Croatia’s President Zoran Milanović has ordered the withdrawal of Croatian soldiers from Iraq and Lebanon amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, a move criticised by the government as lacking consultation.
Milanović earlier on Monday instructed the chief of the general staff to immediately begin activities to pull seven Croatian troops out of Iraq and one serving under a United Nations mandate in Lebanon.
Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said after a ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) presidency meeting that he did not see a security reason for the withdrawal from Iraq.
“I spoke yesterday with Iraq’s foreign minister and we discussed the security situation. Iraq is a safe country,” Grlić Radman said, according to state broadcaster HRT.
He added that the Croatian soldier deployed in Lebanon as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) had already been scheduled for withdrawal earlier.
“As far as I know, he was supposed to be withdrawn earlier. The president has decided to exercise his powers in this way. Why and how he is doing it, you should ask him,” Grlić Radman said.
Asked whether Milanović had consulted the government on the decision, the minister said: “He never consults with the government.”
The withdrawals come as fighting between the United States, Israel and Iran raises security concerns across the region, including in Iraq and Lebanon, where international missions are stationed.
Croatia contributes small contingents to international operations as part of NATO and United Nations commitments.