- Alexander Georgi: Somewhere in Africa . ( Memento from September 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) In: Y - The Bundeswehr magazine .
- Bundeswehr: Emergency War - Annotated Documentation (= Dossier No. 14 ). In: Wissenschaft & Frieden , No. 3/1993.
- Pictures and information about the German Support Association in Somalia (private website)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Volger Helmut: History of the United Nations . Munich 2008. P. 181 f.
- ↑ BVerfG : BVerfGE 90, 286 - Out-of-area operations. In: German-speaking case law (DFR). Axel Tschentscher, July 12, 1994, accessed January 5, 2014 .
- ^ Source: Report of the Armed Forces Commissioner
- ↑ Incidents during the deployment of German soldiers as part of the UN mission in Somalia (UNOSOM II) (PDF; 320 kB). German Bundestag, 12th electoral term, printed matter 12/6989, March 8, 1994 (Federal Government's response to a small inquiry, printed matter 12/6757).
- ^ Source: German Bundestag: briefing by the Armed Forces Commissioner, 1994 annual report, printed matter 13/700 of March 7, 1995, [1]