Non-Kuwaitis to join army after law amendments

CAIRO – 17 October 2017: The Interior and Defense Committee affiliated to the Kuwaiti National Assembly approved on Tuesday the amendment of article 29 of the military law in order to allow non-Kuwaitis to join the army in some of the lacking specializations.

Head of the Committee, Askar al-Anzy, said in statements to media outlets that a memorandum signed by 10 parliamentarians is going to be discussed to determine the specific nationalities that will be permitted to join.

According to Al-Anba Kuwaiti newspaper, this step should end the ‘bedoons’ problem in Kuwait regarding joining the army. In his statements, Anzy described the new amendments as “comprehensive enough” to accept every one regarding their social classification.

‘Bedoons’ are a group of stateless people, based mainly in the Gulf region as most governments label them as “illegal immigrants,” especially in Kuwait.