SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Germany recalls platoon from Lithuania amid racism row
Berlin, June 16 (AFP) Jun 16, 2021
Germany will withdraw an entire platoon stationed in Lithuania after its members were accused of racist and anti-Semitic behaviour, the country's defence minister said on Wednesday.

The allegations dating back to a party at a hotel in April were first reported by the Spiegel Online news site on Monday.

Soldiers sang racist and anti-Semitic songs and one also sought to sexually assault another while he was asleep, a scene that was caught on film, the report said.

Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said the entire platoon of 30 soldiers will be withdrawn "with immediate effect".

"The misconduct of some soldiers in Lithuania is a slap in the face of all those who serve the security of our country day after day in the #Bundeswehr," she wrote on Twitter.

The platoon will return to Germany on Thursday where investigations into the allegations have been ongoing since last week, a government spokeswoman said.

Kramp-Karrenbauer said any soldiers found guilty would be "punished with the utmost severity".

Three soldiers had initially been removed from the contingent stationed in the Baltic country, according to the Spiegel report.

The German armed forces have been repeatedly rocked by allegations of right-wing extremism within their ranks.

Kramp-Karrenbauer last year ordered the partial dissolution of the KSK commando force after revelations that some of its members harboured neo-Nazi sympathies.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Voyager raises over 400 million in public debut to fuel growth and innovation
Kinetica 2 engine test hits milestone with successful multi-engine trial
Conservation leaders join passenger lineup for Blue Origin NS-33 suborbital launch

24/7 Energy News Coverage
AI-enabled control system helps autonomous drones stay on target in uncertain environments
Decarbonizing steel is as tough as steel
Molecular relay structure enables faster photon upconversion for solar and medical use

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
World faces new arms race as nuclear powers spend 100B a year
Australia says China anxiety, geography driving closer Indonesia ties
Iran's nuclear programme, Netanyahu's age-old obsession

24/7 News Coverage
Ancient climate shifts reveal warning signs for modern drought risks
Space lasers, AI used by geospatial scientist to measure forest biomass
Tiny organisms, huge implications for people



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.