Also NRT News from Iraqi Kurdistan reported that Norwegian forces were in Syria, quoting Shakir Abid who claimed that the Norwegians had been tasked with the protection of the Syrian side of al-Tanf border crossing.
The Norwegian Ministry of Defense would neither confirm nor reject this claim, which prompted Geir Ulfstein, a professor of Justice at the University of Oslo, into demanding clarification from the Norwegian government to dissolve allegations of the breach of international law, the Norwegian daily Dagbladet reported.
"The Norwegian forces are part of Operation Inherent Resolve. For the sake of the security of our own troops and in accordance with the coalition's media policy, we will neither provide the details of the operation nor any other information of the operational nature," Defense Ministry press officer Ann Kristin Salbuvik said.
According to Arne Overrein, a professor of philosophy from the University of Arctic Studies and the author the book "The Fight for International Law," it is more than doubtful that Norwegian soldiers have entered Syria.
"According to international law, one should not participate directly or indirectly in an internal conflict in another country. Norway is formally in the area to train people fighting against Daesh, but these happen also to be the people who fight President Bashar al-Assad. In this case Norway is involved in what is basically a civil war and supports rebels against a regime we still recognize politically," Arne Overrein told the Norwegian newspaper Klassekampen, alluding to the fact that Norway has not severed diplomatic ties with Syria. Overrein added also that it would imply a risk of escalating the conflict.
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