German Government Must Name Groups In Syrian Idlib Financed By Berlin - Die Linke

The German government must name those groups in Syrian Idlib province that are financed by Berlin and provide guarantees that these funds are spent for the reconstruction of Syria instead of going into the hands of Islamic extremists, Die Linke (The Left) party policy spokesman in the Bundestag Defense Committee Tobias Pflueger told Sputnik on Monday.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th November, 2018) The German government must name those groups in Syrian Idlib province that are financed by Berlin and provide guarantees that these funds are spent for the reconstruction of Syria instead of going into the hands of Islamic extremists, Die Linke (The Left) party policy spokesman in the Bundestag Defense Committee Tobias Pflueger told Sputnik on Monday.

On October 30, German Der Tagesspiegel newspaper reported that Germany had spent 48.8 million euro ($55 million) in funds on opposition rebel groups in the Idlib province. In a written response to Die Linke, seen by the media outlet, Foreign Ministry official Walter Lindner said the money went to "civil actors opposing extremist influences in the Idlib region."

"The German government must explain which groups in Idlib are financed by Germany. If the money really is spent for reconstruction and the civil society needs, it's a good thing. But we are very skeptical if this is the case.

It must be sure that Islamic terrorists do not profit off that," Pflueger said.

Pluegfer also called on the German government to support the Kurdish forces in Syria.

According to Der Tagesspiegel, most of the German funds, 37.5 million euros, came from the Foreign Ministry, and a company affiliated with the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The remaining 11.3 million Euros were contributed by unidentified donors. On top of it came 17 million euros in EU funds passed along by German agencies.

The province of Idlib in northwest Syria is the last remaining stronghold of terrorist groups operating in the country, including Jabhat al-Nusra (outlawed in Russia), which has joined forces with four other jihadi groups in Idlib to form a terrorist alliance called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, banned in Russia), widely regarded as the dominant force on the ground in the province.