Canada Halts Airstrikes in Iraq and Syria
KABUL: (Middle East Press) The Canadian prime minister-elect, Justin Trudeau, has asserted to withdraw his country’s CF-18 fighter jets from Syria and Iraq against the so called Islamic State (IS) or Daesh.
He made the announcement during a Tuesday phone call with US President Barack Obama, hours after leading his Liberal Party to victory in the polls.
Trudeau said that he made it clear to Obama that even though Canada remains “a strong member of the coalition against Daesh,” he will stick to his promises.
As part of his election campaign, Trudeau pledged to bring home the CF-18 fighter jets that were deployed to the region until March 2016.
He has not yet given a timescale.
During his campaign, the Liberal party leader vowed to bring back the jets and end his country’s combat missions. His party was also a strong opponent of a proposal by Harper’s Conservative government to extend activities from Iraq into Syria. In April, the Canadian parliament voted 142 to 129 to extend their country’s military campaign against Daesh in Iraq and expand the mission to Syria.
The announcement was not mentioned a transcription of the conversation released by the White House.
Trudeau also said that his government will be “moving forward” with commitments made while campaigning in a “responsible fashion.”
“We want to ensure that the transition is done in an orderly fashion,” he noted.
Trudeau, an ex-high-school teacher, is the eldest son of late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.
“I committed that we would continue to engage in a responsible way that understands how important Canada has a role to play in the fight against ISIL (Islamic State), but he (Barack Obama) understands the commitments I’ve made around ending the combat mission,” he told reporters in Ottawa.
However, he said he would keep Canadian military trainers in northern Iraq, the AFP news agency reports.
Trudeau has also vowed to take in 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year – a move previously rejected by his predecessor Stephen Harper, who took a much harder line on the issue.
