Peshmerga Ministry blasts coalition on failure to deliver promises, silence over Iraqi violations

“We ask our allies, the international coalition, and gulf countries to no longer remain silent regarding the constitutional and humanitarian violations carried out by the so-called democratic and Federal Government of Iraq,” Halgurd stated.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The coalition must no longer remain silent regarding actions taken by the Iraqi government against the Kurdistan Region said a Peshmerga official on Friday.

“The coalition, who described the Peshmerga as the destroyer of the myth of the Islamic State (IS), is responsible for military aid not being delivered to the Peshmerga,” Halgurd Hikmat, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Peshmerga, told Kurdistan 24. “They are also responsible for not inviting Peshmerga representatives to international meetings and conferences against IS.”

The statement lambasting the US-led coalition comes in response to a report on weapons destined for the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga remaining in warehouses in Canada as Baghdad continues to block shipments of military aid to Erbil.

“Peshmerga Forces sacrificed themselves for humanity and democracy in Iraq and the region. It is very unfortunate that economic and political interests of some countries have led them to stand against the future of a nation,” Halgurd lamented.

“We assure everyone that the cause of our nation is legal and right and we will not give up under any pressure.”

According to a report by Buzzfeed, weapons ranging from sniper rifles to mortars and grenade launchers are “sitting in a warehouse in Montreal, Quebec” as the Iraqi government “attempts to choke off supplies to its wartime allies in Kurdistan.”

The military donation announced by the Prime Minister of Canada in 2016 offered to provide equipment to Iraqi security forces and the Kurdish Peshmerga. The weapons were earmarked for the Kurdistan Region’s forces ahead of the offensive to retake Mosul, but the Canadian government failed to deliver them after the Iraqi government refused to approve the shipment.

Canada indefinitely suspended its Special Forces’ activities in Iraq in response to heightened tensions between Kurdish Peshmerga Forces and Iraqi security forces in the aftermath of the Sep. 25 referendum on independence for the Kurdistan Region.

Canadian officials have maintained that the equipment would not reach Erbil until Baghdad agrees to sign end-user agreements. Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan confirmed on Wednesday that Ottawa had yet to convince Baghdad to allow the shipment to go forward.

Earlier in November, Sajjan said he was hopeful the Federal Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) would resolve their outstanding issues “as quickly as possible” and focus on securing the country from remaining IS threats.

Kurdish officials, including the Chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council Masrour Barzani, however, have criticized coalition partners for not delivering on their promises of military aid.

Baghdad has regularly stopped shipments of foreign military aid it believed was intended for the Kurds and taken advantage of the Kurds’ disadvantage militarily to threaten Kurdistan with the use of military force in retaliation for the independence vote.

On Oct. 16, Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Shia Hashd al-Shaabi militias launched an assault on Kirkuk and other disputed territories which had been under the protection of the Peshmerga for the past few years.

Since then, thousands of families have been displaced and many fear abuses and human rights violations at the hands of the militias. The Kurdistan Region heavily criticized the fact that the Hashd al-Shaabi militias were using American weapons against the Western-allied Kurds and continue to warn of military build-ups on its borders.

“We ask our allies, the international coalition, and gulf countries to no longer remain silent regarding the constitutional and humanitarian violations carried out by the so-called democratic and Federal Government of Iraq,” Halgurd stated.

Kurdish officials have also warned that tensions between Erbil and Baghdad and the central government’s decision to attack the Kurdistan Region would only benefit IS or similar groups in the region.

“IS is not finished. The best example is the latest attack on the Gwer Peshmerga front line in Makhmour, which was successfully repelled,” Halgurd concluded.