Peshmerga, coalition forces address Peshmerga reforms

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A top Peshmerga delegation on Tuesday met with a top delegation of Coalition forces in Erbil, in which many topics were discussed, according to a statement from the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs (MOPE).

MOPE Lieutenant General Issa Ozeir, Lieutenant Colonel Bakhtiar Mohammed Sadiq, Secretary General, Deputy Chiefs of Staff, and Advisor to the Ministry, Amin Sri, Colonel Jim Hunter, Head of the Coalition Forces Advisory Team in the Kurdistan Region, and Colonel Michelle Gachero, Head of the Security Cooperation Office at the US Consulate in Erbil, attended the meeting.

At the meeting, both sides stressed the need to continue the Peshmerga reform process and the unification of the military force's units.

Another topic of the meeting was to solve the Peshmerga Ministry's shortcomings.

Finally, the Coalition forces reiterated their commitment to coordinate with the Peshmerga forces.

Unifying and modernizing the Peshmerga forces is at the core of the reform program of the Kurdistan Region Government's Ninth Cabinet. Furthermore, it is a concept that has in the past been heavily advanced by the Global Coalition against ISIS.

The Kurdish forces, backed by the Coalition, have been fighting the extremist group since 2014. In 2017, they helped territorially defeat ISIS in Iraq. Despite this, ISIS has exhibited a resurgence in the region through small-scale, guerilla warfare tactics.

In the presence of the @KRG_MOPE Chief of Staff, the Secretary General and the head of the coalition advisors in the Kurdistan Region a meeting was held, they discussed the reform process and the steps to unite the entire #Peshmerga forces. pic.twitter.com/PoJxYecO1O

— Ministry of Peshmerga (@KRG_MOPE) August 1, 2023