Parts of major Peshmerga units to move under ministry control as part of reform process

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – As part of the ongoing reform in the Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Peshmerga, two major units that were not previously under the command of the region’s formal institute will move some of their forces under its umbrella, according to officials

The Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of Peshmerga said Monday that Unit 70 had “expressed willingness” to bring some of its forces, known as Support Forces 2, under the command of the ministry.

Peshmerga Units 70 and 80 belong to the Kurdistan Region’s two ruling parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

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In addition to modernizing and strengthening the ministry, the unification of all forces is part of an extensive reform program the KRG’s ninth cabinet has undertaken with the support of the international anti-ISIS coalition forces.

Unit 80 recently brought its own Support Forces 1 under the ministry’s command.

“We have prepared two brigades which are ready to go under the command of the ministry,” Najat Ali, the head of Unit 80, told Kurdistan 24 on Monday.

The Unit’s remaining forces will “step by step” move under the ministry’s leadership, Ali added.