Canada to deliver weapons to Peshmerga

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Canadian Defense Ministry stated on Sunday that Canada was ready to ship arms to the Kurdistan Region Peshmerga forces after the Iraqi central government approved the delivery.

The Canadian Defense Ministry’s Communications Advisor Dominique Tessie told a local Kurdish media outlet that Iraqi government has officially approved Canadian request to directly arm the Kurdish forces.

“Canada had requested the Iraqi government to send an official endorsement on the arms delivery to the Kurdish forces and we have received Baghdad’s official endorsement, signed in December of last year,” Tessie told Xendan.

According to the Canadian Defense Ministry official, the weapons planned to be delivered to the Peshmerga forces are light weapons such as rifles, pistols, anti-tank rockets and some military equipment.

Tessie added that the weapons and military equipment were in the tendering process to be delivered to the Kurdistan Region immediately.

He explained that the military assistance to the Iraqi forces and the Peshmerga forces help defeat the Islamic State (IS) and will contribute to the stability and security of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.

In December, Canadian Minister of National Defense Harjit Sajjan visited the Kurdistan Region and promised further military assistance to the Peshmerga forces.

The Canadian government said the weapons supplied to Kurds would be purchased on the open market for USD $9.5 million.

The Canadian government had to wait for more than 10 months to sign off on arms shipment to the Peshmerga forces due to restrictions imposed by the Iraqi government.

Editing by Ava Homa