According to Department of Defense News, President Barack Obama has ordered 130 advisers into Iraq to advise and assess the situation there. The additional troops will observe humanitarian efforts regarding displaced Iraqi Civilians on Mount Sinjar and develop plans to evacuate the people safely.
No combat for newest wave of troops
The additional troops have already touched down in Irbil, Iraq, according to a NPR. The 130 additional advisers will join 90 U.S. military advisers in Baghdad, another 160 in two operation centers, 455 members of U.S. security forces and another 100 military personnel in the Office of Security Cooperation in the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, according to The Associated Press. The 130 troops have been called "assessors" by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, who has stated the personnel will not serve any combat purpose.
"Very specifically, this is not a combat 'boots-on-the- ground' operation," Hagel told a group of marines and soldiers, according to DoD news. "We're not going to have that kind of operation."
According to a statement read by a military official, the servicemembers will "assess the scope of the humanitarian mission and develop additional humanitarian assistance options beyond the current airdrop effort in support of displaced Iraqi civilians trapped on Sinjar Mountain by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant," DoD news reported.
Obama has stated that new ground combat personnel will not be sent into Iraq. The AP reported that Obama will cap the number of troops that can be sent into the region. However, the 130 additional advisors do not count toward that amount because they have been authorized to provide humanitarian assistance.
The situation
According to The Independent, roughly 40,000 Yazidis fled to Mount Sinjar to escape Islamic ISIL forces, and the United Nations has warned that a potential mass atrocity or genocide could happen within days or hours. Humanitarian efforts have managed to airdrop water, food and other resources to the Yazidis, however there is still no long term solution for the civilians who have been surrounded on the mountain.
Additionally, U.S. airstrikes will be used to deter ISIL forces from advancing on Mount Sinjar and Irbil. However, some suggest that armed forces will be needed to escort Yazidi civilians off of the mountain. According to NPR, the possibility of airlifting the civilians off of the mountain is slim because of the number of people will require too large an effort.