Middle East missions extended
New Zealand will extend its military presence in Iraq until June 2019, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced.
Cabinet signed off on five military deployments yesterday.
The deployment in Afghanistan has also been extended to September 2019 alongside three smaller peacekeeping missions.
Ardern said Isis was still a threat and New Zealand could still help Iraq fight it.
The Iraq mission was previously set to finish in November. This decision would be reviewed in early 2019.
‘‘New Zealand remains firmly committed to international efforts to fight Isis. Training the Iraqi security forces to defeat and prevent the resurgence of Isis is an important contribution to global peace and security,’’ Ardern said.
Labour has previously criticised National’s extension of the Iraq force as ‘‘mission creep’’.
The force will be reduced from 143 to 121 personnel.
‘‘It is strictly non-combat and it will stay that way,’’ Ardern said.
She said she had kept the Green Party abreast of the Government’s decision but that party’s MPs stood by their opposition to the deployment in the first place.
The three peacekeeping missions are to South Sudan, the Golan Heights and Lebanon, and an observers mission to the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt.