Denmark sends soldiers to Syrian border

The Danish government has decided to send ten soldiers to south-east Turkey in connection with the conflict with neighbouring Syria.

The soldiers will help to establish strategic communications in support of the Patriot missiles that NATO is in the process of setting up to reinforce the Turkish air defence.

“We’re sending ten communication specialists who can help to get the communication lines to function on the border between Syria and Turkey and back to NATO's headquarters,” announced Minister of Defence Nick Hækkerup (SocDem) in a press release.

All the Danish soldiers come from the DCM company in Haderslev. DCM soldiers are experts in establishing and maintaining strategic communication and information lines.

“Turkey is concerned that the regime in Syria is thinking of attacking its country. As a NATO member, Turkey has therefore asked its allies for assistance,” said Hækkerup.

“Germany, the Netherlands and the USA have helped by providing equipment that can stop any Syrian missiles fired over the border into Turkey, endangering the civilian population. In other words, we’re helping the Turks to defend themselves,” added Hækkerup.

The Danish soldiers are part of a larger DCM team of around 50 soldiers from various countries. They have recently been training with the rest of the team in Germany, and the first soldiers have flown to Turkey to carry out initial preparations.

The Danish military expects to send its main deployment to Turkey on Sunday. The mission will probably last until the end of April, after which other countries will take over.