The first plane of German aid arrived for the suffering people of northern Iraq. A total of five Transall planes landed in Irbil in autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan on Saturday morning, after fuel stops in Bulgaria and Turkey.

Before the planes took off from Hohn military airbase in northern Germany, Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said the supplies represented "just the beginning." A government spokesman also suggested that more aid deliveries could follow as early as the beginning of next week. The German relief will be handed over to UN organizations such as UNICEF or the World Food Program, which will then distribute the supplies.

Steinmeier heading to Irbil

Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier announced that he intends to travel to Iraqi Kurdistan this weekend for political discussions. "The aim of this trip is obvious: to get an immediate picture of the situation on the ground, and to determine by direct talks what kind of help they would like Germany to provide," said a Foreign Ministry spokesman.

According to the German government, the situation of the people who took refuge in the Sinjar mountains after fleeing the self-proclaimed "Islamic State" (IS) terrorist militia is somewhat improved, following targeted attacks by the United States on IS positions, successful food drops by aid organizations, and operations by Kurdish security forces. Most refugees in the mountains are apparently no longer in immediate, life-threatening danger.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR also says that the number of people trapped in the Sinjar mountains has dropped dramatically. Members of religious minorities, the majority of them Yazidis, fled the IS terrorist militia after the radical Sunni terrorist group captured more parts of northern Iraq almost two weeks ago. They sought refuge in the barren mountain region, but it seems that over the past five days around 80,000 people have managed to reach the safety of Kurdish territory. A total of around 200,000 are believed to have crossed the border.

At present, only around 1,000 refugees are said still to be in the mountain range. However, according to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), those who remain are in a very serious situation.

Controversy over possible arms shipments

The IS militia remains a serious political and military threat, and this continues to fuel discussion in Germany about the possibility of supplying arms to the crisis region. The government says it is looking into "ongoing possibilities for support, which would then not only be in the humanitarian field," according to Chancellor Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert.

Since the end of World War Two, Germany has stuck to its principle of not shipping arms to conflict zones. However, an increasing number of people are now speaking in favor of doing so.

Defense Minister von der Leyen told Bild newspaper: "Generally speaking it is the case that if a genocide can only be prevented with German weapons, then we must help." According to a government spokesman, talks are currently being held to decide which items of military hardware the Kurdish fighters need, and which of these Germany is in a position to supply.

However, the Defense Ministry has said it does not believe the Bundeswehr currently has any weapons in its arsenal that are suitable for use in Iraq and could be supplied at short notice. The government is therefore currently checking to see whether so-called "non-lethal" weapons systems might be eligible, including protective vests, night-vision equipment and armored vehicles.

Contact only with the Kurds

German aid deliveries in northern Iraq are being coordinated only with representatives of Iraqi Kurdistan, not with the central Iraqi government. The Foreign Ministry spokesman cited the political vacuum in Baghdad and the very slow progress in forming the government there as the reason. This, he said, was why the autonomous Kurdish region under President Massoud Barzani was currently Germany's main point of contact.

"They have taken a stand against ISIS; setting aside their own interests, and accepting the serious problems that went with it, they have opened their borders to the religious minorities, to the Yazidis, to the Christians, and many others," the spokesman said.

He went on to say that this was sufficient reason for Germany to prioritize this part of Iraq when supplying aid - although this might change if there were to be a stable government in Baghdad in future.