Military, NATO bases in Germany sealed off after suspected sabotage

A NATO air base in Geilenkirchen, Germany, about 622 km west of Berlin,was sealed off on Wednesday (August 14) due to a suspected sabotage incident, according to a spokesperson from the German military’s Territorial Command in Berlin.

This follows a similar incident at a German military base near Cologne.

The Cologne base, located next to the airport and housing 4,300 soldiers and 1,200 civilian employees, has also been sealed off. Soldiers at the base have been advised not to drink tap water due to potential contamination, which is being investigated as a possible act of sabotage.

A hole was discovered in a fence near drinking water storage facilities, the military's territorial command said on X.

The Cologne-Wahn base, located near Cologne-Bonn airport, is home to several military and civilian facilities of the German armed forces as well as aircraft used by Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his ministers for official travel.

The base is also an important hub for military support for Ukraine amid ongoing war with Russia. The Ukrainian soldiers regularly fly home from there, via Poland, after receiving training in Germany, Der Spiegel reported.

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Following the lockdown at the Cologne-Wahn base, the NATO site also increased its security level.

It however later emerged that the base was not sealed off and continued operating at full capacity, the spokesman said.

The airbase is home to NATO AWACS reconnaissance aircraft.

Marcus Faber, a German lawmaker from the liberal FDP party told Bild daily that with the two incidents coming so close together "one can assume that an enemy actor wants to demonstrate his sabotage skills".

(With inputs from agencies)