Germany Considers Training Tunisian Soldiers To Counter Islamic State

Germany is mulling to send troops to Tunisia in order to train soldiers in the fight against IS.

Representatives of the defense and foreign ministries will be holding discussions on Thursday and Friday on how Germany could support a training mission. Bild am Sonntag, German news daily reported Sunday.

"The ISIS terror is threatening all of North Africa, it is thus crucial to make every effort to support countries struggling with democracy such as Tunisia,” German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen was quoted as saying by the news daily.

“A training camp in Tunisia would be a contribution towards regional stability. If its direct neighbour Libya manages to put in place a unity government one day, its security forces could also benefit from established training facilities in Tunisia," she said.  

German forces are currently engaged in the international alliance against the IS group, including by arming and training Kurdish forces in northern Iraq and flying reconnaissance missions over Syria with Tornado jets.